GoZips Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 As posted else where on ZipsNation Zeke was interviewed about his commitment to Akron. While on the surface he took some ribbing from fellow high schoolers, thereality is that Zeke was the smartest of them all. Why? Because most of these very gifted kids will get far less playing time than Zeke will. Zeke will see considerable floor time almost from the beginning. Whether he plays two, three or four years he will be a starter and on the court. Most of these kids willspend most if not all of their college years riding the pine and getting smacked around at practice.How can I see this? Easy. There are two hundred minutes of playing time in the normal game. Split five ways (five players) means no one gets more than forty minutes.Sounds great, Except that these gifted, talented kids sign up like cord wood at the mega-schools like UCLA, Memphis, Kansas ... you get the picture. Since these coachesare usually three or four deep at every position with top one hundred players, where does "coach" get minutes for all these talents?College football players have long since learned to sign with "lesser" schools rather than ride the pines. College basketball players are not there just yet.For the incoming class of 2008 UCLA has FIVE top one hundred recruits. And UCLA has at least two and probably more kids that were at LeBron's Skills Academy thatare frothing at the mouth to go ride the pines in Los Angeles. The kids still don't get it. Neither do their parents.On Monday I spent some time chatting with a parent of a stud wing man. In fact, he had caught my eye and I would love to see him in a Zips uniform. A UNC assistanthad told me on Sunday that UNC was going to offer him. The Dad was proud of that even though he preferred his son attend Clemson. When I mentioned how good his son would look in a Zips uniform he acted as if I had insulted his son.Here's a clue "Dad" .. .your stud kid will spend most of his college career on the bench. Both UNC and Clemson already have wing men that he will never sit down.On the other hand, playing wing at Akron insures him three or four years as a starter, a huge look from the NBA scouts and a probable trip to the Final Four as astarter. Sure, the Final Four is likely for either Clemson or UNC ... with your kid's butt firmly planted on the bench.Zeke Marshall will be able to look over at his former LSA team mate and smile as Zeke gets ready to jump the opening tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Playing time is an interesting discussion. I think it's true that a lot of these kids don't realize that they are going to sit for at least a year if not two or more before they get a shot to play. That said a record number of "one and dones" (NCAA freshman who enter the NBA draft after just one year of college ball) were just chosen in the first round of this years NBA draft. The new NBA rules have a lot to do with that. Kids who would at one time jump right from high school to the pro's now have to go through a year of college. Obviously if they are talented and legit enough to make the jump to the pro's from high school playing time in college isn't going to be much of a problem. It's the kids just behind those 5-10 elite talents that would benefit most from taking the offer from a lesser known program and getting the early playing time. Otherwise, as you said, they just end up going into a program where top 50-100 recruits are common and they have to claw and fight just to try and get into the rotation. I dunno. Just something to think about I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyrifle32 Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 there really are two schools of thought here, and i don't think it's fair to say one is smart and the other is dumb. it all just depends on the priorities of each kid. the first school is be a part of a winning team. you might ride the pine for a year, or the whole career, but you made it to a top level team and have a very good chance at getting a championship ring (even if you didn't play). just saying "i played bball for duke" automatically says something about your skill level and you get a certain level of respect. the second school of thought is wanting to play as much as possible (possibly even a star). go to a "lesser" school where you can make an immediate impact and possibly be the big man on campus. maybe you don't get the championships, but you're in it for the game and to have fun playing. of course the truly smart ones disregard either option above and look for the strongest academic program of interest first, then team second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 I think it speaks more about emotional maturity.You tell me how many people have the ability, at that age, not to allow the chides of his peers to dictate how he feels about his decisions.What it comes down to is having the confidence in yourself to know your right and to back up what you say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 As posted else where on ZipsNation Zeke was interviewed about his commitment to Akron. While on the surface he took some ribbing from fellow high schoolers, thereality is that Zeke was the smartest of them all. Why? Because most of these very gifted kids will get far less playing time than Zeke will.Zeke made the right decision for HIM. There are plenty of ways to get to the mountaintop, just check NBA rosters to see.Playing time in college does not always equal success. If that were the case B Hip would be playing pro ball right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Zip Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 I think it actually has more to do with self confidence. Interestingly enought self confidence can be seen in a kids decision to go to UNC or to go to Akron. The kid who goes to UNC isn't thinking about riding the pine because in his mind he is going to be playing. He is better than those kids at UNC and the other recruits. His self confidenc in himself is what probably makes him the player his is along with his skills.The kid like Zeke who goes to Akron is not only self confident in his ability, but he is sure a decision to go to a mid-major school is not going to impact his career aspirations. He has the