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Game 12- Bradley


clarkwgriswold

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I am always a little bummed reading the recap of these games. 

 

We got SMOKED three times straight in Florida last year and won the MAC.

 

Listen, today was soooooo sooooooooo disappointing. It hurt my soul watching our brains get beat in.

 

But, honest question. Does anyone really think this team cannot win the MAC with how we have played in games like WKU and Maine? I know those teams are not Kent level, but please be honest, I would love feedback.

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The problem is that this team still does not have a consistent 3rd scorer behind Freeman and X.  In games, like today, where one (or both) of them struggle to score, this offense really struggles.  When X and Freeman are on, then we are competitive.  If this team wants to win 3 games in 3 days in March, others will need to step up.

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5 minutes ago, zipsrowdy88 said:

I am always a little bummed reading the recap of these games. 

 

We got SMOKED three times straight in Florida last year and won the MAC.

 

Listen, today was soooooo sooooooooo disappointing. It hurt my soul watching our brains get beat in.

 

But, honest question. Does anyone really think this team cannot win the MAC with how we have played in games like WKU and Maine? I know those teams are not Kent level, but please be honest, I would love feedback.

Winning in March needs some luck like Segu's missed 3 in the quarters last year.  This game seemed like an odd scheduling and was ripe for a total flop.  i'm with the guy who said "burn the tape."  But there needs to be another scorer.  I think Hank and Hunter can do it.  Note that X is currently the highest scorer in the MAC.  That's great but last year's top scorer played for WMU and CMU had a top scorer in a down year.  What that means is that the other players on the team aren't performing like they should.

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6 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

What that means is that the other players on the team aren't performing like they should.

Bingo.  Today we had 5 players that played 9+ minutes and scored 2 points or less.

T. Jonhson - 27 minutes,  2 points

Tribble - 26 minutes, 2 points

N. Johnson - 15 minutes, 0 points

Lyles - 10 minutes, 2 points

Mitchell - 9 minutes, 2 points

 

Edited by zipsrule
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7 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

Bingo.  Today we had 5 players that played 9+ minutes and scored 2 points or less.

T. Jonhson - 27 minutes,  2 points

Tribble - 26 minutes, 2 points

N. Johnson - 15 minutes, 0 points

Lyles - 10 minutes, 2 points

Mitchell - 9 minutes, 2 points

 

Clarke isn't going to be the one and while everyone loves Dawson's physicality and enthusiasm he did not produce on offense until near the end of the season.  he was also part of the sucky run in Florida and the the trifecta back to back losses to KSU, WMU, and NIU.

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2 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

I must be living right.  I was travelling and assumed the game was at 7 or 8 and missed the game.  Based on the comments on this board, I did not miss much.

Same here.  I was able to hear the post game and Groce essentially said they got punked by a more physical team and that it was an awful performance.  We were lucky in not having to watch it.

 

There's a lot of work to get done in the next week and a half. 

Edited by clarkwgriswold
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I have seen young Zips teams struggle on the road as long as I have been a fan of this team.  Our 2 blowout losses were at Marshall and now at Bradly.  Although X scored at the foul line today, he struggled from the field.  We have 4 vets, Freeman, X, Tribble, and Hankerson although he did not play with Akron last year.  Clarke has not been playing and I am assuming he is injured.  If X and Freeman come up empty, we are in big trouble because Tribble has offensive limits and Hankerson has not been able to carry the team.  I think we are going to struggle on the road this year until we can develop players who can play well on the road.  

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Sell your MAC tournament tickets!!! (Shoutout to @NWAkron for the message board material, appreciate you my man!)

 

I am without  question disappointed. I personally feel we should be 10-2 with the only losses to MSU and LSU, but “we is what we is.” 
 

The 2022 MAC tournament champions once lost back to back games against NIU and WMU. The sky isn’t falling, though it may be a bit closer than it was in November. 
 

Dustin Ford filled in for Groce on Zips Live a couple weeks ago. I can’t remember the question or topic, but at one point he said something along the lines of “I don’t know how he does it, but he can play around with the lineups and just makes it work sometimes”

 

I’m in the middle on this team. On one side of the fence, Groce has once beaten one of the hottest teams in college basketball by 20 with a walk-on as MAC Tournament MVP. On the other hand, he’s lost a MAC tournament game 82-46. I will choose to believe in him, and I do see the potential with this roster, but holy smokes they’ve been run off the floor a lot. Go Zips!

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1 hour ago, zipsrowdy88 said:

I am always a little bummed reading the recap of these games. 

 

We got SMOKED three times straight in Florida last year and won the MAC.

 

Listen, today was soooooo sooooooooo disappointing. It hurt my soul watching our brains get beat in.

