LZIp Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 minute ago, 1981 grad said: I have been a Zips B Ball fan for a long time and I have never seen a post by a Zips fan where we blame the refs for our loss. Never! Uhhh,...I beg to differ. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 24 minutes ago, 1981 grad said: Illini Zip: I like reading your posts but you have only been posting for over a year. I have been a Zips B Ball fan for a long time and I have never seen a post by a Zips fan where we blame the refs for our loss. Never! Especially when we lose by 17 points. However, looking at the minutes played by our starters on Tuesday, Ivey 41, Utomi, 40 Jackson, 40, Cheese, 31. They then had to fly to a road game on Friday. They then played a trap zone using a lot of energy. It is possible that they got tired and that is the reason they fell apart in the second half. Our former coach, KD, rarely played anyone more than 30 minutes and his goal was always to play 9 players. People on this board would get upset because a guy would get hot and then he would pull him from the floor. By the way, the 2 guys that did not play heavy minutes on Tuesday, Roscoe and Banks, shot the ball well and were 4 for 10 from 3 point land. Conincidence? I apologize for the sarcasm but my point is that the refs had nothing to do with our loss. I believe that Groce played our guys heavy minutes on Tuesday and it came back to haunt us on Saturday. He needs to get more players in his rotation because the MAC schedule is a grind. Also, he needs to play Jackson less minutes because he certainly is not playing as well as he was in the beginning of the season. Groce essentially said on the radio last week that he'd like 9 guys in the rotation but that the minutes for the last two spots need to earned. I suspect the two that need to earn their way in are E-man and Roscoe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I don't think NIU has ever made it past the quarterfinals of the MAC tourney. And usually they flame out in the first round. Same will happen this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipfan84 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 3 hours ago, Illini Zip said: The fact that we get so little offense from our bigs kept us from overcoming the more physical play in the second half. It's ironic that we have spent so much time discussing Gueye because a guy like that could made all the difference. There are better days in store for the Zips offense. I promise. A better three point percentage I can not promise. Agreed. However, I think 'tragic' would be a better word. I wish Groce would abandon the 'quick fix' approach with all these transfers. Too much roster turn-over from last season and it's likely to happen again. No stability. I understand that he has aspirations beyond Akron, and I don't hold this against him, but I think the best route at this point is to start recruiting 4 year players, OF CHARACTER, that can rebuild this program. Not major program rejects and/or JC problem children. If he is indeed the talented coach that we think he is, good things will come. For him and our team. my 2 cents.......... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I feel we'll settle upon an 8 man rotation with Poke and Walter only getting a minute or 2 here or there. I don't see where Poke will be able to pick up meaningful minutes. There is no way I want any combination of Riak, Sayles, and Poke on the floor at the same time. That means there is only 40 minutes to go around for all 3. Riak and Sayles are both capable of giving you 20 minutes so it leaves Poke as the odd man out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 23 minutes ago, zipfan84 said: Agreed. However, I think 'tragic' would be a better word. I wish Groce would abandon the 'quick fix' approach with all these transfers. Too much roster turn-over from last season and it's likely to happen again. No stability. I understand that he has aspirations beyond Akron, and I don't hold this against him, but I think the best route at this point is to start recruiting 4 year players, OF CHARACTER, that can rebuild this program. Not major program rejects and/or JC problem children. If he is indeed the talented coach that we think he is, good things will come. For him and our team. my 2 cents.......... I think some of that was precipitated by KD's departure and the transfer out of so many players and the demands of college basketball to get things up to speed quickly. He had a lot of spots to fill in short order and the quickest way to do that is JUCOs and transfers. I suspect, and hope, that will settle out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipfan84 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 3 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: I think some of that was precipitated by KD's departure and the transfer out of so many players and the demands of college basketball to get things up to speed quickly. He had a lot of spots to fill in short order and the quickest way to do that is JUCOs and transfers. I suspect, and hope, that will settle out. I understand. It's a balancing act. I just think there is currently too much focus on the quick fix. Any HS players he might have recruited in his 1st year would become juniors next season. I acknowledge the need to fill gaping holes with transfers but too much reliance on that makes it hard to get off that treadmill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 5 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: I think some of that was precipitated by KD's departure and the transfer out of so many players and the demands of college basketball to get things up to speed quickly. He had a lot of spots to fill in short order and the quickest way to do that is JUCOs and transfers. I suspect, and hope, that will settle out. Exactly. Hurley left a pot of gold for Oats. KD didn't do the same. Huger at BG is working through the growing pains and appears to be turning a corner this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, zipfan84 said: I understand. It's a balancing act. I just think there is currently too much focus