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Game 15—Buffalo Bulls


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11 minutes ago, Zipgrad1990 said:

 

That's true, but most of us expected the team to suck this year.  Its only due to weak home schedule (before tonight) that we managed to get our 7 wins.  Still even though this is a down year, hopefully we can start laying the foundation for future successful years.

I agree with you. But what I am seeing now

We don't play defense. At all. MAC opponents do what ever they want offensively.

 

We have no offensive scheme. No plays. Nothing. Just stand around and take a shot once in a while.

 

I blame all this on the coach. We can make a better showing than this.

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I think that is the worst display of basketball I have seen on the offensive end.  Buffalo was shooting only 10% from the three ball on wide open looks so it could have been a lot worse.  I heard the post game where Groce indicated that there was a complete lack of effort.  Not sure about the effort but it looked like we were outmanned, frosh against seniors.  

 

The one thing that stood out on the offensive end is that their center doesn't play defense against our center.  He keeps his eye on the ball and when we drove the lane he double teamed the ball and stopped our penetration.  Their center was big, muscular and quick and we could not finish around the basket.  We got killed in points in the paint.  Our center comes out 30 feet gets the ball and then looks to pass without any intent to penetrate to the basket.  Our center sets picks and then that is about it.  No post up, he just clogs the middle.  Kostallac points were fade aways.  When our center did get some nice passes they hesitate, bounce the ball and by that time they have 3 guys on them.  Groce needs to get our center away from the paint to open up lanes to the basket.  The picks and rolls are not there.  Other teams realize that our centers do nothing and it is killing this team.  

 

Finally, Utomi started like he was going to be a star.  Tonight had to be his worst game.  His defense is suspect and he seems to disappear.  He did not score his first points until the end of the second half.  Patton cannot make a foul shot.  I did not expect this team to be blown out in our own building.  There is no place but up with this team.  

Edited by 1981 grad
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This game reminded me of the early Hipsher era Zips, except Utomi, Ivey and Duvivier have way more talent than Ali Kart, Scott Gooden and George Phillips. No excuse for such a lackluster performance by our Big 3 tonight. 

 

Cotton really showed up...I didn't think he had that type of game in him. Other than him though...bad things, man...bad things.

 

it will be very revealing to see what Zips team shows up to defend the JAR on Saturday. The one that is unmotivated and beaten down by the current losing streak. Or the one that's sick and tired of losing and plays some smart, hard-nosed basketball. 

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For me, it's just sad to see the distance between Akron and the upper tier of the MAC grow so large in just one year.  

 

The even sadder part is that I felt that Buffalo could have probably held us to under 20 points tonight, if they wanted to do so.  When they were really locked in, there were no shots, no passing lanes, and no uncontested dribbles.  To watch us look like that against another MAC team was a nightmare.  

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1 hour ago, dre22era said:

Welcome to Below .500

In John Groce We Trust Huh 

Yeah...I do.  Quit it.  Who thought this was going to something easy with all that happened and what/who is left.  C’mon dre you are smarter than that.  Bashing Groce after less than half a season?

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24 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

it will be very revealing to see what Zips team shows up to defend the JAR on Saturday.

 

I can at least tell you that very few people will be there to witness it, one way or another.    Tonight, noticeably, the fans are showing signs of giving up too.  

 

As far as the players are concerned, Cotton showed me some balls and desire tonight.  If that's someone who still wants to display some guts and go all out, and isn't going to spend the night continually throwing up his arms in frustration, then please give him 30 min. at the point on Saturday.  That guy earned my respect.

 

We have nothing to lose.  Unfortunately, it seems we've already reached the point where we need to find out who wants to try to save a sinking ship.    

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9 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

6 or 7 minutes into the second half a Buffalo guard went down the middle of the lane for an uncontested dunk.  Groce called timeout and as he steamed out onto the floor he spun around, pointed his the glasses in his hand at Sayles and emphatically asked "what the f*** is wrong with you?"   Pretty much the highlight of the night and a summary of what I just saw.

 

 

 

 

 

Coach could have directed that statement to a lot of players last night.

 

I don't know what has happened to this team that has caused such a drop off in fundamental basketball in such a short time.

 

Duvivier looked like he had never shot a basketball, Utomi was frustrated by Bulls D, Parrish had effort, but couldn't buy a basket,

 

et-cet-er-a, et-cet-er-a, et-cet-er-a...(cue Yul Brenner)

 

If we get the snow/ice that the weather forecasters are calling for, there may not be 1800 people on Sat..

