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That's a fallacy. Bring those punks on back

We learned recently there is still hope for Ryan Prather. Talk about someone being buried under a pile of guard competition. He hasn't scored a ton, but he passes the eye test to me.

The coaches see every minute of a player's life with the team, from team meals to interactions on the bus to practice to play in the games. You have to trust what they're seeing over what we see 80 minutes a week.

Some players have longer leashes than others and there are many variables which contribute to that. For the record, I also wish Tavari got more PT in the second half... but I've got to trust this veteran coaching staff.

Coach said after the game Nate has been cleared but needs to get his conditioning back. So hopefully he can get some games in before Cleveland.

Or have Dawson go 4-5 from three.

7:15 and the banks are open!

He also knows he needs Tavari to take on a much bigger role next season, so it appears there are expectations Tavari is not meeting (frequently). We have to trust Groce on this. Look back at Ali Ali and Freeman when they arrived. Their development from a buried on the bench frosh and a walk on is amazing. Groce gets as much out of his players as possible. How about Tribble? He couldn't hit the side of the JAR when he arrived. He has become one of my favorite Zips of all time.

He added a stability and lockdown D, but you are definitely right about his effectiveness overall. He’s fallen out of shape and his 40% 3pt. shot hasn’t been tested in almost 2 months. It’ll take him every bit of the next 2.5 weeks to be ready to contribute in Cleveland.

His botched dunks were my favorite

Akron beat Kent by 13 last night, sweeping them for the season series to sit alone in first place with 2 weeks to go. But the coach has a vendetta against the 3rd string PG. Message boards are hilarious.

I love beating Kent. That school is a blight on the Ohio public university system. I really mean that too.

I couldn't sleep so here I am looking over the MAC conference standings. I can't believe Central Michigan is still winning and currently third behind Toledo. I was sure their luck would run out and they would drop down. Since playing Akron they have a convincing win against Western Michigan, a 1 pt. win against Old Dominion and a 2pt. OT win against Bowling Green. And if I am reading Kenpom correctly Central Michigan is the second luckiest team in Division 1 basketball behind only Tarleton State. I'm still not sold on them as a good team, but I have to respect this magic carpet ride they are on.

Reggie Bass...wow. Emoni Bates type loser. Tackled Shammah and sold it as a flop. If Pinky had a spine he'd ditch him like Groce did with Trimble.

BG beats Toledo 76-68!

JAR was rocking. In spite of its warts, it's a fun spot

Per ESPN, Attendance: 5,160

Freeman with 2 threes.

Yep!

I don't know what's better, Mr. Pinky exploding or Dawson making a three in the middle of Pinky's fit.

The Zips headed to Athens Tuesday night to face the Bobcats. The Bobcats are 14-12/8-5 going into today's game against NIU. The Zips beat the Bobcats 67-58 earlier in the season in a relatively competitive game at the JAR. The Bobcats played the Zips even in the second half. Senior guard Jaylin Hunter continues to lead OU in both scoring and assists.

Price entered the TP

Made clutch FTs. He needs conditioning.

I don't think the ZNO Board is out to get TJ. Most of this was in defense of the coach when the TJ is a victim of a double standard posts hit. TJ has improved and I think he can be a very solid scoring guard in the MAC. One thing to consider is he has a lot more comp for minutes at this position. We have a lot of ball handlers who can play guard (and even more comp when Nate gets back) and at this point in their careers are better ball handlers, rebounders and defenders than TJ. When Ali or Sammy don't box out (which has been known to happen), Groce cannot be as quick to sit them especially if Freeman is in foul trouble. We don't want Lyles getting 15-18 minutes in crunch time in the 2nd half.

Not quite sure I’m understanding all the criticism with T Johnson. He’s been our most consistent player outside of the top 4 for the past month. Still a ways to go, but thinks it’s more attributed to youth/inexperience and physical stature as opposed to something like lack of effort or bad attitude. Said it before, I think a big focus in the weight room would do him wonders. negative plays are magnified when you’re both handling the ball and guarding the guy with the ball every possession.

Some food for thought. Tavari has a higher rate of turnovers per minute played than Tribble, Scott and Thronton and has a lower assists per minute rate than the other three. Do with that what you will.

I will be curious to see how much influence JD might have on this offense and the play calling.

Win this game, chances at the #1 seed in CLE are very good. Knock on wood

I really like Nate but I think we need to pump the brakes on our expectations. The kid averaged 8 points and 3 boards a game when healthy. I like him and think he'll help but he's not likely to be a huge difference maker.

Nate was not allowed to run while the cast was on. So it will be a progression but it sure sounds like he’s moving toward a return during the regular season. Would love to at least see him play the final 2-3 games before the tourney even if it’s 12-15 minutes per game

This is 100% correct. It's the reason Groce stuck with Dawson through his prolonged shooting slump. I do wish Tavari would get more time because he's already a better offensive player than Thornton (too passive) and Scott (can't knock down open shots), but to be fair those two do play better defense and don't have as many mental lapses. I'd personally still rather see Tavari and live with some of those growing pains to see if he can lead this team next year as starting PG, but as you said, you have to trust they know what they're doing.

I'm just praying for an OC who can "figure out a way" to call running plays when we've got the best running back in the conference.

After your post, I wanted to see that play and had finally found it and Tavari was not taking the play off or being lackadaisical but was late fighting through a big man screen. Certainly not worthy of being benched the entire half. However, when searching for that play I saw a player not box out his man which lead to an easy Kent rebound and then a drive to the basket and an Ali foul. Watch at the 17 minute mark of the 2nd half and Dawson not box out his man. My point being is that other players make mistakes on D and do not get pulled. If I am Tavari I have to wonder why other players get free passes and I get pulled the entire half.

My favorite part of the game was when Payton made a very mediocre play and then flexed his arms like an idiot. Then the Zips went on like a 10-0 run. Is he still the best player in the MAC? Most of his points came from the free throw line or when Freeman just let him have a shot to avoid fouling. Trash.

Personally I’d love to have a chance to pound them for the third time in a single season but I agree they seem a lot better than your prototypical 8th seed.

Back alone in first!!

Tavari never saw the floor after giving up the 4 point play.

I think we've seen an even brighter hue of pink tonight.

Did I hear earlier that Nate Johnson is cleared going forward?

Shot clock violation out of a timeout. Beautiful work Mr. Pinky.

Welcome back Mikal Dawson! Three threes!

Good wishes to Jason Shokalook https://www.instagram.com/p/C3tNvVSSuO-/?hl=en

If history tells us anything, they have a run left in them. Be ready to punch back.

I like Sammy playing more as a center this game

Dawson with a three!

Imagine saying 3 years ago the only person to make a three in a half is Greg Tribble

Interesting subplots: - Akron is aiming to stay on track to get the #1 seed in the MAC Tournament. If CMU stays in 3rd, we'd win a tiebreaker over Toledo since we beat CMU and they lost to them. Win out and it's likely ours. - Kent State, on the other hand, is still fighting to get to Cleveland. EMU, Buffalo, and NIU seem unlikely to make it, which leaves 9 teams to battle for 8 spots. Kent is currently on a 3-way tie with Miami and Western Michigan while Ball State sits one game behind them all. After tonight, Kent has Buffalo and CMU at home and Ball State and Toledo on the road. There's a very real scenario where Kent loses tonight and drops games against CMU, Ball State, and UT and misses the tournament altogether. Wouldn't that be fantastic?