Zips Basketball- Looking Back to 21-22/Looking Forward to 22-23

[1981 grad]

2 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Not a system fit. When you fall out of the regular rotation and the team proceeds to go on an incredible 8 game winning streak including a MAC Title, the writing is on the wall that maybe this system isn't right. 

 

He was not a key defender or rebounder, and a liability on offense. This team needs offense. 

Yikes, I wrote my post before reading your post.  

[clarkwgriswold]

I think Aziz could have developed into a reasonable contributor.  I don't think he was never going to be All-MAC but I could see him as a 20- 25 minute a night guy averaging 8-10 points and 5-6 rpg.  He was also a possible solution to facing larger lineups as with development he could be on the floor more with Freeman.

 

Who knows what goes through the head of a 21 year old kid from Senegal in a distant land where he's learning English as a second language.  It seems like staying would be the most comfortable option but maybe there's a better choice for him out there somewhere.  I hope he's not being sold a bill of goods. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

3(?) Scholarships are now open to bring in guys that can immediately fix the offensive struggles. 

 

I find that quite exciting. 

[clarkwgriswold]

45 minutes ago, RowdyZip said:

Ultimately, this will boil down to schools that have NIL opportunities and those that don't.  The best players from medium and small schools will play a couple and move up to make some cash.  You can hardly blame them, but it absolutely sucks for those of us that follow schools like Akron/OU/Buffalo, etc.  These are consistently strong programs that find kids that other programs pass up.  It will truly be like starting from scratch every single season.

What many of these kids need to understand is that a person at the talent level to be an average or above average MAC player isn't going to draw any NIL money anywhere.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 minute ago, clarkwgriswold said:

What many of these kids need to understand is that a person at the talent level to be an average or above average MAC player isn't going to draw any NIL money anywhere.

 

And having solidified playing time to develop your game that may lead to a pro career overseas at the very least is much more lucrative than any mid Major NIL deal. 

[clarkwgriswold]

I'm thinking I should have started a thread "The Next Shoe to Drop- losses to the Transfer Portal" where we could all make predictions as to our next defection.

[NWAkron]

19 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I think Aziz could have developed into a reasonable contributor.  I don't think he was never going to be All-MAC but I could see him as a 20- 25 minute a night guy averaging 8-10 points and 5-6 rpg.  He was also a possible solution to facing larger lineups as with development he could be on the floor more with Freeman.

 

Who knows what goes through the head of a 21 year old kid from Senegal in a distant land where he's learning English as a second language.  It seems like staying would be the most comfortable option but maybe there's a better choice for him out there somewhere.  I hope he's not being sold a bill of goods. 

East Mogadore had a 7 footer who sat on the bench for a few years.  That white kid from Richfield played a lot more than he did.  If Groce let him go, that had to be difficult but there's no room for sentiment. We can see what a twisted, cruel business NCAA basketball is.  Calamari makes 8 mill per year (?) And loses to a coaches that makes $220,000 (?).  That coach is now gone and where will the Peacocks be next year.  The key is keeping Groce and building a solid program that isn't a flash in the pan. (Stating obvious)

Edited March 31, 2022 by NWAkron

[RoyalBlu]

41 minutes ago, LZIp said:

You guys are pretty good at convincing yourselves these departures mean nothing lol. If they players are on the team, they're good. If they leave, they sucked anyways.

 

The staff has their work cut out for them if we want to repeat or more.

If we want to repeat or more .... what do you mean? Repeat by winning three games in Cleveland ... or ... repeat by being a 4th place MAC team again. One (4th place) is a lot easier to do than the other.

32 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

We don't have any control over it, so we might as well look at it in a positive way.  Reminds me of the panic when KD left.  It all worked out.  On my own private list, Aziz was the first I thought should go.  As for Ali, that certainly is a loss in that he produced a lot of points.  But he is replaceable.