 

*end of mini-rant*

 

 

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We've definitely moved into "wait and see"mode.  There's nothing I can say that isn't painfully obvious to everyone else in the world of Zipsnation.  However, I'm not one who is giving up.  In the realm of "painfully obvious"I noticed some of our players making attempts to get inside and make a basket unfortunately it wasn't Sayles or Eman or Kostelac.

 

 

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34 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

In the realm of "painfully obvious"I noticed some of our players making attempts to get inside and make a basket unfortunately it wasn't Sayles or Eman or Kostelac.

 

Oddly enough, it was the smallest guy on the floor.  

 

56 minutes ago, Joe Akron said:

If we get the snow/ice that the weather forecasters are calling for, there may not be 1800 people on Sat..

 

I'll go with 1,000

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Loved the defensive intensity displayed by Buffalo.  I truly appreciated that effort and hustle.  The quick, relentless, swarming defense Buffalo displayed against us on the hardwood reminded me of what Stanford did to us on the pitch.  Totally took us out of our game & we weren't able to adapt/respond.

 

Haven't had a beatdown like that since VCU.

 

I think we're athletic (at least relative to past Akron squads), but Buffalo looked much quicker to a man.

 

Loved the game & attitude Cotton displayed.  He's the only one who didn't look frustrated & rattled.

 

There was one point where we had four freshmen and a sophomore on the floor last night.

 

Earlier in the season I said I just didn't appreciate E-man's game. Then he had, what, 3 good games in a row (and even made basketball moves a couple of times)?  Looks like that was clearly an aberration; he's just not worth much -v- quality competition.  Kostelac looks to have potential, but remember how underwhelming even Zeke Marshall was his first 3 years?  I guess most bigs are like that.  Kostelac's got a ways to go.

 

I wasn't able to make the game last night, but this team definitely needs our support.  I'm going to be there cheering for & encouraging the fellas on Saturday, win or lose. 

Edited by Blue & Gold
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9 hours ago, skip-zip said:

For me, it's just sad to see the distance between Akron and the upper tier of the MAC grow so large in just one year.  

 

It is what it is, Skip. Just have to deal with this season. 3 returning players from last year's team, which are made up of 1 starter and 2 bench players. Some KD defenders like to point out that he only took "2 bench players"...well there is no denying that we sure could use them and that they would probably start on this years team...and our bench player from last year is our best player. Lack of depth and an overabundance of youth.

Edited by LZIp
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Buffalo came in prepared like they were going to face one of Dambrot's best teams, despite what this season's stats say. That says a lot about the respect the program has built up over the years. If we continue in this direction, I don't know how much of that respect will remain by season's end. If every MAC team gets "up" to play us like they have in the past, we could see a lot of ugly blowouts.

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15 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Kostelac looks to have potential, but remember how underwhelming even Zeke Marshall was his first 3 years?  I guess most bigs are like that.  Kostelac's got a ways to go.

 

I was never Zeke's greatest fan, but lets be real here.  Zeke was nearly to 1,000 points by the end of his Jr. year, and had already surpassed 500 rebounds.  Maybe you consider that "underwhelming".  That's your opinion.  But, to even remotely hope that this guy might follow a similar path is crazy.   What we saw from Zeke as a freshman is light years different than what you're seeing with Kostelac.  The fact that he plays only a few minutes per game to give a "Center" of Poke's quality a breather is very telling.  That should tell you everything about what the coaches see right now too.  And remember, he's also had one year of post high school development.  

 

This isn't the first post I've seen that appears to be hoping for Kostelac's development to save Akron basketball.  And again, I will respond by saying that we better hope that other big men are on the horizon for us that have far greater ability.  

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Quote from the Beacon article this morning concerns me-  “I thought our effort and attitude were atrocious,” Zips coach John Groce said. 

 

Quite simply, this team on most nights for the rest of the season will play teams with more talent.  That's the reality of the situation in which the program was placed by Dambrot's departure.  As such, they can't ever afford bad attitudes and efforts in any game as out-hustling and out-efforting the other team is their only chance in many games.

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58 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

Buffalo came in prepared like they were going to face one of Dambrot's best teams, despite what this season's stats say. That says a lot about the respect the program has built up over the years. If we continue in this direction, I don't know how much of that respect will remain by season's end. If every MAC team gets "up" to play us like they have in the past, we could see a lot of ugly blowouts.

We are getting our comeuppance after years of domination during the regular season.  And there were moments last night where it really hurt watching this play out.   I was admittedly in denial about how bad this season could be.  (Definitely a grief stage) Blaming Dambrot or Groce isn't productive any more for my thought process.  They are both excellent coaches.  My hope is that these frosh and sophomores improve.  I get the impression that most of these players are set in skills when they arrive.  They don't develop shooting skills in college.  As for Zeke, even in his first few years he would get to basket.  I remember many games when our first points were Zeke at the foul line.   Cotton got to the foul line last night...a lot.

