More on the game

Men's basketball

Sometimes I hear coaches talking about how it's great to have an offensive boost off the bench.

And it makes sense.

But not when you're starting inferior players to get it.

Nick Dials plays hard and I really admire how he came back early from knee surgery last year. His defense can suffocate the opposition. He can get really hot shooting 3-pointers.

The fact is, he's not the best shooting guard on the team. It's Cedrick Middleton.

Middleton plays just as good defensively. His slashing and ability to finish on a fast break give him a huge edge over Dials.

I realize Middleton could just be in a stretch of a few games where he is playing really well. His play could fall off a bit, as it had a few weeks ago. But even then, Dials had not made an air-tight case as to why he deserved to start.

I would really like to see Dials come off the bench, at least for a couple games. Perhaps I'm wrong. Middleton could be best suited as the sixth man.

Keith Dambrot discussed it in today's ABJ. If Middleton continues this streak, "I'd have to be an idiot to continue to play him off the bench."

Here are some other clips from this morning's papers...

• The PD's Elton Alexander agrees with me that experience was the difference last night.


• The ABJ's Tom Gaffney points out Akron only allowed two field goals from the 10:34 mark until there were 49 seconds left in the game.


• The ABJ's Terry Pluto wishes the teams could play more than twice a year. (He might get that in Cleveland this year if the seeding is right.)


• Akron's RPI sits at 110th in the nation. Ahead of the Zips are Toledo (96) and Ohio (77).

I will break down Sunday's opponent Buffalo in the next two days.