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2019-2020 Zips. Impressions


akronzips71

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My impressions, please add comments:

 

1. Very very athletic team. More so than any KD team I can recall.

2. Reece is a beast.

3. Williams is the real deal. Probably not a prolific scorer, but an all around star player. Great defense, assists, basketball sense. And amazing defense. He needs to be the team leader and make the team his. Lead by doing.

4. Reece is a beast.

5. Tribble will be a star. He has some moves. And a ton of confidence. Could be our best PG since - Dru Joyce? Help me out here. Good size, great moves, plays very smart for a freshman.

6. Reece is a beast.

7. Cheese is the real deal. Plays his A$$ off and is all over the Court. Wish we had him for a few more years.

8. Reece is a beast.

9. Most improved player - Riak! Very pleased with the way he is playing. I did not think he would ever be a factor, I was wrong.

10. Reece is a beast.

11. Banks had a great night. I hope this is the new normal.

12. Reece is a beast.

13. LCJ has great hands. He is a disruptor on defense. I wish he would not chuck up threes quite so much, it is still a team sport. Very happy to see we have his eventual replacement in Tribble.

14. Ali took a shot! Awesome. He has the size, hope to see him playing more aggressive.

 

I think we can be very very good in the Mac this year. We seem to have all the pieces. This is not only the most athletic team I have seen, it is also pretty tall (although we don't have a 7 footer and we have to see how THAT plays when we come up against one).

 

Did I mention: REECE IS A BEAST. I don't expect a ton of scoring unless we post him up a lot, but FINALLY we have a rebounder and a big body defender! He sort of reminds me more of Nik than of Tree, but way more athletic. I wonder how the major majors let him get away. He could for sure play anyplace.

 

Fire away.

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Good topic...

1. Definitely more athletic than KD teams.  Fun!

2. Yes, Reece is a beast.  6-7, muscular, explosive, long arms & an attitude.

3. I think Williams has MAC POY potential.  If he gets his 3-point % up a little, look out!  He's a physically gifted, mature and intelligent ball player.

4. Yes, I think Tribble will be a star.  When's the last time we've had such a muscular, athletic, 6'1" PG?  You said you think he'll be our best PG since Dru.  I'll say I  think he'll be our best PG since... Darryl Roberts.

5. Most improved player.  You said Dang Riak.  I wish I felt that way.  When I watch him play I still think he looks soft as tissue paper.  But I do like him under the basket on D directing traffic & serving as Rim Protector.

6.  LCJ is streaky.  But I love his competitive fire.  Napoleon Complex. Lol.

7.  I love the way Ali moves and handles the ball for someone 6'8".  He could have played PG in high school.  I also wish he had more of a scorer's mentality.  He's an intelligent player, but that can be a two-edged sword, as he's over-thinking things on offense right now.  It'll slow down for him & he'll become more confident in his shot.  Don't know if he'll ever be a real scoring threat though.  But with Ali it's 100% mental.  So we'll see.

8. What would we do without Tyler Cheese?

Edited by Blue & Gold
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I'm tempering my excitement for now.  We were all frustrated with them less than a week ago after their lackadaisical efforts against Malone and NCC.

 

X is the best player on the team and we have yet to see him at his full potential as he's just 5 games in after sitting a season and a half.  He should be an All- MAC first teamer at the end of the year.  I'd like to see him use his length in the post more and  also see him drive to the basket more often.  He's not only a nice player but seems to have a great attitude on the floor.

 

Reece is what I hoped he would be, a blue collar defense and rebound guy.  They don't have to create offense for him and he seems content to get his points through hard work.  Every team needs that guy.  It's something Groce's UA teams have lacked.

 

Cheese is the second best player on this team and the best at creating his own offense.  10 seconds left and down one, he's the guy I want with the ball.  His shot has also vastly improved since he showed up in Akron.  He also seems like the rare Zip with a little attitude (in a good way).

 

LCJ continues to be streaky and I suspect he always will be.  I wish he'd try playing at 90% speed and more under control at times rather than pushing the ball into a turnover, blocked shot or a quick three.  He's a guy that I would love to see bring energy off of the bench if the Zips were deeper.  I'm surprised his lack of size hasn't been more exploited by opponents, but that is also a testament to how hard he works.  To his credit, I've seen him on multiple occasions work very hard in the post on a bad switch, to the point that I said to my wife that I wished our big men worked that hard.

 

Banks appears to finally be getting his shot back after losing it last year.  He also is our best perimeter defender.  He's very good at getting in passing lanes for steals, without getting out of position.  I think he's a guy that could really help the team down the stretch if his shot is on.

