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Agreed. I'm typically hesitant to be too critical of a Zips player on a public forum, but I've just got to say, bluntly, I don't like Tribble running the point... At all. He doesn't have the handles of a PG, so he tries to compensate for lack of handles by using his (admittedly elite) athleticism, but his handles are so poor (plus he's so completely one-dimensional offensively) that he must over-compensate & then he plays out of control. Needless to say, you don't want that in a PG. So don't over think it, Coach. Start X at PG. Backup PG is Clarke. Or vice-versa. Leave the ball handling duties in the hands of those two. Before the game began I posted my guess at the rotation being (...I didn't even list Tribble in the two-deep): X.................Clarke Walton........Dawson Trimble.......Wynn Ali................Kalle Freeman......Bandaogo Coach started: X Clarke Dawson Ali Freeman 1. Clarke can't play the off guard spot - his 3-point shooting is too suspect. 2. Tribble came in as our backup PG, which, as discussed above, was a disaster. 3. Walton and Trimble should be starters as they complement each other; Walton being a slasher and Trimble being our 3-point specialist 4. Dawson is better suited as a microwave, instant-O, energy-off-the-bench 6th Man. 5. Wynn didn't play at all (and, since I'm being blunt, I have no problem with that; he's never much impressed me) 6. Kalle didn't play either. That's fine; probably asking a bit much for a true freshman's 1st taste of college ball to be against a D like WVU. 7a. Once Freeman & Bandaogo go accustomed to WVU's intense, swarming defense (I loved it!), they both looked really good. 7b. I think I liked what I saw when Freeman & Bandaogo were on the floor together. May want to experiment with that lineup a bit. 8. Ali looked overwhelmed; the game was moving too fast for him. He couldn't handle WVU's defensive intensity. 9.I hope Groce reads my post and understands what our lineup & rotation should look like moving forward. 😉 Again, I loved WVU's defense last night. Show us how it's done, Huggy Bear! Emulate that dedication, focus, effort, and intensity on the defensive end of the floor, Zippers!

Early on, the leader on this team has to be Walton. He was the one who pulled things together for this team, creating scoring opportunities with his aggressive, to-the-basket style on offense. I think XC will develop into a leader as the season goes on. I thought he looked confident on the floor, but not in this offense (yet). He seems like the kind of PG that needs chemistry to develop before his impact is truly shown (i.e. anticipated off the ball movement, spacing, positioning, etc.). Aziz and Freeman will be a force when they're on the floor together. Their body control was impressive, and some of the fouls they picked up were bogus calls. Freeman got in trouble last year because he didn't have a backup presence on the floor with him; if he got beat, he was forced to try and recover due to a lack of help, often committing a foul in the process. He doesn't have to do that with Aziz on the floor. @Blue & Gold nailed it by stating Dawson is the perfect 6th man for this team. I hope his performance last night wasn't solely due to it being a homecoming, but I think we've seen him being that type of spark plug enough these past 1.5(?) years, even with more raw/less developed skills. I didn't mind the lineup. LCJ's absence has clearly left a void on offense; not so much in the points themselves, but in the sense of creating opportunities to score. The guys who returned from last year looked like they were trying to take on too much of LCJ's role. By playing an 8-man rotation for 40 minutes, Groce was clearly trying to iron out the issues he has seen in practice/the previous scrimmage. I don't think anyone will argue that the 8 who played are the main 8 on this team, and they clearly have chemistry issues. We saw Aziz & Freeman develop better chemistry as the game went on, and I think we saw Walton establish himself as the leader (for now). Those were key developments. Tribble clearly doesn't know his role yet, and Trimble looked like he was making a concerted effort to take the next step on both ends of the floor (I attributed his air ball 3 to dead legs). Clarke showed he can't be a 2 guard, and I think we'll see him start on the bench until further notice. I don't know if we have any word on redshirts, but any contribution from the true freshman this year will be a bonus. I was excited to see Kalle, but I think we figured out it was more important for Aziz & Freeman to develop together. Ali looked lost, but again, I think there's a question of what his role is on this team in the absence of LCJ (Ali looked outstanding last year when LCJ opened up the offense for him). @clarkwgriswold pointed out the difference in the game being the turnovers/points off turnovers. That's fixed with chemistry (again, why I think Groce found it so important to forge those 8 by fire). WVU also had an unconscious first half from beyond the arc. The one thing we didn't see last night was who is our shooter outside of Trimble? That's the biggest concern for me. That isn't something that necessarily develops. You're either a shooter or you aren't come the regular season. I don't know if XC is a shooter, as he seemed apprehensive to chuck it up from deep, but he's the only other compliment to Trimble I see on this team. That's a bit troubling. For OSUcks, I'm hoping to see the following rotation... XC... Clarke Walton... Trimble Ali... Dawson... Wynn Freeman Aziz I don't know what the plans are for redshirts, but if the true freshmen are available, add Mitchell & Johnson behind Trimble, and Kalle behind Freeman/Aziz. I think both Mitchell & Johnson were known for their scoring in high school, so there's a chance we could really use them this year if they're up to DI speed. To echo @Blue & Gold, thank you Huggins for bringing true Press Virginia effort on both ends of the floor for a full 40 minutes. That was a very beneficial exhibition in my eyes.