Edited by NWAkron
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I am curious to see if other people on this board believed there was a lack of effort?  Buffalo pressured us all over the court.  We had a lot of early turnovers, many of the stupid variety.  We could not make a shot.  I then saw a young team get frustrated.  Since we are a young team, we have to play well to compete, especially  our big 3, Jimond, Utomi, and Duvivier.  Utomi was non existant, Jimond was driving into a brick wall and Duvivier could not make a basket.  As I stated before, we got nothing from our center.  Patton and the other first year players went into panic mode with the pressure.  I don't think Groce had this team prepared for the constant pressure on the ball.  I did not like the offensive sets where our center has the ball 30 feet from the basket and just passes the ball backward.  This team did not look prepared to handle the pressure and with the lack of talent played like a high school team.  I thought the second half was better offensively and Cotten looked good.  Do people on this board agree with the coach that the effort and attitude were lacking?

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Look, when a game starts off with a quick lay-up, and on the ensuing inbounds pass, a steal and another layup, you know it could be a bad night. The lack of effort, intimidation, etc., was very obvious from the tip.

 

There is a huge lack of discipline among our leaders - Duvivier, Ivey, and Utomi. Duvivier is out of position, so I can't fault him as much. Ivey is a head case at times and can play out of control. Utomi makes some bone-headed mistakes; I think he has double dribbled twice in the past two games. I have a hard time putting their lack of discipline all on coaching, as Ivey is a junior and Duvivier is a graduate student; not sure if "it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks" applies here or not. The rest of the team obviously seems to feed off of these three players. 

 

Ivey committed the ridiculous turnover to start the game and grew increasingly frustrated. Duvivier was pressing and seemed rattled by Buffalo's suffocating defense. Utomi's presence was non-existent, aside from his double-dribble violation. This set the tone for the game and the underclassmen followed suit. 

 

Groce needs to focus on the underclassmen separate from Ivey/Duvivier. They need to learn how to play without them - run offensive sets without Duvivier/Ivey at PG, set up correctly on defense without Ivey/Duvivier, etc. There will be lumps, but we can still turn it around.

 

I wasn't entirely impressed by Buffalo last night. Definitely the cream of the crop in the MAC, definitely athletic, but to me it says something that they weren't able to put the game away within the first 10 minutes. I still think Akron can put it together and make a run in Cleveland, not necessarily at the title, but I wouldn't mind being a bull in a china shop, surprising teams and eliminating some of our unsuspecting rivals. 

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26 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

they can't ever afford bad attitudes and efforts in any game as out-hustling and out-efforting the other team is their only chance in many games.

 

No doubt.  The problem is that these things can easy happen when you're losing repeatedly.  The "why the hell am I doing all of this if we're getting our a$$es handed to us" starts creeping into your head.  It takes a cohesive effort by the players and coaching staff to keep going.  For the players, you have to be able to see that there is some reward for the effort.  Even if it''s way down the line.  For the coaches, they need to do their part to convince the guys that we'll someday get to those rewards.  

 

We'll see how this unfolds.   

 

20 minutes ago, tboned said:

I think we were a little intimidated by Buffalo in the first half. We played much better in the second half. 

 

In the first half, we tried way too hard to work for "good shots", and there were none to be had. 

 

In the 2nd half, some guys decided they'd had enough, and began to take the punishment in the paint to produce some points for us.  

 

I think that's what was different.  

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1 minute ago, 1981 grad said:

I am curious to see if other people on this board believed there was a lack of effort?  Buffalo pressured us all over the court.  We had a lot of early turnovers, many of the stupid variety.  We could not make a shot.  I then saw a young team get frustrated.  I did not like the offensive sets where our center has the ball 30 feet from the basket and just passes the ball backward.  Do people on this board agree with the coach that the effort and attitude were lacking?

I noticed the same thing...the moving and passing away from the basket.  Just looked really odd and high schoolish.  I would say the lack of effort was in the sloppy turnovers as if the players weren't in the moment.  The attitude probably goes hand in hand with that.  Groce has the luxury of experimenting at this point.

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I think there was a lack of effort and bad attitude in the first half.  The first half effort issue was magnified by the obvious effort given in the second half.  The attitude was shown by body language and expressions in the heat of the first half slaughter.

 

All that being said, I'm tired of hearing about how much better they are in the second half.  It's much easier to be better after the other team knows the game is over. 

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