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Northern Illinois- 2/17/22


clarkwgriswold

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14 minutes ago, LZIp said:

This team sucks.

Disagree.  There are good players on the roster, but the coaching philosophy and offensive philosophy sucks.  For in game strategy and adjustments, I think Arth was better in football than Groce is in hoops.  Groce just has much more talent to get the wins that he has.  How many games has Groce lost that he should not have lost?

In Joe We Trust!!!!  Cannot wait for football season.

 

P.S. Per TV, the crowd and student section were awful.  

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Other Than Greg Tribble and Freeman the basketball IQ of this team may be a single digit number.  The quite intentional foul with 43 seconds remaining and down two points was about the stupidest thing I ever saw. 

 

Also I used to think that our depth was a positive . I know that some here don't like him much but Wynn has given this team a spark at times this season. You going to tell me he wasn't worth a try tonight ?

 

Never been so pissed at a Zips team and staff as I am with these guys.  I'm done.

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Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. The Murphy’s Law Zips with another clunker. I’ve come to the realization that this is a team full of decent role players, and nothing more. Freeman is a star, but he would be even more incredible if he got his FT% up, and if he had another true threat to help bail him out. Before the MAC figured out X and Ali, that offense worked just fine. Now teams force Ali into ISO, they run X off the line, they cover Trimble like a weighted blanket, and then you’re left with…????

 

What’s an even bigger shame is that they’ve played decent defense a lot of these games too. They’ve been unlucky with other teams hitting big, tough shots but that happens. Once NIU started to bury those mid range guarded fadeaways, I began to see ghosts of all previous losses. And the final possessions? Goodness gracious what a disaster. This team reminds me of the 2015 Zips. A nice group of players with nobody to rely on to lead and run the show. There are still a few more games to figure things out for a miracle in Cleveland, but this is looking like a lost season. I’m still excited for the future as the talent is there, there’s just no chemistry and a severe lack of play making when it counts. 
 

Crowd was bad and had no energy and I can’t blame them, nor am I. The students had no life, it would’ve been nice if they would’ve attempted to create some energy, but again that’s not their job. 
 

No chance they win on Saturday. Zero. So please, everyone do yourselves and the womens team a favor and head to the JAR for their game against Portage County! Go Zips Women’s basketball!

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5 minutes ago, RoyalBlu said:

Akron went through a stretch like this early in the season .... then snapped out of it. Still games and MAC Tournament left, they can do it again.


You’re the Mikal Dawson glue-guy of ZN.o!! I don’t agree that this team will do anything special or make any kind of run, but it’s nice to read a little optimism in dark times

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I am going to state the obvious.  This team is in free fall.  We need some decent guard play to lead this team.  What happened to x.  He had another bad game.  It seems like it takes forever to get our offense moving.  Groce talked postgame how we shot over 50% in the first half.  However, we had 9 turnovers that included several time clock violations.  Freeman sets a screen, cuts to the hoop but never sees the ball.  It just seems the ball stays on the perimeter.  Very few easy shots on offense.  We just do not have anyone that can break down a defense.  Several times Tribble drives to the basket and has nowhere to go.  I like Tribble but he afraid to shoot the ball.  Very one dimensional   I think we shot 25% from 3.  Finally, when I look at the players they do not look like they want to be on the court.  Very little enthusiasm.  If this continues we may not even make the tournament. 

 

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1 hour ago, LZIp said:

As much as we all love Freeman, he is uncoordinated as hell. Effectively gave up the game after being forced to foul after he whiffed whatever steal attempt that was.

Uncoordinated?  A 6 foot 7 guy being the leading rebounder in the MAC and one of the leading rebounders in the country is uncoordinated?  I will respectfully disagree.

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The biggest problem with this team is the inability to get stops on defense. Our guards are slow footed and can't stay in front of their man. The result of that is just what we're seeing this week. Lot's of drives to the basket that end up in layups or wide open threes for our opponent. This is the worst defensive team Groce has put on the court.

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I think the biggest problem is that, with the exception of Freeman, there's no one on this squad that's any better than an above average MAC starter.   They don't have a single player in the MAC's top 15 in scoring (Toledo has 3; OU has 3; Buffalo has 3).  Their failures are in the talent levels of the "Jimmies and the Joes" and with each loss their body language and energy levels are getting worse.  I fear now that Groce has lost them.

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12 hours ago, zippy5 said:

some people are saying we aren't peaking at the right time

 

That is my concern as well. Has this team already hit it's ceiling? Part of me thinks that the frustration that our players show on the court is that they believe it to be so. I hope I'm wrong. I hope they find another gear to push through. That has been a strength of Groce's teams as long as I have been watching. They max-out in March. And players will run through walls for him. I have seen it. Unfortunately, this group just might be burning up their gears and this crazy tight schedule is not helping matters. We have seen all season that they care about winning and have the mental toughness to win close games. But when every game is a struggle it wears on you.

 

The league has continued to improve around them at a faster pace. We are all aware of the reason. And I have seen this story unfold before at Illinois where we were without an effective point guard due to injuries. So if I know the importance of the point guard position to this offense, Coach Groce sure as hell knows it. So what went wrong? Should Garvin Clarke be further along than he is? Maybe he doesn't cut it as a point guard and plays off the ball. Was X supposed to be the stop-gap solution until Tavari Johnson gets here? He too plays better off the ball and isn't suited for making game winning decisions. Although, I would like to see him back next year. I just watched the videos again of Nate Johnson. And he might have very well been the answer if he didn't get hurt in the off-season. I could easily see a Johnson & Johnson point guard duo next year at some point. Guys like Walton, X, Trimble and Wynn were supposed to bring leadership and experience to the locker room. That hasn't exactly worked out either.

 

I admit this team is damn frustrating to watch at times. But I will be tuning in just the same. I want to watch these players continue to develop, especially Aziz, regardless of what happens in Cleveland. For those bailing on the season, take care, see you next year.

 

Go Zips!!

 

Edit: spelling

Edited by Illini Zip
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