Game 13—@Western Michigan

[Akronfan111]

9 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

I'm guessing you're seeing what you want to see in terms of looking like an athlete, but he's just not good enough to play.  Who knows if he ever will be.  We're way too far into the season to be experimenting.  The coach already knows what each guy can do at this point, and he's going with his best options.  Even if guys don't fit the prototypical profile for each position.  

 

At this point, I'd encourage you to pray that we get much more capable big men in here over the next couple of years, rather than hoping that he somehow becomes the "future of this team"

We havent seen what he can do cuz he ain't getting no minutes.  I see a huge upside with this guy.  Athletic 6'11" don't come around every day and we need to use it instead of waiting to get nothing from our other big men and down by 20+.  All the bags get yanked after a foul - tight leashes

[skip-zip]

2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Yes, and he eats them with condensed Campbell's tomato soup.

 

 

In honor of ZipsVoice......I would like to nominate Tuna Fish Sandwich and Condensed Tomato Soup as the Official Lunch of Zipsnation Members.  

 

Maybe we can now pick up Campbells as a corporate sponsor?

[kreed5120]

53 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

 

In honor of ZipsVoice......I would like to nominate Tuna Fish Sandwich and Condensed Tomato Soup as the Official Lunch of Zipsnation Members.  

 

Maybe we can now pick up Campbells as a corporate sponsor?

Campbells Arena Starkist Court?

[Hilltopper]

7 hours ago, skip-zip said:

You know, this isn't going to make this season any better by continuing to belabor the Dambrot issue.

 

But note the following:

 

1) Keith didn't leave because he saw some kind of Apocalypse coming for Akron's program.  

2) Noah and Antino would have still been here.  

3) Considering our current situation, YES, I absolutely wish we still had Hughes.  

1. No argument.

2. Antino was already on his way out the door when KD left. Noah would still be here. Don't forget that Williams was leaving too. His departure had nothing to do with KD leaving.

3. Hughes had to have some major surgery on both of his legs and wouldn't have played this year anyways. 

[skip-zip]

55 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

Antino was already on his way out the door when KD left.

 

I know the situation, and I believe he would have stayed. 

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

Campbells Arena Starkist Court?

 

Heck, I was just thinking that maybe Campbells would sponsor Zips Nation. 

 

But, kudos for thinking Much Bigger !!!

[Illini Zip]

21 hours ago, Akronfan111 said:

One dimensional small ball wont cut it in the MAC.  Our biggest player kostelac is riding the pine while we get our a$$ kicked in the paint game after game after game.  His presence makes a difference and the kid can step out and hit the 3. Malcom is one and done and then what.  Need to work the inside game.  Trash. Waiting for them to figure this out and it's already conference play.  Deng is not a 5 either

 

Kostelac, is that you?

 

[Zip JD]

22 hours ago, Akronfan111 said:

One dimensional small ball wont cut it in the MAC.  Our biggest player kostelac is riding the pine while we get our a$$ kicked in the paint game after game after game.  His presence makes a difference and the kid can step out and hit the 3. Malcom is one and done and then what.  Need to work the inside game.  Trash. Waiting for them to figure this out and it's already conference play.  Deng is not a 5 either

 

Unfortunately, Kostelac isn't ready.  Even against a bad DII school like Concord he couldn't maintain his area of the zone.  Groce gave him a another chance in the 2nd half and Kost gave up three back cuts in under a minute.  He's been even worse in man to man as he can't stay with his guy and has no clue how to rotate.  I wish he would play more as well because we need his size and as the season progresses I think he will. 

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, Illini Zip said:

 

Kostelac, is that you?

 

 

 

You missed this one too.  