 

[clarkwgriswold]

3 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

East Mogadore had a 7 footer who sat on the bench for a few years.  That white kid from Richfield played a lot more than he did.  If Groce let him go, that had to be difficult but there's no room for sentiment. We can see what a twisted, cruel business NCAA basketball is.  Calamari makes 8 mill per year (?) And loses to a coaches that makes $220,000 (?).  That coach is now gone and where will the Peacocks be next year.  The key is keeping Groce and building a solid program that isn't a flash in the pan. (Stating obvious)

 

He's certainly not a program changing loss.  They'll find a replacement without much difficulty.  In the portal he'll be seen as a 7 footer who is generally able to get down the floor without tripping on his own feet and some coaches will remember the old maxim "you can't teach height."

[LZIp]

Just now, RoyalBlu said:

If we want to repeat or more .... what do you mean? Repeat by winning three games in Cleveland ... or ... repeat by being a 4th place MAC team again. One (4th place) is a lot easier to do than the other.

 

Winning the regular season is nice, but if not, I don't really give a damn where we finish in the regular season. I want NCAA tournament bids and win(s) in it. I believe thats what many of us were expecting sometime in the next two years considering the youth and assumed returning talent to the team.

[clarkwgriswold]

A MAC regular season championship makes for a really nice banner and little else.

[ZZZips]

I think we trail far behind on the "most active list" for the men's basketball portal.  Does anyone think we can catch Alabama State who now has 11 players in the portal?  

[Let'sGoZips94]

What's left...

 

GUARDS

Castaneda

Tribble

Dawson

Clarke

Mitchell

N. Johnson

T. Johnson

Prather Jr.

 

FOWARDS

Freeman

Wynn

 

 

I expect one 6'9"/6'10" PF, one 6'6"+ scoring Forward, and one experienced Guard to transfer in. I think Tavari and/or Prather Jr. Redshirts. It appears Groce may have an opportunity to recreate his OU squads, which were guard-heavy and anybody on the floor could score almost at all. 

 

Size wasn't the reason we lost to UCLA. Ali didn't show up and shot-making struggled. We have a massive opportunity to fix that issue. I'm excited. 

[LoyalZIP]

A weird 2 days for sure, like I said, the honeymoon is over. Is this really that big of a deal? Yes and no. I am not surprised to see Aziz leave, though I thought he could be a very good MAC player a couple years down the line. No clue what's going through his mind right now. As for Ali, he's probably banking on some advice from prospective future agents, or his family wants him to be a Hoosier so they can watch him play for a high major close to home. 

 

Are these a big deal to get exasperated about? I don't believe so. What is Groce & Co. doing to make these guys jump ship? Is it the fun they're clearly having? All of the winning over 3 seasons? The trip to the NCAA tournament? 

 

Success was defined by John Wooden as the peace of mind knowing you did all you could, worked as hard as you could, to achieve your goals. Well, if Ali and Aziz feel that their futures are better served with a different basketball program, then so be it. Yes, these are big shoes to fill, but I'm not going to be shaking my fist at anyone this summer and into next season because of the transfer portal. We (Groce) can sit here and bitch about the portal and the players leaving all we went, or we can shut our mouths and recruit and stick to the process that's resulted in 2 titles in the last 3 years.

 

Count me out on "woe is me, this is a huge deal and an awful day" blah blah blah blah. I like the guys in charge of our favorite team. They have to deal with the same crap everyone else has to deal with, it's what they've signed up for in 2022.

[RowdyZip]

9 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

Count me out on "woe is me, this is a huge deal and an awful day" blah blah blah blah. I like the guys in charge of our favorite team. They have to deal with the same crap everyone else has to deal with, it's what they've signed up for in 2022.

Agree for the most part.  However, it's impossible to argue we're not in a worse position now than we were a week or two ago.  The onus is on the staff to replace and/or upgrade the guys that are leaving.  We know they're capable of doing so, but it certainly is an extra challenge over rolling into next season with the exact same team that was so successful in March.

 

Another piece is that we're in a much, much more challenging tournament in November.  Gonna have to work overtime to build that team chemistry with the new pieces to have success over some pretty good programs.

[kreed5120]

3 hours ago, ZIPS96 said:

Akron C Aziz Bandaogo has entered the transfer portal. verbalcommits.com/players/aziz-b…

Unlike the Ali departure I don't mind this. Aziz and Freeman can't coexist on the floor at the same time and we want Freeman to play 30+ minutes a game. That means Aziz really doesn't have a pathway to playing more and contributing. He barely saw the court in the MAC tournament and only played in the UCLA game when Freeman was in foul trouble. I think we'd be better served using this scholarship to land a big that can play next to Freeman that way Groce has more flexibility in his lineup.