 

I don't share akronzips71 enthusiasm about Riak.  Don't get me wrong, I think he is an asset to the team and he works hard.  I just think he's the very same player he was at the start of last season.  I sure wish he had better hands and I cringe every time he takes a 3 pointer.  The guy gets his hands on more balls that he doesn't eventually control that anyone I have ever seen.  

 

Ali is like a young gangly deer bouncing around the woods uncertain of the world around him.  It's really going to be fun watching him grow as a player.  He could be a good one in time.  I am most impressed by the fact that he knows and has accepted his role.

 

Tribble has a chance to be special.  He's very athletic and is fearless.  His game will really grow if he can develop a consistent outside game. 

 

Sayles appears lost.  It is tough to tell whether he doesn't have a good natural sense of game flow and positioning or whether he's just overthinking it.  I really had high hopes for him when he arrived but he seems to have gone backwards.  Hopefully, its rust from all of the injuries as I think he has the frame and footwork that could make him a valuable extra big for he Zips.  

 

 I like to sit up above the bench and watch what's going on.  One kid that has impressed me without playing a minute is Maishe Dailey.  He is actively engaged with his teammates and is involved without being on the floor.  I saw some of that from X last year.  I think he'll be a huge help next year.  Also, Scotty Walter is involved despite not dressing on game night.  

 

This team also seems to really like each other which goes a long way.  I don't see any Cotton or Harney like bad attitudes on this squad.

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This team is just plain fun to watch.

 

I think Tribble gives Groce flexibility at the PG position, especially against bigger opposing PG's.  Also, it is fantastic having a another PG come in when LCJ gets too hyped up and out of control.  Say what you want about Riak, but when you don't have to worry about him scoring, he is a solid back up center who appears to have fully accepted his new role.

 

I have also been very impressed with Banks on the defensive end of the floor.  He locks his guy up.  

 

It will be very refreshing to get back to watching Zips players like Ali and Tribble develop over 3, 4 or 5 years instead of the revolving door we had when KD left.  

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41 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

7.  I love the way Ali moves and handles the ball for someone 6'8".  He could have played PG in high school.  

 

I believe he did play PG for most of his basketball career because he was a late bloomer height wise. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Admittedly I haven't been able to watch this team aside from the NCCCCCCCCCCC game, so I've missed them at their better/best. I can't add too much to what has already been said. However, as I've posted before, this team resembles the successful squads Groce had at OU - athletic, deep(er), and versatile. For the first time since Groce has taken over, we have 2 legitimate post players (Riak more-so defensively, Reece all-around), 2 legitimate PGs (LCJ & Tribble), an athletic stretch 4 (X), and multiple interchangeable parts (Cheese, Banks, Ali). 

 

This should be a very fun season, and much needed after football and soccer. 

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We certainly have some nice pieces this season. I feel Xeyrius is a huge wild card for us. If he continues to shoot 24% from 3 and 31% from the field, we're probably the 4th-5th best team in the MAC. If he could get those efficiency numbers back to his year 2 Dayton numbers, we're right there competing at the top of the MAC.

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I respect your opinions but after watching every game except the Malone game I would beg to differ on some of the optimism above. 

 

This team is fun to watch? First, anyone who says this team is fun to watch did not see the North Carolina Central game.  That had to be the worst display of basketball I have seen since being a Zip fan.  I got a free ticket to the game for a friend and he refuses to go back.  No set offense, just run and gun and turn the ball over.

 

Williams player of the year? 

Williams has played good defense and rebounded well but his shot selection has been poor, he cannot make a 3 ball, and he has not been able to finish at the hoop.  I heard a pregame show where Frenchy claimed he was rusty.  He practiced with the team all last year!  The difference between KD and Groce, KD would have pulled him when he takes a bad shot.  Every bad shot he takes means someone else on the team does not take a good shot.  My initial impression is that the guy likes to shoot the ball.  When you make them you are great.  When you continually miss you are just a "gunner"   I am hoping that Groce will start pulling him when he takes a 3 pointer without running any offense.  He needs to get his shooting percentage up and taking bad shots is not going to help.

 

Riak, most improved player of the year? 

His game is the same as last year.  No offense but a good rebounder,  good defender and good shot blocker.  I was hoping he would work on this offense on the off season but he seem to have little interest in getting the ball down low and does not seem to be part of the offense.  I simply have not seen any improvement in his game.

 

 

I love the athletic talent on this team.  Like the team defense.  Like the enthusiasm when they are playing.  I enjoyed the first half of the game yesterday.  I think Tribble, Reese, Cheese and Banks  are solid players.  Ali looks great for a frosh.   Did not expect Tribble to be as good as he is for a frosh.  LCJ has not proven that he can lead a team.  Needs to stop turning the ball over and driving to the basket and getting stuck in the trees.  If he can shoot 40% from the 3 line he will really help this team.  Remember, this team has had 3 home games against weak competition.  Groce's teams have won at home but have sucked on the road.  We had lots of guys that have not gone through the grind of a MAC season.  Will they develop a discipline to run offense and take good shots?  