on the quick fix. Any HS players he might have recruited in his 1st year would become juniors next season. I acknowledge the need to fill gaping holes with transfers but too much reliance on that makes it hard to get off that treadmill. Hmm. He took over mid April. What top HS players was he going to find for last season? Edited January 15, 2019 by NWAkron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 high school players are already signed for next season. Along with one transfer currently sitting out and 1 JUCO guy also signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 minute ago, LZIp said: 2 high school players are already signed for next season. Along with one transfer currently sitting out and 1 JUCO guy also signed. And one guy awaiting the resolution nof his assault case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I'm hearing that Groce is about to float an offer to a trio of JUCO transfers. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 36 minutes ago, NWAkron said: Hurley left a pot of gold for Oats. KD didn't do the same. There's a quality understatement! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 35 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: There's a quality understatement! It's going to get awfully cold in Buffalo next year without Massinburg, Harris, and Perkins. And Mrs. Oats may be looking for a warmer climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, 1981 grad said: Illini Zip: I like reading your posts but you have only been posting for over a year. I have been a Zips B Ball fan for a long time and I have never seen a post by a Zips fan where we blame the refs for our loss. Never! Especially when we lose by 17 points. However, looking at the minutes played by our starters on Tuesday, Ivey 41, Utomi, 40 Jackson, 40, Cheese, 31. They then had to fly to a road game on Friday. They then played a trap zone using a lot of energy. It is possible that they got tired and that is the reason they fell apart in the second half. Our former coach, KD, rarely played anyone more than 30 minutes and his goal was always to play 9 players. People on this board would get upset because a guy would get hot and then he would pull him from the floor. By the way, the 2 guys that did not play heavy minutes on Tuesday, Roscoe and Banks, shot the ball well and were 4 for 10 from 3 point land. Conincidence? I apologize for the sarcasm but my point is that the refs had nothing to do with our loss. I believe that Groce played our guys heavy minutes on Tuesday and it came back to haunt us on Saturday. He needs to get more players in his rotation because the MAC schedule is a grind. Also, he needs to play Jackson less minutes because he certainly is not playing as well as he was in the beginning of the season. Hey 1981 Grad, good to hear from you. There is plenty for us to agree upon even if we end up with two different opinions. I totally agree with limiting minutes. Somewhere in the high twenties to low thirties seems to be the sweet spot for starters. The star player often plays in the mid to high thirties. But you can totally wear down your team going through the grind of conference play if you are not careful. Often coaches will go with light walk-through practices towards the end of the year. I personally would prefer Groce have a large active roster, especially if we get to the point where the Zips open up a running style. The common debate is when you get past a 9 player rotation will you start to lose team chemistry. Anyway, I think it's easy for us to forget about the insane recovery time of these kids. In 2017 the Michigan wolverines had their plane slide off the run way. The next day they got up at 6:00 in the morning, flew from Detroit to Washington D.C. for a noon tip off and in their practice uniforms beat Illinois. They went on to win the Big Ten Tourney (4 games in 4 days). So my opinion is that the Zips had plenty in the tank and in their legs on Saturday. Now as to the refs. I really hate talking about the refs. I am not one to play that card often. But on the same note, there are good refs and bad refs and they do effect games. And in my opinion the other night the Zips had to battle a team that was hitting on all cylinders in the second half while trying to figure out what the hell was a foul and what was incidental contact, etc. In the end, it's the Zips job to figure it out and overcome the refs calls no matter what. They ended up losing their composure and the game in glorious fashion. Hopefully, they will soon have the mental toughness and the horses necessary to overcome such a challenge. But I don't have a problem at all throwing lousy refs under the bus as part of my analysis. Edited January 15, 2019 by Illini Zip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 hours ago, zipfan84 said: Agreed. However, I think 'tragic' would be a better word. I quite agree. I will make that change right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 18 hours ago, Blue & Gold said: We desperately need another PG & we don't have one coming in for next year either. This is so very true. It doesn't make sense to not have a second point guard so it has me wondering. I watched Mikal Dawson highlights again and there is nothing there that screams point guard to me in terms of running an offense or ball handling. I see a shooting guard. But this 2019 class would be the right time to bring in a back up/alternate point guard. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 We must have already had our 3 verbal commits last year before it became obvious Cotton wasn’t going to mesh with the culture Groce was looking to implement? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, Blue & Gold said: We must have already had our 3 verbal commits last year before it became obvious Cotton wasn’t going to mesh with the culture Groce was looking to implement? That's right. The departure of Cotton feels like ancient history to me already, but really not so long ago in terms of the recruiting calendar. Edited January 16, 2019 by Illini Zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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