clarkwgriswold

Surprised he survived as long as he did. Now the trick is keeping him here for next year.

I wouldn't mind if he looks/plays like Harney but if he develops the same crappy attitude of whining, sulking, not coming into team huddles, etc... I will lose my damn mind (not unlike I did with Harney). Tribble's effort and mindset with Harney's skill set would produce an All-American!

The start of the second half was one of the ugliest stretches of Zip basketball I have seen in some time. No ball movement, worthless possessions, half-@$$ed defense... I don't know what they need to do to get Hunter rolling but they need to figure it out fast. When your 3rd big man is essentially 6-3 Nate Johnson you can't have either of the guys ahead of him floundering. I know it may not be a popular view, but I'd like to see Tribble come in off of the bench. I love the kid and his effort but I think his energy and ability to sub in at the 1, 2 and 3 would make him a huge success in that role.

The 2-1 Zips head to the western Caribbean next week to participate in the Cayman Islands Classic Basketball Tournament. The tournament features LSU, Rhode Island, Illinois State, Tulane, Nevada, Kansas State. Western Kentucky and Akron. The Zips open up against Western Kentucky. Western stands at 3-0 with wins over Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State and the University of Indianapolis. Western Kentucky, finished last season at 19-13 overall and 11-7 in C-USA. This year's squad was chosen by the coaches in Conference USA to finish second in the league (behind UAB). Junior guard Dayvion McKnight McKnight (16.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg- last season), senior center Jamarion Sharp (8.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.3 apg- last year) and Boise State transfer 6-6 6th year guard Emmanuel Akot were named the All-Conference USA preseason team. WKU features two Kentucky Mr. Basketballs in McKnight and Kentucky transfer 6-6 junior guard Dontaie Allen. WKU also features the aforementioned Sharp, a 7-5 senior center who led the nation last year in blocked shots at 4.62 shots per game. He was also the tallest player in NCAA Division I last season. Western's size and athleticism will pose a huge challenge to the undersized Zips. I'll try to work in other opponent previews as bracket moves forward.

Nate Johnson may be playing himself into the starting lineup, but at whose expense?

Maybe Hunter's dunk will wake both him and the Zips up.

Outscored 16 to 2 so far this half.

The most frustrating thing is that they're not getting beat by better talent, they're getting beaten by better effort.

Outside of Founders Day or a Hoban-St. V. game.

Some awful damn possessions to start the second half.

Hankerson and Hunter not in to start the second half.

Mike Dawson looks more engaged tonight than Sammy Hunter.

Yep, Johnson makes 2 consecutive threes and as they come off the floor Groce hugs Tribble!

These Morgan State kids are game. Lots of energy. Some small lineups tonight for the zips. A different points, Nate Johnson or lyles were the biggest guy on the court.

My first thought was that they might try to get Hunter involved by feeding him in the post against a smaller team, but after looking at the roster they are not the smaller squad we usually play at the is juncture. As such, I could see them running some pick and rolls to him until they adjust then go to pick and pops to the three point line as they back away suspecting another pick and roll. We'll see.

Johnson is also being called upon to be the 3rd big man, so his outside shooting is going to be limited. I suspect we'll see an effort made by the coaching staff to get Hunter more involved tonight and get him in a rhythm. More pick and pop type scenarios.

I think barstool only gets half credit for me as I turned off the audio!

I try to reserve my "sky is falling" until about 1/3 into the MAC schedule!

Best deal around. Another area school in the area that specializes in inappropriate pregame videos changes $170 for inferior basketball.

I wonder what the reaction would be if Irons and Arselanian or Castaneda and Freeman got kicked out of a MAC Championship game after Coach Mo or Groce spent the entire game yelling at the refs.

I think the real pressure is on Hankerson and Hunter to contribute offensively. I have confidence in Hankerson as he's done it before. If he gives the Zips the 11 ppg and 35% three point shooting he gave NIU last year, I will be content. For me, the jury is still out on Hunter and I wonder if the transition to sometimes being the only big on the floor is hampering him. I am encouraged by Groce's post game comments Monday that he's tearing it up in practice.

Penn State Greater Allegheny is one of the best basketball teams in White Oak, Pennsylvania.

It's not slander to question Tribble's shooting. His shortcomings there are obvious and you can see it in how he's defended. However, Greg has other attributes that make him a valuable player on this team and I think the great majority of the posters on here recognize and appreciate his talents. His defense, intensity and heart make him a vital contributor on this team.

LZip is a big fan and a regular and valuable contributor. Would you like to enlighten us with the result of your homework (as opposed to just throwing out insults)?

I think that John Groce recruits the best talent that he can bring to Akron, and that his primary qualification in doing so is that the player has the right attitude. There's no system model player as you can see between such different players as Clarke and Tribble. The effective commonality between effective Groce players is attitude and "team-ism", not similar system skill sets. He has every ability to adapt the system to his talent and has done so as that talent has changed during his tenure. If you don't have the right attitude and make it here, you don't last long, e.g. Cotton, wynn... As for recruiting bigs, they're just aren't that many to go around. The talented bigs end up at power 5 conference schools, not the mid-majors. I'm confident that Groce would love to have that big man from Mississippi State, but that type of kid is not coming to Akron. He did recruit bigs at Illinois where he had the program and conference to lure those kids. The bulk of talent available to programs like Akron are guards and wings and he is doing a fine job bringing those type of kids in.