 

My impression of this team is that this team has the potential to be really good but need to develop an offensive discipline and shoot well for this team to improve on last year's record.

 

 

Edited by 1981 grad
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  • 1 month later...
On 11/21/2019 at 11:26 PM, akronzips71 said:

My impressions, please add comments:

 

1. Very very athletic team. More so than any KD team I can recall.

2. Reece is a beast.

3. Williams is the real deal. Probably not a prolific scorer, but an all around star player. Great defense, assists, basketball sense. And amazing defense. He needs to be the team leader and make the team his. Lead by doing.

4. Reece is a beast.

5. Tribble will be a star. He has some moves. And a ton of confidence. Could be our best PG since - Dru Joyce? Help me out here. Good size, great moves, plays very smart for a freshman.

6. Reece is a beast.

7. Cheese is the real deal. Plays his A$$ off and is all over the Court. Wish we had him for a few more years.

8. Reece is a beast.

9. Most improved player - Riak! Very pleased with the way he is playing. I did not think he would ever be a factor, I was wrong.

10. Reece is a beast.

11. Banks had a great night. I hope this is the new normal.

12. Reece is a beast.

13. LCJ has great hands. He is a disruptor on defense. I wish he would not chuck up threes quite so much, it is still a team sport. Very happy to see we have his eventual replacement in Tribble.

14. Ali took a shot! Awesome. He has the size, hope to see him playing more aggressive.

 

I think we can be very very good in the Mac this year. We seem to have all the pieces. This is not only the most athletic team I have seen, it is also pretty tall (although we don't have a 7 footer and we have to see how THAT plays when we come up against one).

 

Did I mention: REECE IS A BEAST. I don't expect a ton of scoring unless we post him up a lot, but FINALLY we have a rebounder and a big body defender! He sort of reminds me more of Nik than of Tree, but way more athletic. I wonder how the major majors let him get away. He could for sure play anyplace.

 

Fire away.

Time for some updates? I think AZ71 got several things right and few wrong but for the beginning of the season, not bad. 

1. Athletic team - no doubt 

2. Reece - nice player, might have been a tad early to declare beast mode. ?

3. Williams has been very consistent and a critical part of the team. Does everything pretty well. 

4. Tribble has been good but a think it'll take a few more years to declare him Akron's best point guard ever. ?

5. Cheese (and Channel Banks) have both been critical players. 

6. Riak not most improved (going to give that to LCJ)  but has played his role well. 

7. LCJ has been the best surprise. Playing under control, leading the team good shot selection. Never would have guessed he would lead the team in scoring. 

8. Been an excellent year so far.  

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Akron has 3 players who are all in the running for 1st team All-MAC (X, Cheese, & LCJ). That doesn't even count Banks who is leading the MAC in 3P% and is one of, if not the best, perimeter defender in the MAC. I doubt we get 3 1st teamers, but I'd expect all 3 to make 1st or 2nd team. 

 

Edit: Had Xeyrius not gotten into foul trouble and had to sit a large chunk of the 1st half and the majority of the 2nd, we'd probably have beaten WMU by 25+.

Edited by kreed5120
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1. Athletic team - not Phi Slamma Jamma by any stretch, but certainly not a low post, Big Dog-centric offense. They get up and down the floor fast, and play dogged perimeter defense. They do have a fun style of play. I don't miss Utomi lumbering into the lane and dribbling the ball off his foot one bit.

 

2. Reece - I like his athleticism and intensity. It's been a long time since we've had a post player that's looking to dunk the ball rather than lay it up softly off the glass.

 

3. Williams - I think he has another gear that we've yet to see. He's been solid. But it seems like he disappears for stretches. I think he has the potential to dominate in most MAC games if he wants. By the same token, maybe he's just a team-guy who's happy to defer to his teammates when they're rolling? I have't seen enough of him yet to be sure.

 

4. Tribble - Slow, steady improvement. He finished a lay up the other night that I'm sure he would have missed earlier in the year. As physically thick as he already is, it's intriguing to see what kind of shape he comes into the 2020-21 season in. I'm expecting he'll be a mini-beast.

 

5. Cheese (and Channel Banks) - Love them both. Wish they started their careers at Akron. Great finds by Groce. They came into the season in great shape...their off season work paid off

 

6. Riak - Likable guy. Like Tacko Fall. Tries really hard. As MD said, he's a good role player. Won't get many points, but a useful defender for sure.

