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Western Michigan- 2/15/22


clarkwgriswold

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The Zips head off to Kalamazoo Tuesday to face the Broncos and the MAC's leading scorer, Duquesne transfer Lamar Norman Jr.  Heading into tonight's game against CMU, the Broncos stand at 4-20 and are 0-13 in the MAC.

 

The Broncos gave the Zips a run for their money at the JAR on January 18th, falling 74-73.  In that game, Ali Ali scored 18 points and scored with 5.4-seconds left to complete an incredible 11-0 Zips run in the last couple of minutes.  Norman and guard B. Artis White led the Broncos in the game totaling 42 points.   

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Good grief, how could KD lose both Insincere and Lamar Norman Jr.? OUCH.

 

Anyway, we beat these bums by one point at the JAR. We’re not a very good team this year. We’ve got hustlers who are over-achieving but not supremely talented.

 

Save Freeman. He’s a true revelation. Just remarkable.

 

We’d better get off to a fast start. I am WELL BEYOND tired of our slow starts. If WMU hangs around I think they’ll beat this physically and emotionally drained Zips team.

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I still think this team is playing their best basketball of the season right now.  The only problem is that they have been cold from the 3 line while their opponents have been shooting better from the 3 line.  I did notice that when Akron switches on a screen we often end up with Aziz on a shooter and it is a total mismatch.  Aziz give the shooter too much room and he shoots a wide open 3.  How will the Zips react after losing to their rival at home and then having to travel to Michigan?  I see this game as crucial for the Zips to stay in the top 4 for the tourney.

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I think the goal is to actually be in the Top 3 ... as it stands now 3-4-5 are Kent-Akron-Buffalo, I believe. All three teams should be considered darkhorse favorites after Toledo and Ohio. The 4-5 game is going to eliminate one of those darkhorses, so the better landing spot appears to be third. Falling down to sixth isn't a good option, either as that is a pairing vs. No. 3.

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1 hour ago, 1981 grad said:

I did notice that when Akron switches on a screen we often end up with Aziz on a shooter and it is a total mismatch.  Aziz give the shooter too much room and he shoots a wide open 3.

 

I agree, it's not a great match-up right now. I noticed it too. But in time as he matures and gets stronger legs he will be able to be more accertive. And his length will help a lot to compensate even against the speedier guards. Red-shirt years help these guys more than anyone. And that makes perfect sense for Kalle if that is indeed what is happening.

 

I remember comparing Mark Kostelac to a black lab puppy his freshman year. My nephew at the time had just gotten one. And if you have ever had a big dog as a puppy, you know it's hilarious watching them trip over those huge paws. Kostelac needed 30 yards in order to stop when running the break. Ha!!

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1 hour ago, Illini Zip said:

 

I agree, it's not a great match-up right now. I noticed it too. But in time as he matures and gets stronger legs he will be able to be more accertive. And his length will help a lot to compensate even against the speedier guards. Red-shirt years help these guys more than anyone. And that makes perfect sense for Kalle if that is indeed what is happening.

 

I remember comparing Mark Kostelac to a black lab puppy his freshman year. My nephew at the time had just gotten one. And if you have ever had a big dog as a puppy, you know it's hilarious watching them trip over those huge paws. Kostelac needed 30 yards in order to stop when running the break. Ha!!

I heard Freeman on post game radio talking about AZZiz and how they are best friends and how he thinks Azzis is going to be a great player.  He then said you can tell that some players are going to be really good and that some players just never get it.  I immediately thought of Kostelac in that latter group.   I wish him well but I do not believe he ever made it as a contributor.  

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9 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Despite some enthusiasm on here, Mark Kostelac was never going to be a D1 player.  Heck, he wasn't even all-conference in high school as a 7-footer.  He moved onto Walsh and was relatively ineffective there for a year.

He was all Groce had in the post at the time.  The Rodney Tetzloff of his day!  Who was better of those two... 😒

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5 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

He was all Groce had in the post at the time.  The Rodney Tetzloff of his day!  Who was better of those two... 😒

Yep, he was one of the last minute recruits to help keep things afloat.  I will always have find memories of walk-on Lucas Smith who at about 6'5" had to all too often play in the post for that team.    I believe that was also the year Olajapoke had his health issues forcing them both into extra duty.

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There's almost no worse feeling than getting swept by Kent, plain and simple. On the bright side, that is behind the Zips right now and all of the big goals are still very much on the table. It's still got to be the one game at a time mentality.

 

Though the Zips have a favorable schedule the rest of the way, their half-court style means a lot of them will be close no matter what or how well they're playing. Their perimeter defense and how they guard ball-handlers has been a little disappointing to me this year. In this league, if you can do that, you can beat anyone. Tonight, they must keep White and Norman in check and make them uncomfortable. They obviously can torch the Zips as they've shown, and they're riding a lot of confidence after picking up their first MAC win. I want to see a big bounce back game from X after that final shot spoiled his decent showing. Also, Clarke's stock has been rising and he will be playing a huge role on this team as the season winds down. We also cannot wait until the second half to get Freeman the ball, and he needs to work harder out of the gate knowing that people are going to do all they can to stop him. If the Zips had worked harder to get him touches in his limited first half minutes on Friday, they would've had a much better chance.

 

This one is at 6:00pm for whatever reason so keep that in mind. Go Zips!

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GT article below.  My favorite part- 

 “We’ve gotten more contributions from [guard] Garvin Clarke, Mike Dawson, Aziz Bandaogo, Mike Wynne,” Groce said, “so it’s added to the depth of our team which also has made us better over the last couple of weeks.”

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2022/02/15/akron-zips-mens-basketball-team-tough-stretch-in-mac-john-groce/6744775001/

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Got a bad feeling about this one.  Starting a busy week of 4 games in 8 days on the road against an improving team, after an emotional loss at home to a rival.  This one is imperative for seeding as well to come out on top of the Kent/UA/UB bunch.

 

Zips are 8.5 point favorites (opened at 9.5).  If I were a betting man, it would be tempting to take WMU to win, and I'd absolutely take them to cover.  Hope I'm wrong!

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