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I'm glad Groce heard my displeasure with Ali at the Northern game and put him on the bench for the start of the Eastern game. Also, good to know that John and I are on the same page here!

kinda like this?

We want Wynn! We want Wynn! We want Wynn! 😉

Before yesterdays game, many on this board thought we would lose yesterday. Rather than give up on this team, it made me think about the weaknesses of this team compared to previous Zips teams. No right or wrong answers, just your opinion on the teams weaknesses and what the coach can do about it. Here are 3 points that I see: Need more quickness on this team: First, the big difference in Groce teams and KD teams is athleticism. Groce has always recruited athletic quick guys. I do not see any of our current team being particularly athletic except for Freeman based on his size. (not a Groce recruit). Freeman is very quick to the ball for his size and that is why he such a great rebounder and shot blocker. I do not believe there is anyone in the MAC that compares to him. However, our guards are not particularly quick or athletic. LCJ was quick and was able to score with that floater. Tribble is probably the most athletic of the group and is a great leaper but struggles to penetrate. X does not consistently penetrate to the basket. For this team to succeed I believe X is the one player who could carry this team because he has shown the ability to penetrate, shoot and get to the foul line. If he struggles, we struggle. Tribble can penetrate but has not shown any ability to hit a consistent shot. Clark has the worst shooting percentage on the team. Because we are lacking in team speed we rarely score on the fast break. Fast breaks lead to easy points on layups. Tyler Cheese was the best on the break. Although we are long, we are not a relatively quick team. Need to do a better job on opposing guards: Which leads to my second point, the Zips weakness has been opposing guards scoring points. With Kent it was Carrey and yesterday it was Farrakahn, a frosh who scored 21 points. Our defense simply has difficulty keeping these guys from scoring. Clark needs to learn to move his feet on defense. I watch Farrakahn blow past him numerous times. Our lack of team quickness hurts this teams staying with quicker guards that can shoot, especially from the three. Countless time I see Azziz coming out to defend a guard and he gets burnt on a three. Groce has tried to double the guards which is great. However, I have also seen our players collapse to the middle from the weak side and leave their man. If you are getting killed by guards, stay with him all the time. We have rim protectors with Azziz and Freeman. This team needs to do a better job staying with quicker guards. Hit the boards, especially the offensive boards: Finally, I like the effort of this team except on rebounding, especially offensive rebounding. Rebounding should be a team effort. There are a lot of offensive boards that are long rebounds and our players stand and watch when a shot goes up. That is why Wynn and Dawson can be effective. I would like to see everyone hit the boards. Many times Freeman is the only one to hit the offensive boards. Needs to be a team effort.

Being Arth's b****, only for Akron to actually bring one of the most sought after coaches in college football, then getting rolled by the entire MAC in basketball has to be brutal.

I really think there's a role on this team for Trimble if he's a team player and humble enough to accept it. Groce isn't going to keep a high effort positive perspective kid off of the bus, so I am going to assume his demotion impacted his attitude. This team needs offensive contributions off of the bench and he could be great in that role, but if his attitude is going to be such that Groce is willing to leave him behind, good riddance.

From GT's article: Guard Bryan Trimble Jr., UA’s 3-point sharpshooter, didn’t play against the Eagles and Groce didn’t disclosed a detailed explanation. “I’d made the decision that Bryan needed to take a break from the team,” the coach said. Whoa. Well, at least yesterday it sure looked like addition through subtraction.

I'm not even sure this is accurate. After any little "hot streak" he has during a game, defenses adjust and he goes MIA. He cannot shot create on his own, and he's a liability on defense. Whatever he gives you on the offensive end, even with a hot streak, is largely negated by his liabilities during the other 95% of the game. The offense today ran very efficiently in comparison. There wasn't a guy who provides very little off-the-ball movement slowing down the offense, and the absence of his ~75% miss rate helped keep the offense in rhythm. If he's gone, so be it. If he stays, I hope he kicks it up about 4 gears these last couple of weeks.

I'm going to have to have to see a little more out of Wynn and his commitment before I'm ready to see him as a starter.

They got a nice W today to salvage the series. 1-2 now

Lastly, I don't want to see a silhouette of the state of Ohio behind it with a star showing where Akron is in the silhouette. It's cheap and lazy. We are not the Ohio Zips or Akron, Ohio Zips. We are the University of Akron Zips. I hate to keep using Wake Forest as an example, but they do a great job marketing a school's athletic programs for a school not really known for athletics. Below is a silhouette I could live with if Akron could incorporate it into their marketing. They have this Deactown theme in their marketing and if you look at the bottom of the illustration, the silhouette is the skyline of Winston-Salem (where WF is located). If you are driving down a main street in W-S, you will see banners hanging with this theme and silhouette on every light pole. It's everywhere. 3-4 years ago, they mailed out season football tickets wrapped in a banner (2' x 3') you could hang in your yard with the silhouette and the words "I'm A Fan" on it. I don't know what they spend annually to do this around the city, but it has to be a lot. As I mentioned, the sports teams have to benefit the athletes, students, alumni, fans and general community of NE Ohio. Start with Akron and making the people of Akron feel part of the program by including the skyline of their city in advertisement. This really isn't difficult. I don't know how invested they still are in the "Roo" theme, but Akron is not the Roos. They are the Zips. It's our name. Own it and use it.

I love the continued commitment to the Coaches Against Cancer campaign by Melissa and the team. I wish Groce would do something to remember the legacy of Danny Peters.

Credit where credit due, handily beating a bad team on the road. I didn't expect it, and even more surprising without Trimble. BG **should** be an easy takedown in the JAR. If Bryan doesn't return, my major concern is the lack of bench. Better hope Mr. Wynn stays in the good graces of the staff.

That is coach speak for Trimble is not listening to me anymore and I am not putting up with it anymore.

Yes, but make it better. There's something about it that isn't... Defining enough. I'm not sure how to fully describe it.

Hey, at least you didn't make a basketball post in a football thread a few weeks ago.

Not only this, but they should repaint the basketball court with it. Make it big. Own it. I took the photo below today. A logo can be both classy and large.

You are on fire with your memes today. Good stuff.

That's what you do against a bad team.

If someone had told you before the season started that either the men's or women's team would sweep the Flushes, who would you have bet on? Nice job ladies!

No.

Good thing that he didn't see the floor in the NIU game. He certainly couldn't have helped us in a game when everyone else was struggling.

Offseason note- Enrique to shoot 500 10-12 foot jump shots a day.

Zips cover today. Blowout W. Book it

I loved the video too! I had many a great day or night at the bowl. BTW I still love the stylized "Zips" at center field. It was a classic to me. No one else had that.