 

7. LCJ - took a major leap this season. Tireless player...relentless on offense and defense. Love that he hits his FT's @ 80%+. If he can continue playing at the level we've seen lately, he'll go down as a Top 5 PG in Zips history. A MAC Championship would solidify that spot.

 

8. Dawson - Slooooowly becoming a factor in the rotation. Too soon to have a read on him, but hopefully his bucket in the WMU game allows him to exhale a little bit and start hooping. For a star HS kid, who's getting scant few minutes thus far, he's thoroughly engaged from the bench and supporting the guys on the floor. I like his attitude. I like his build. I can't wait for him to reach the point where he can cut loose and show us what he can do.

 

Groce - Got hit with a lot of defections when he arrived which set the program back a little. But now that he's got "his guys" in the fold, the team is starting to blossom. The team definitely plays hard for him, and respects him. 

 

Team - I like every post game interview I hear from this Zips team. Every kid seems like a great one. Great chemistry plus good talent should lead to a nice run in March. They are all representing Akron well.

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@Captain Kangaroo made a post in the recruiting forum about Utomi fitting in here, I wanted to comment but didn't want to get too far off topic there.

 

Winning is fun first and foremost. And KD's style won a lot, so we had a lot of good times. But man, winning the way we are now sure is fun. We're probably more athletic than most or all of his teams, but you can debate it. The difference that I love that isn't very much debatable is the pace and ball movement as opposed to the inside-out game CK mentioned. It's a ton of fun so far this year.

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  • 2 weeks later...
3 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Wasn't sure where to put this, but here's an excellent article on X.

That's an amazing article.  How nice it would be if ABJ wrote stuff like that.  There are some fascinating insights about recruiting and the contacts Groce has.   Groce, as an asst, coached Archie Miller at NC State and called Archie for a reference on X.  Pridgen tried to recruit him at Robert Morris.  These guys have quite a roladex.  I wonder who else recruited him for his senior year.  This is also a good article...https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/where-are-they-now-update-three-dayton-flyers-who-left-program/HgDjVWIAtGZo7t9QVlDjSO/ .  X ended up the best of the 3 UD transfers.

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  • 5 weeks later...

A good time to re-open this thread:

 

1. There's a photo from the Ball State game a few posts above.  LCJ, Tribble, X, Reece, and Banks. That was an awesome game.  Most fun of the season at the JAR apart from UMass game.

2.  Zips had 4 out of 5 games on the road before getting OU and PCCC at home.  That looked brutal on paper.  My thought was that Zips would/had to win against Central, Western, and Miami because of the obvious struggles they were going to have at BG and Canada.

3.  Not sure why the guys lost their cool at BG.  If they don't lose their cool then maybe it's a 9-10 point game and a respectable split season with the rebuilt Falcons.

4.  Clark's stats on X are crazy.  His performance really freed up the other players and that good shooting is contagious.  He was doing what a senior transfer is supposed to do in that he made an immediate difference.

5.  Zips shattered their road woes this season and won a few even when X wasn't playing well.  I think a fully staffed BG team lost by 10 at Central Michigan.  Zips won that easily.

6.  I wouldn't say the Zips are snake bit.   Most of the teams have or had some issues.  BG lost Frye for a few weeks,  PCCCs Pippen having back problems.  OU's Dartis is off and on with injuries.  BG and Huger have been on a rebuild for 5 years and two of those years had first round exits and no trips to Cleveland.  And any of the 10 top teams could knock them out if they get a bad draw and a bad night.

7.  Unfortunately, it's been an attrition down to LCJ as the only player they can count on to keep it together.  Those seniors:  are they thinking about only having 5 or 6 games left?  Two wins at home and a #2 seed is good enough for me, but I can get back on the ledge at any moment.

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I would like to see X drive the lane more often. At six foot eight, in the MAC, he can do some damage in the paint. And if fouled, he hits hit ft’s at a solid clip. Settling for long 3’s is selling himself short.

 

Once a few bunnies fall, maybe the hoop starts looking a little bigger from 21 feet. 

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3 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Before they started the season, I thought they were a 20 game team.  I thought they could win 20 and I wanted them in the mix in the end.  They've already met those expectations/hopes, so I can't be too disappointed.

I'd like a trip to the semi-finals.  And, yes, I look at what side of the draw is easier.  #2 may be the better spot.  I saw Dawson in practice and he was making 3s from all over the place.  One of these days he will connect.   But again...all those 3s.  There was another game in which they weren't hitting 3s and changed their strategy and went inside and won.  Dont remember what game that was.

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10 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

I don't know if coach does not allow him to shoot.

He is the fastest guy on the floor, but they don't seem to try to get him into the action.

He had some really good minutes the other night.

He gets to shoot but he may be on a one and done rule like Riak.  They put him in to try and get something going.  He just hasn't made one.

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