The Zips head to Columbus on the 9th to face the Buckeyes. Here are some previews of the Buckeyes- https://www.btpowerhouse.com/2021/10/28/22746468/2021-22-ohio-state-buckeyes-basketball-season-preview-team-predictions-big-ten-stat-holtmann-liddell https://bustingbrackets.com/2021/10/09/ohio-state-basketball-2021-22-season-preview-and-outlook-for-the-buckeyes/ I am currently out of town but will try to post some more info soon.

Now tied at 1.

Well, the pee wees, mighty mights, etc. are taught the basics. Maybe this team needs to go back to the basics. A gap responsibility? I get that. It's a relatively small area of which to be responsible/defend so why haven't the linemen been able to manage it? Once the ball is moved down field, disengage and go after it! Don't stand around watching the play unfold is what I'm saying when I say "follow the ball." "Everybody does it now"? Then it should be familiar, easy to read, and defend. Perhaps the Zips need to do things differently. I say, "what do I know" because there are men reading my posts who believe women know nothing about football. I'm just saving them from saying it.

NIU 1-0 at the half Shots: NIU 7-3 SOG: NIU 5-1 Corners: NIU 5-1

Man, I love that young man. He's one of the most dominant hs defenders I've watched in a very long time. He'd look tremendous in blue & gold again.

Key players Young & Towns will miss the start of the season. Massive news in regards to our chance at a major upset. Young is the heart & soul of that team effort wise, and Towns is a key piece with grad-level experience in their front court. Their tallest player is a 6'11" grad transfer from Indiana, and their next tallest players are 6'8" (but built). With Towns & Young out, we have an opportunity to catch the Suckeyes off-guard, as they lost 6 players from last season, and have 5 new faces in their rotation. If we learn to bring the energy that Press Virginia brought in the Exhibition game, this could be a W. At the very least, I'm expecting a close game.

Either would look good right now…

WV scored 28 points off of Zips turnovers. The Zips scored 9 off of WVU turnovers. 19 point disparity in a 15 point loss.

I’m not thrilled with how that went tonight. I wasn’t really expecting anything in particular, but it got a little too ugly and the Zips looked a little too out of sorts. It’s clear as of right now that there’s not really a defined leader, which is disappointing. With the personnel on the roster, I’m confident that it will be a very successful season, but I just didn’t see what I really wanted to tonight. Maybe that’s just a product of being thrown into the wolves, I don’t know. Ohio State isn’t gonna be any easier. Trimble air balled a wide open three. Other than that, I thought he was uncharacteristically aggressive on the defensive end, which made me very happy. Enrique pulling the trigger on a three and making it was also very cool. Other than that, I got nothing. I’m very surprised there wasn’t a single minute for Wynn or Kalle (that’s his name, right?). Isn’t that what these games are for? I didn’t like Clarke/Castaneda starting. Not at all. That lineup was whack. I’d like to see XC/Walton/Ali/Freeman/Aziz as a big lineup as the season goes on, especially if Enrique could be a Deng Riak type perimeter shooter, which I don’t see why he couldn’t but it’s far too soon to tell this year. It could be a slow developing season, but I still feel very good about this team’s potential. In Groce we trust. Go Zips! Still 0-0!

No, you have to pay $6.95 for a 24-hour pass https://niuhuskies.com/watch/?Live=5749&type=Live

these guys needed a good kick in the ass. 19 turnovers in first half and maybe 1 or 2 in the second.