[LoyalZIP]

1 minute ago, RowdyZip said:

Agree for the most part.  However, it's impossible to argue we're not in a worse position now than we were a week or two ago.  The onus is on the staff to replace and/or upgrade the guys that are leaving.  We know they're capable of doing so, but it certainly is an extra challenge over rolling into next season with the exact same team that was so successful in March.

 

Another piece is that we're in a much, much more challenging tournament in November.  Gonna have to work overtime to build that team chemistry with the new pieces to have success over some pretty good programs.

 

Absolutely correct. However, this is a situation where you have to control what you can control. I would love to have been able to run it back with the same exact roster plus maybe one piece (Kalle replacement). Reality has taken a couple of weeks to hit our program, though. Even so, 10 years ago I would be excited to return the current level of production from a championship team. If we get to a point (God forbid) that Freeman and X leave us this offseason, then we start to get into the worry zone as far as replacing production. At this point, we basically graduated a senior and lost a freshman who didn't play a ton of meaningful minutes. The ceiling with potential new pieces is higher now, but the floor is also lower than it would have been. It should be an interesting offseason, and I look forward to the challenge that it gives this staff. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

In another thread I mentioned a conversation with a friend who's a D1 coach. He mentioned that "culture" was the best way to combat the transfer portal. After seeing Ali depart it's pretty clear - great culture is like a COVID shot. It keeps you from dying. It likely keeps you from getting severely ill. But it doesn't provide full immunity.

 

Note - if anyone hijacks this thread with political/COVID thoughts, their post will be immediately deleted, so save yourself the typing.

 

Ali departing is a blow due more so due to his potential than his to-date production.

 

It's widely noted that he was -

 

* Offensively inconsistent - could score 32 points one night, and 5 the next

* ISO Ali - dribbling ad nauseum, and putting up a shot regardless of the situation 

* A complete disappearing act for long stretches 

 

But he has a great turnaround J, length, size, shooters touch, and would only get better. If his head doesn't get in his way, his best 1-2 college seasons are definitely ahead of him. And we won't see them.

 

Bandaogo departing is obviously a lesser impact. But he was a good shot blocker. And moved his feet well on defense, taking more charges than a 7-footer should. He also improved his FT shooting over the course of the season. He and Freeman seemed to have a solid friendship. And unlike Ali, Bandaogo didn't show flashes of anything this year that would get a P5 coach to attempt recruiting him away from Akron. I can only speculate the staff let him know his future role, as it played out at this season's end, would be diminished in 2022-23. And he might be best suited to try and hook up elsewhere.  I guess we'll know for sure when he signs.

 

I do trust that Groce will fill their spots with serviceable players. If he could get a kid like Duvivier to come from Oregon for a senior season where his team's destined for a sub .500 record, selling quality kids to play alongside Freeman, Casteneda, Dawson and Tribble...coming off a MAC Championship and a strong NCAA tourney showing, should be easy. 

 

There’s an old saying…”No matter how unbelievably smokin’ hot a girl looks, there’s at least one guy somewhere out there that got tired of putting up with her sh*t.”

 

I think of that every time we pick up someone from the transfer portal. If we can land a Xerius Williams...a Casteneda...an LCJ...a Duvivier, Cheese or Banks...we're in great shape. If we lands a Trimble, Hester, Dailey, Guyue, Wynn (with all due respect), etc. we're not going to have a lot of fun at the JAR next season.

 

I trust Groce. Just gotta have some faith and be patient over the next couple weeks. And hope the portal yields some team-oriented ballers with minimal baggage.

[Let'sGoZips94]

20 minutes ago, RowdyZip said:

However, it's impossible to argue we're not in a worse position now than we were a week or two ago.  

