The Z-Men

Remember the movie X-Men? Mutants fight to protect (or take over) the world. Lots of fun.

The Mocs have the Z-Men. Drazen Zlovaric and Z Mason. We've all been waiting for them to take over and turn into top notch offensive players. When they started playing like they did against Kentucky, it showed that the Mocs may be capable of something much more.

The Mocs have been struggling inside all season. Chris Early has not been great, but his suspension opened the door for Z Mason to get more playing time. Drazen Zlovaric has been struggling so far.

Then they battled Kentucky. And everything changed. Suddenly Zlovaric and Mason had incredible games. It was unreal. When the game finally ended, the Mocs had lost by 25, but somehow had made fans feel a little bit better. Sure, there was the loss. Sure, the shots still don't seem to be falling. But with the inside play of Z Mason and Zlovaric, suddenly there is renewed hope.

What needs to happen to keep that renewed hope alive? When the Mocs take on Hiwassee, the inside play of the Z Men needs to continue. The shooters need to take shots and start making them to help the Mocs become the team they are capable of being. If those things happen against Hiwassee, then that game will be a success.

But it doesn't really matter until they take on Longwood and Utah Valley or Hampton in the Dr Pepper Classic. The big men need to show up in those games. The shooters need to show up in those games. There is no one on the schedule that the Mocs can't beat if they play well in their games the rest of the season. Everyone left on the schedule is a team the Mocs can beat if they play well. It's time to start going.

One of the main reasons for optimism at this point in the season is what we saw from the Z Men on Saturday night. Let's hope that continues on Wednesday afternoon.

GO MOCS!