 

4 hours ago, Akronfan111 said:

We havent seen what he can do cuz he ain't getting no minutes.  I see a huge upside with this guy.  Athletic 6'11" don't come around every day and we need to use it instead of waiting to get nothing from our other big men and down by 20+.  All the bags get yanked after a foul - tight leashes

 

[1981 grad]

24 minutes ago, Zip JD said:

 

Unfortunately, Kostelac isn't ready.  Even against a bad DII school like Concord he couldn't maintain his area of the zone.  Groce gave him a another chance in the 2nd half and Kost gave up three back cuts in under a minute.  He's been even worse in man to man as he can't stay with his guy and has no clue how to rotate.  I wish he would play more as well because we need his size and as the season progresses I think he will. 

 

I would love to see Kostelac get minutes but when he gets the minutes he looks a step slow both on offense and defense.  Again, he is a frosh and most frosh big men need time to adjust to the quickness of  college game.  He is the one guy that Groce has on a tight leash.  I feel bad for the guy because he wants to contribute but right now he hurts us when he is out on the floor.  Sayles and Poke are not lighting the gym on fire but Kostelac is still the worst of the 3.

[akronzips71]

29 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

 

I would love to see Kostelac get minutes but when he gets the minutes he looks a step slow both on offense and defense.  Again, he is a frosh and most frosh big men need time to adjust to the quickness of  college game.  He is the one guy that Groce has on a tight leash.  I feel bad for the guy because he wants to contribute but right now he hurts us when he is out on the floor.  Sayles and Poke are not lighting the gym on fire but Kostelac is still the worst of the 3.

He loves to score. He is big. He can run. He needs to post up and force the defense into coverage so we can get open looks outside. I say play him. At this point there is nothing to lose. We suck. There, I said it.

[UAZippers]

55 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

He loves to score. He is big. He can run. He needs to post up and force the defense into coverage so we can get open looks outside. I say play him. At this point there is nothing to lose. We suck. There, I said it.

Even if we do suck as you say, why should Kostelac be the one to get the minutes? It's not like he is behind a bunch of seniors who are leaving after this season. He lost all of his minutes to a sophomore and one of his fellow freshmen. Next year, I expect him to be even further back on the depth chart with the addition of Riak. If the goal is to give time to future contributors, then I believe that the minutes are being divided perfectly.

Edited January 4, 2018 by UAZippers

[ZipsVoice]

6 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

 

In honor of ZipsVoice......I would like to nominate Tuna Fish Sandwich and Condensed Tomato Soup as the Official Lunch of Zipsnation Members.  

 

Maybe we can now pick up Campbells as a corporate sponsor?

Thank you, my son, it IS a great and humbling honor....and I second the nomination!

[akronzips71]

52 minutes ago, UAZippers said:

Even if we do suck as you say, why should Kostelac be the one to get the minutes? It's not like he is behind a bunch of seniors who are leaving after this season. He lost all of his minutes to a sophomore and one of his fellow freshmen. Next year, I expect him to be even further back on the depth chart with the addition of Riak. If the goal is to give time to future contributors, then I believe that the minutes are being divided perfectly.

 

Getting the minutes has nothing to do with it. He is our best hope to salvage the season. BECAUSE 6'11". The only possible center we have.

[UAZippers]

9 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

 

Getting the minutes has nothing to do with it. He is our best hope to salvage the season. BECAUSE 6'11". The only possible center we have.

Height means nothing when the guy looks completely lost every time he steps on the court. I don't know why you feel that just having a tall person would drastically change the team's outlook. I had as high of hopes for him before the season as anyone else on this board, but he has done NOTHING to show that he deserves to play any meaningful time whatsoever. He is slow, awkward, and cannot seem to find the flow of the offense, let alone guard his man on defense. Its ok, there are very few freshman centers that are able to compete at the D1 level and most of those are playing for top 25 teams. 

[akronzips71]

26 minutes ago, UAZippers said:

Height means nothing when the guy looks completely lost every time he steps on the court. I don't know why you feel that just having a tall person would drastically change the team's outlook. I had as high of hopes for him before the season as anyone else on this board, but he has done NOTHING to show that he deserves to play any meaningful time whatsoever. He is slow, awkward, and cannot seem to find the flow of the offense, let alone guard his man on defense. Its ok, there are very few freshman centers that are able to compete at the D1 level and most of those are playing for top 25 teams. 