self confidence to make the right decision for him and to not let others impact his thought process. This is his decision and he is going to make it. I don't know that there is a wrong answer here. I do think the original point of the post is valid though because I think many of the kids never consider the opportunities available to them at mid-major schools because they are doing what they are supposed to do - select a high level school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted July 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Looks like people side with one of two sides. Be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in the big pond. As one poster noted, Zeke made the right decision for him.I once worked for a gentleman who played basketball for Kansas. You can look this up if so inclined. His name is Andy Bynum (might be misspelt). Andy was at Kansasfor all four years. He never got major minutes. As he related to me the high light of his career was facing off against thee Michael Jordan for all of two minutes.These days Andy is a successful mid level manager at Detroit Edison. Seems to me that he confessed that if he had it to do over again he would have chosen a differentschool where he would have gotten more playing time. Andy mentioned that by his junior year his focus changed from playing basketball to getting a degree. In thelong run he was successfulI strongly suspect that most of the kids who ride the pine figure that getting a degree becomes more important than playing basketball.As a side note Rivals.com has recently elevated their ranking of Zeke up to #45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippysgotagun Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in the big pond.7 feet is a big fish, even in a big pond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in the big pond.7 feet is a big fish, even in a big pond Not sure if anyone's watching this thread, or discussion anymore, but I was watching ESPNU's AAU Showcase event in Orlando today, and they keep displaying their top 100 players from the class of '09. Well, voila, No Zeke Marshall. I guess I can understand that, as some sites probably haven't caught up with his recent development. However -- I went on ESPNU's website, to see just how Zeke WAS rated. Holy moley folks...the top 20 I think all get scores in the 90s. I went down as far as I could go before the site froze up, which was to #180, and the players at that spot had scores of 70 I think. Next thing I did was to search for Zeke on the site. Found him -- with a score of 40! That would probably place him outside the top 300 players in his class! This may explain why: He's listed at 6-11 and 170 pounds. I thought I heard he had passed 200 and was about 210 now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboze Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 You have to remember that ESPNU does not regualarly attend AAU events and their ratings of players are usually WAY off base. Scout and Rivals attend all of the top AAU events and do a great job of rating the players. Scout/Rivals were at the King James Tournament, Pitt Jamfest, LBJ Skills Academy, West Va. Jamfest and the other major tournaments. These are the more accurate ratings. They are the scouting services that you see courtside. If rare that ESPNU takes the time to watch the players actually play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FromdaBurgh Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in the big pond.7 feet is a big fish, even in a big pond Not sure if anyone's watching this thread, or discussion anymore, but I was watching ESPNU's AAU Showcase event in Orlando today, and they keep displaying their top 100 players from the class of '09. Well, voila, No Zeke Marshall. I guess I can understand that, as some sites probably haven't caught up with his recent development. However -- I went on ESPNU's website, to see just how Zeke WAS rated. Holy moley folks...the top 20 I think all get scores in the 90s. I went down as far as I could go before the site froze up, which was to #180, and the players at that spot had scores of 70 I think. Next thing I did was to search for Zeke on the site. Found him -- with a score of 40! That would probably place him outside the top 300 players in his class! This may explain why: He's listed at 6-11 and 170 pounds. I thought I heard he had passed 200 and was about 210 now?Zippysgotagun...you may want to check out what that "40" score really means...I too saw this site and when you hit that #40 another box appears that says the following:Scouts Inc. High School Grading SystemView Scouts Inc. Full GradeScouts Inc. has received film of the prospect and an evaluation is pending.40: Pending ProspectPlayer evaluation is pending receipt of film.So essentially..the staff at ESPNU have not only NOT SEEN Zeke play in person but they've never even seen any film on him...so dont despair. All really is well..and also their stats are WAY OFF...Zeke is 7'0 and he weights around 209-210..according to the Nike stats at the Stoudimere Big Man Camp and the LBJ Academy (both of which he attended). I also know that ESPNU is broadcasting the 17U Gold Championship game tonight from Florida (where Zeke is now). His team did not do very well, but according to both Coach D and Coach Boals..Zeke is playing very, very, very well...and at the end of the day..that is ALL THAT MATTERS!! Good night all...Zeke's Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 according to both Coach D and Coach Boals..Zeke is playing very, very, very well...and at the end of the day..that is ALL THAT MATTERS!!Your right, that is all that matters. Thank you for the update.I would much rather hear what you have to say than some "expert" at ESPN that has never seen Zeke.I really don't even care what their "film evaluation" is either. IMO you can't judge talent w/o seeing them live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FromdaBurgh Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 A B S O L U T E L YDr. Z....just spoke with Coach Boals. He said Zeke is really, really looking good. Can't complain about that...Have a good week Zip Nation/Family.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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