 

But, honest question. Does anyone really think this team cannot win the MAC with how we have played in games like WKU and Maine? I know those teams are not Kent level, but please be honest, I would love feedback.

 

The way we've played up to this point, no we can't win 3 games in 3 games. That's not to say we can't improve. Frankly, Lyles or Hunter needs to step up and be able to give us 30 productive minutes a night. We can play 4 small guards against Maine for large chunks of the game and get away with it. Toledo or Kent will eat us alive.

 

Additionally, we need Hankerson to return to the player he's been previously and Tavari to become a better decision maker. If that happens, we can compete.

Edited by kreed5120
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2 hours ago, zipsrowdy88 said:

Follow-up Question:

 

I think we absolutely have our third guy: Tavari Johnson. He is a stud in most games, had a bad game today.

 

Do we all believe in him?

 

I agree with much of what is being said by everyone here. The whole team needs to improve their game to some degree and I think they will. But imho, the amount Tavari grows at the point throughout the course of the season will be the greatest factor dictating the Zip's success. His untapped potential is the key.

 

It's not much, but Hunter did hit a couple of 3's again tonight.

 

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This game was an absolute embarrassment.  One of the few times I can remember over the last 20-ish years I've been watching Zips basketball that I can remember turning off a game in disgust vs what should've been a relatively evenly matched mid-major squad.  

 

We'll be in the mix of the MAC because coach always seems to get the puzzle pieces to fit in the best way possible, even if sometimes it takes until the late MAC season.  The difference this year is the complete lack of size on this team.  It'll take some consistent hot shooting to get a good run going in MAC play, and thus far we've shown anything but that.

 

As a fan, I just try to remember that there are some young guys that will continue to develop and we have to hope they make big strides this year in both performance and consistency.  Like it or not, young guys like Tavari, Nate, and Amani will be required to play outsized roles for their experience level in order for this team to succeed.  Let's hope coach finds the right mix.

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10 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Zips need to pull it together and toughen up for sure.  However, if they were experiencing this awful storm and wondering how in the world they were going to get home or make their planes in Chicago, I'm willing to give them a mulligan on this game.

You nailed it. This was a meaningless game in the overall scheme of things. We played like a team that was worried about whether they might end up spending Christmas in Peoria.

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On 12/22/2022 at 6:05 PM, NWAkron said:

I guess there was a reason KD didn't schedule these type of games.  What a waste of a chartered flight.  Other "cough" top tier MAC teams are winning some games and making some strides.  Zips utter collapse.  I can't believe it's all because of Ali and Dawson.  

 

Lose by 30?

Ali and Mike Dawson are huge losses simply because we don’t have any other 6’5 + tweener type wings that can make shots and defend multiple positions. Those type players really matter in D1 basketball it’s hard to beat good teams without them.

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5 hours ago, Bigzip1 said:

Ali and Mike Dawson are huge losses simply because we don’t have any other 6’5 + tweener type wings that can make shots and defend multiple positions. Those type players really matter in D1 basketball it’s hard to beat good teams without them.

As I have said before, Aziz Bandaogo was a real and underappreciated loss.  He's averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds at Utah Valley.  The WAC isn't all that strong, but I'd sure take the MAC version of those numbers.

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32 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

As I have said before, Aziz Bandaogo was a real and underappreciated loss.  He's averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds at Utah Valley.  The WAC isn't all that strong, but I'd sure take the MAC version of those numbers.

Currently, he is certainly an upgrade over all the additions except for Hankerson and Tavari.

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4 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

As I have said before, Aziz Bandaogo was a real and underappreciated loss.  He's averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds at Utah Valley.  The WAC isn't all that strong, but I'd sure take the MAC version of those numbers.

I've said before that Aziz's departure took Groce by surprise. He had plans to continue building his skills while giving him more minutes and responsibility if he responded to the challenge. Like the rest of us Groce did not want him to go. I'm prejudiced but I believe that Groce, the MAC, the team and the opportunity were all better for Aziz. He did not feel the same. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't regret losing the guy.  

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10 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

I've said before that Aziz's departure took Groce by surprise. He had plans to continue building his skills while giving him more minutes and responsibility if he responded to the challenge. Like the rest of us Groce did not want him to go. I'm prejudiced but I believe that Groce, the MAC, the team and the opportunity were all better for Aziz. He did not feel the same. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't regret losing the guy.  

 

I am confident there was nothing more Groce could have done to keep him.  Sometimes kids just see greener pastures, even if they are in Orem, Utah.  Being from Senegal and finding his way in the US probably just added some other unforeseeable factors into the mix. 

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