 

I agree with everything you said. BUT we have to take a shot at teaching him to be a D1 center. You can teach basketball, you can't teach height. And who else do we have that can play center?

[Illini Zip]

On 1/3/2018 at 11:09 PM, akronzips71 said:

 

I agree with everything you said. BUT we have to take a shot at teaching him to be a D1 center. You can teach basketball, you can't teach height. And who else do we have that can play center?

 

 

For everyone not named Allen Iverson, teaching takes place at practice. Yes, we are talking about practice.

 

 

In addition to their physical training, position drills and putting up thousands of shots these guys are competing in practice at full game speed. Diving on loose balls. Taking elbows to the face. It's live action. Practice is where they prove themselves. Groce's teams are merit based and practice is where most of the roster decisions are made. We have already seen the starting line up change and player minutes change. We have seen walk-on, Sina Gbadebo get some playing time. And when we do see more of Mark Kostelac, we will know that he has earned it.

 

Also consider that every player's game performance is graded out. Modern coaches just love statistics. There is plenty that they can see with their own eyes, but they will also look at the box score and certain plus/minus metrics to determine if a player effected the game in a positive or negative manner. For example, against Western Michigan Kostelac played 4 1/2 minutes, 0/2 shooting, 0 turnovers, 1 personal foul, 0 blocked shots, 0 FTA, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals. In that 4 1/2 minutes he was scored on twice personally and Akron as a team was out-scored by 5 points. I'm sure there is a whole bunch more criteria that I am missing, but that's the general idea. The end result is a numerical value +/- for time played.

 

For the record, I recently posted that our lack of size at times has hurt us with rebounding, rim protection and the ability to break down opposing zone defenses. I do see the potential in Kostelac and hope he continues to grow throughout the season. Maybe by the time we reach the MAC tournament he will be an effective contributor, but maybe not. Everything others have said about freshmen big men is true. They are slow to anticipate and slow to react.

 

Here is a potential small ball line-up for next year where the tallest guy at tip off for Akron is Utomi at 6'-6'. Some are rightly concerned about having enough options to match up with bigger teams, but speed kills. If Akron is able to dictate an up-tempo game onto the opponent this is some fun basketball right here.

 

Loren Jackson / Vershon Cotton

Eric Hester / Torrey Patton / Vershon Cotton

Eric Parrish / Jimond Ivey / Torrey Patton / LePear Toles

Jimond Ivey / Daniel Utomi / Emmanuel Olojakpoke

Daniel Utomi / Emmanuel Olojakpoke / Jaden Sayles

 

 

Go Zips!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by Illini Zip

[zipnetter55]

21 hours ago, zippyfan34 said:

Zipnetter, I thought I had posted a few days ago on one of your comments about not getting 4-5 conference wins this year and that was IF we shot the 3 ball well.  I am more with 1981, and see some promise in this team.  Could we get to 20 wins maybe, maybe not but I do think we will have more than 5 conference wins.

 

I challenge you to the "WMU football bet" that others on here made.  If the Zips have 5 or less conference wins I contribute to the Zfund, if they have 6 or more you contribute.  Let me know if you accept this challenge and for how much?  

Zippyfan34, I won't bet or root against my Zips. I am not anti-Zip or anti-Groce, simply realistic. This team lacks the players to win more than 4-6 MAC games for all the reasons previously stated. As for those who were bored with 21 win seasons and MAC finals, no I would never trade that for 1 win in the Big Dance. Do any of you really believe that a school like Akron has a realistic shot to advance I i n the NCAA tourney? If you want to know why not, just follow the money, compare our MBB budget with Xavier, Butler, Creigjton, Gonzaga or any other top mid-major. 

.