 

Not impossible. We lost a depth guy that largely rode the bench during our 8 game winning streak that saved the season, and we lost a guy that led the team in turnovers by almost 1 whole turnover more per game (2.7 turnovers per game for Ali vs 1.9 per game for Freeman). Ali was the leading scorer by .3 pts, as all 3 of Ali, X, and Freeman averaged north of 13 ppg. It's not like we lost LCJ, which was ~20+ ppg. 13-14 ppg is the average production from your 2nd or 3rd guy. His shooting percentages (46%, 40%) are impressive on paper, but those percentages should have led to a higher PPG total if he was truly a #1 player. 

 

We're not better off nor are we worse off until we see how the 3 open schollies are used. Even then, the true answer to this equation won't be finalized until March 2023. 

 

Go Zips.

[Z.I.P.]

21 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

This one pi$$e$ me off a little so I am not going to sugarcoat it.  Here is a kid that was recruited by a single D1 school.  That school allowed him to get on the court early and when he made obvious mistakes the head coach stood up and praised him to the press.  He's now obviously been sold a bill of goods by hangers on and other programs and rather than stick by those who have stuck by him he is buying the the unwarranted perception that he's an NBA prospect.  Let's be honest.  NBA prospects dominate the MAC as freshman or sophomores, they don't enter their 4th year in a MAC  program as a "nice" MAC player.  

This is the best analysis of A-squared.  He was NEVER an NBA prospect -- Cronin was trying to butter him up pre-game to get in his head...and it worked!  At best was 2nd team All-MAC, but lacked the consistency needed to be the star.  Maybe if not for Freeman, he'd be staying.  And maybe he thinks Bobby Hurley will pick him up and he get a second chance against the Bruins.  He's not going to be a star at that level.  All that said, I wish the kid well, and honestly hope he gets his degree and has a great life!  Thanks for your contribution to a memorable season.  Now let's go get the Bigs we need to compete for more championships.  In Groce I Trust!

[clarkwgriswold]

Clearly, the Zips are in a worse position than they were 2-3 weeks ago, however, the only relevant point of comparison is 2-3 weeks ago versus next March.

[zipsrowdy88]

Bad news to share, but I have heard rumors spreading that Mikal is next to the portal. This source also told me about Aziz before it happened. Nothing is 100% and I would LOVE to be wrong. But I would be really bummed if this were true.

 

Losing Ali and Aziz are one thing. Yes it does hurt, but both had GLARING weaknesses that I can spin zone in my head that we will be okay. Losing Mikal would be brutal. Having him and Greg be here for all 4 years would be absolutely incredible. Lets hope he stays!

[LZIp]

Just now, zipsrowdy88 said:

Bad news to share, but I have heard rumors spreading that Mikal is next to the portal. This source also told me about Aziz before it happened. Nothing is 100% and I would LOVE to be wrong. But I would be really bummed if this were true.

 

Losing Ali and Aziz are one thing. Yes it does hurt, but both had GLARING weaknesses that I can spin zone in my head that we will be okay. Losing Mikal would be brutal. Having him and Greg be here for all 4 years would be absolutely incredible. Lets hope he stays!

Don't you dare......

 

Dawson is a glue guy in the purest sense there is. I would hate to lose him no doubt as he's valuable, but would be surprised if the opportunity to move up is there.

[zipsrowdy88]

Also, I feel like this is all doom and gloom regarding the transfer portal. 

 

It is what it is. Basketball and especially college basketball is a living organism that changes over the years. Instead of the bitching I have full trust that John Groce and co. will take advantage of the portal more than any other coach in the MAC. We are not the only teams getting destroyed. UB has lost SIX players. SIX! OU lost Sears AND a 5 year player. It is brutal all around. We just need to take advantage of it as much as it hurts us.

 

All due respect to Ali and Aziz, if you dont wear the Akron jersey, you're as good as a walk on to me. I don't care who you are or what you've done for us. Clearly they thought they had better chances elsewhere. Good luck and dont let the door hit you on the ass when you leave.

[zipsrowdy88]

Just now, LZIp said:

Don't you dare......

 

Dawson is a glue guy in the purest sense there is. I would hate to lose him no doubt as he's valuable, but would be surprised if the opportunity to move up is there.

 

Trust me I would hate it to, just trying to spread news to jinx the situation. I dont know where the hell he would go thats clearly a step up, but look at Aziz. Who the hell knows.