This’ll be good for us. Zips seeing what playing tough defense looks like. In comparison our D is lackadaisical. I love what WVU’s throwing at us. Sherman is unconscious.

Northern Illinois has high scoring twin brothers Nick has 13 goals and 4 assists twin has 5 goals and 5 assists NIU scores 2.57 goals a game only gives up 0.46 goals a game https://niuhuskies.com/news/2021/10/29/mens-soccer-16th-ranked-huskies-host-no-19-akron-in-final-conference-match.aspx

I wholeheartedly agree. What I meant was that they shouldn't take a less talented kid over a more talented non-local just because he's local.

Absolutely agree. I have also seen kids that never got rated for one reason or another and turn out to be a beast. That is why I never talk down about walk-ons since they often times have something to prove.

Everyone ignored him because time spent talking to a track ref is time wasted by a D1 college football coach. There isn't a fan base in the United States that doesn't think that recruiting more local talent will turn their program around. I hear the same thing here in South Carolina. Frequently it's the dying wish of a dying program. I present to everyone the Wake Forest Roster. On the entire team, there are only three kids from Winston-Salem. Very few are from what people call the Triad (W-S/High Point/Greensboro). If they tried to load their team up with a ton of kids from the Triad, they would be firmly located in last place of the Atlantic division instead of first place and ranked below 100 instead of 13th. I'm still not entirely sold on this team because of the putrid defense, but so far so good. I'll see tomorrow at 4 if they they lay an egg or not against Duke. The point is even a historically pathetic program like Wake can win with the right vision and players recruited to fit into the vision/culture. Dave Clawson would fail at almost every school in the country. An AD saw he had the perfect background for Wake, hired him and let him fulfill what was his vision. Clawson is an example of a leader who knew how to hire into a specific culture. It took a lot of balls to give Grobe the boot, but it worked out for the best. We need that kind of vision in an AD. Someone specifically suited for Akron is the key to success.

Joe has no input as to the content of the show. His job is to be a cheerleader for the Zips, not Mike Wallace on 60 minutes.

Why do you keep saying what do you know? Not much, go where the ball goes is pee wee, defensively everyone in the box has gap responsibility first, it’s why we have RPO’s in the first place. Easy to destroy a non disciplined defense. That’s Run, Pass, option, handoff or keep by how the DE reacts, handoff or pass does the LB bite & hit the slant. Everyone does it now. Sorry, not trying to be a jerk, but I am extremely frustrated with where we are. I’m a local that has been involved in sports in Akron area for years. I knew many players during the Bowden era from the area. There isn’t much local talent on the team anymore. Not that anyone cares about me but even though I’m a 94 grad I never went to a game until local kids that I coached or coached against started playing there. I started tailgating and bringing a lot of people cause locals had some interest because they knew some players and we were at least getting better & competing. It was fun, currently it’s not much fun because we don’t have the locals & we don’t compete. What happened to the local track ref guy that also use to give opinion on recruits from what he has scene on the track? Is it cause we are not recruiting local? I really thought that was why we hired him because of his NEO roots and coaches will respect him & he will be able to recruit the area. Only thing he has done is recruit big o lineman from Ed’s & Iggy that no one else will offer. Got one from Hoban that hopefully can contribute but he fell to us because of a junior year injury and no one else offered. I’m not defending Bowden as I have said he seem to be fine with just competing & not taking the next step but he seem to get portal talent to stay competitive, plus his college connections, we brought in some questionable characters but he seemed to manage & sprinkled some good local talent but did nothing to market. Was terrible social media guy. Now we have a social media guy who can’t recruit or coach. Can we please get a complete package coach and watch some good football with a few of the better local talent. I’ve only been on board for about the last 10 years but I’m on the verge of moving on. Sorry for rant, just frustrating watching us play at this level

Keith’s father Sid passed away yesterday. It was always a cool to see him around and to see their father/son relationship and the influence it had on Keith as a coach. Check out this cool photo of them that was posted on social media

Arth was way over his head for FBS. He showed he was a competent coach at the D3 level, but D3 is much different than the FBS. He honestly should have went out and got at least 1 guy who had long-term FBS experience to be his OC or DC to help him with the transition and bring him up to speed. Instead he brought his equally inexperienced staff.

NIU goes up 2-1 with 7 min remaining. And that's the final score.