[Captain Kangaroo]

23 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

I am not as pessimistic as others on this board and still think this team can win 20.

I predicted 20 also, including 2 wins in the MAC tourney. While it is looking dicey right now, I am also remaining positive about this season.

 

We lost to USC, Princeton and Davidson in Hawaii, and followed it with a loss to preseason MAC West favorite WMU in Kalamazoo. Those are 4 tough teams. 

 

Hopefully the difficult road tests have set the table for a solid performance at Toledo. The follow up, Buffalo, is a daunting task, but we have them at home where we've been very good.

 

Just as UA high school commits are blessed to receive a scholarship offer, Zips fans are blessed that Malcolm Duvivier decided to come to UA for his final year of eligibility. The kid brings it every night on both ends of the floor. Whatever win total the Zips garner in 2017-18, you can divide it by 2 if Duvivier weren't playing. I hope his toughness and will to win rubs off on the young guys.

[ZipsVoice]

20 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Zips fans are blessed that Malcolm Duvivier decided to come to UA for his final year of eligibility. The kid brings it every night on both ends of the floor.

Amen....

[Let'sGoZips94]

25 minutes ago, zipnetter55 said:

Zippyfan34, I won't bet or root against my Zips. I am not anti-Zip or anti-Groce, simply realistic. This team lacks the players to win more than 4-6 MAC games for all the reasons previously stated. As for those who were bored with 21 win seasons and MAC finals, no I would never trade that for 1 win in the Big Dance. Do any of you really believe that a school like Akron has a realistic shot to advance I i n the NCAA tourney? If you want to know why not, just follow the money, compare our MBB budget with Xavier, Butler, Creigjton, Gonzaga or any other top mid-major. 

.

 

Sounds to me like you don't have to bet or root against "your" Zips, considering you've already written them off.

 

A fellow MAC school recently advanced to the Sweet 16, two years after advancing to the second round, with our current head coach. Look at the financial numbers; there isn't much of a difference, except they teach budgeting down in Athens. Gonzaga, Butler, Xavier, Creighton are all private schools I believe, without football; I wouldn't use them as comps. Other schools to win an NCAA tournament game since 2013 (our last appearance): Stephen F. Austin (twice), Arkansas Little Rock, Georgia State, Northern Iowa, UAB, Harvard (twice), Mercer, La Salle (Sweet 16), Florida Gulf Coast (Sweet 16). How many of those teams would you expect Akron to beat in a normal, non-rebuilding year? I'm sure their financials are equal to, if not worse than Akron's basketball financials. 

 

The Xaviers, Butlers, Creightons, and Gonzagas of the world all came from the same place: nowhere. They came out of nowhere, built solid programs, enjoyed success on the national stage on numerous occasions, and now their private school budgets are bigger. Big whoop. Akron can be them, we just need the right leader to get us there and build the proper program culture.

[Dr Z]

1 hour ago, zipnetter55 said:

Do any of you really believe that a school like Akron has a realistic shot to advance in the NCAA tourney?

Absolutely! 

[ZipsVoice]

36 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

Do any of you really believe that a school like Akron has a realistic shot to advance in the NCAA tourney?

Hell yes we do!

[clarkwgriswold]

Do I think a UA NCAA tourney run is probable?  No.  However, I've seen enough of teams like CSU, Richmond, George Mason, VCU, Davidson and so on to think there's not a shot under the right circumstances.  Also, what were once great Cinderellas like Butler, Gonzaga and Wichita State have transitioned into becoming powerhouses, so I am not willing to concede UA can't some day have a run.

[Captain Kangaroo]

7 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Do I think a UA NCAA tourney run is probable?  No.  However, I've seen enough of teams like CSU, Richmond, George Mason, VCU, Davidson and so on to think there's not a shot under the right circumstances.  

MTSU is a great example of a MAC-equivalent program that can field a good mid-major D1 football team while also winning games in the NCAA basketball tourney.