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I find it amazing that this thread is 28 pages long and it started 3 years ago when Capt. Kangaroo thought Freeman might be a top 10 player in Akron history even though he was only in his 2nd year: "I think when all is said and done, Freeman’s numbers will merit a Top 10 all time ranking. He’s only going to get bigger and better. And he’s not going to do something stupid to curtail a great career." The discussion then compared Freeman's game to other great Akron players and I commented at that time that as a 2nd year player it was still to early to tell if he was as good as if not better than the other great Akron players. With his jersey going to the rafters, I certainly think he was the most dominant Akron player that I have seen since watching the Zips. The only negative is that he did not bring us that elusive win in the NCAA tournaments. I still go back to that game against UCLA when the refs called a very questionable illegal screen on him and fouled him out of the game to protect the blue blood UCLA and made sure they got the win. Worst call in Akron history.

I just want to caution against looking at the final foul tally in the box score. It doesn’t always tell the story of the game. The type and timing of the foul is how refs manage the game. This game was pretty close throughout, but in my opinion by the second half this game should have been played between a 10-20 point advantage for the Zips. Central Michigan was allowed a lot more hand-checking and body contact leading to bad shots and turnovers. That’s why I keep on Tavari to get physically stronger. He will not get any help on the road when the opponents rake his arms. We should have had many “and one” opportunities in this game. Scott was given a dead ball foul when he should have went to the line. And that half-court violation at the end is caused by the refs allowing physical play by the defense. It’s harder to protect and advance the ball when you know the opponent has been allowed to rape you all game. Understanding these things and being able to play through them on the road will make this team all the more dangerous come March.

Current Zips MAC rankings: 1st in points per game 4th in points surrendered 1st in margin of victory 3rd in team field goal percentage 2nd in opponent field goal percentage 2nd in Team 3-Point FG Percentage 2nd in Opponent 3-Point FG Percentage 1st in 3-Point FGs Made per game 4th in Team FT Percentage 1st in Combined Team Rebounds 3rd in Team Offensive Rebounds 1st in Team Defensive Rebounds 1st in Rebounding Margin 7th in Turnover Margin 1st in Assist/Turnover Ratio 1st in blocked shots 1st in steals Conclusion: Good offense + good defense = wins

I love watching Nate play but he seems good for one or two crazy passes or dumb fouls every game. I’m glad he’s on our side but I hope he cleans it up before Cleveland.

Game 25? How is that possible? NIU comes into the JAR Tuesday night to face the Zips on Enrique Freeman Night. The Huskies come in at 5-20/1-11 and are coming off of an 89-83 OT loss at Ball State. 6'5" sophomore guard Quentin Jones continues to lead the Huskies with 16.5 ppg. 6'5" senior guard James Dent scores 13.8 ppg while also contributing 5.8 rpg. They are 10th in offense and 8th in defense in the MAC. Here's hoping Akron gets out to show Enrique some love.

Individual Zips in MAC leaders: Nate Johnson- 14th in scoring; 22nd in FG%; 11th in FT%; 7th in assists per game; 4th in assists/TO ratio; 21st in blocks per game; 3rd in steals per game James Okonkwo- 1st in rebounds per game; 7th in blocks per game Isaiah Gray- 19th in rebounding; 15th in FG%; 17th in assists per game; 18th in steals per game Amani Lyles- 4th in FG%; 5th in blocks per game Tavari Johnson- 25th in FG%; 11th in 3 point FG%; 4th in assists per game; 5th in assists/TO ratio Sharron Young- 4th in 3 point FG%; 25th in steals per game; Bowen Hardman- 7th in 3 point FG% Shammah Scott- 24th in 3 point FG%; 20th in assists per game The highest in average minutes played in Hate and he's 18th. That may be my favorite stat of all. TEAMISM BABY.

He didn’t dive on a ball he lost either. It might be because he had just hurt his hand a bit earlier, but it was a bad look.

This is one of those games that we all worried about when the Zips go cold from distance. In this game we only shot 28% from 3 but we shot 50% from the field. In other words, we won this game by finding another way to score which is what good teams do when their shots are not falling from distance. I think we have the 2 best point guards in the league but they had off nights going 2 of 11 from the field with 4 turnovers. Young had 2 in 12 minutes. These stats surprised me: We complained about the refs but both teams shot the same number of foul shots. We are usually on the losing end of that battle. I thought we got outrebounded but we were basically dead even on rebounds. I thought this game was over late but Central Michigan made 2 late three pointers and we had 2 turnovers in the last 90 seconds. We also had a dumb foul in the last 16 seconds in the back court which allowed them to score with the clock stopped. So basically 3 bad plays in the last 90 seconds. Looking forward to Freeman night and a home win on Tuesday.

On the pregame, Dave ends the interview saying "John Groce coach of the Akron Zips, looking to get their 13th win in a row" Then Groce jumps back on and goes "Zips fans, we are looking to go 1-0 today, 1-0"

Exactly. Groce said something on a post-game about how these kids play as a team and a good play or shot is seen as the team's good play or shot. These stats show it.

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Zips, make sure this doesn't happen on Enrique's big night. 😊

IMG_1907.MOV

An amazing write up from Zipped Up. This guy is an encyclopedia of Zips basketball: https://open.substack.com/pub/akronzippedup/p/zips-mens-basketball-weekly-update-743?r=4gotw8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

I believe it was Seth Wilson not far from him that looked down at the ball in confusion like, "Oh, you're not going to dive for the ball you lost? I have to go for it?" Throughout his career, Nate has had these poor habits of sleepwalking through games. He's almost too good for his own good at times because the game becomes too easy and he falls into the trap of taking plays off as a result. Again, so many coachable moments for Groce to review with the team; I suspect this will be towards the top for JG.

I hear unicorns wear #25.

#25, that ring a bell or anything?

Take the win, come home, and get right by whooping Husky ass on Freeman night. Lots of coachable moments in this game, and we all know Groce will be sure to capitalize. Love that we're not losing while still working through those struggles. 13 in a row. Keep it rolling!

I’m thinking our transfers from other leagues; Wilson, Gray, Okonkwo and Hardman are wondering what the hell was that? That was some special road treatment they were served up tonight. I’m proud of them. Sure, they could have helped themselves a bit more down the stretch, but they didn’t crack and got the dub.

Officiating sucked!

That last basket is a reason I will never bet on sports. (LOL)

Listening from the Southern Ocean. 😁

BOOOOOM! Wow Shammah!

I was being facetious. It's the MAC...everything sucks except the Zips.

I think when all is said and done, Freeman’s numbers will merit a Top 10 all time ranking. He’s only going to get bigger and better. And he’s not going to do something stupid to curtail a great career.

Enrique's is truly an amazing story. I will never forget that UCLA game. With 'Rique still in the game they maybe make Akron basketball history. That was a tough whistle. That was probably the closest many will get to a Zips Basketball tourney win in a lifetime and he was the catalyst of it all - not to take any credit away from the rest of that year's team. A very special memory for sure. It will be nice to celebrate on Tuesday 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKAnk2XVnDE

Jarusevicius's development has turned CMU into a MAC contender. If they can keep him healthy and out of foul trouble and a third player steps up to help him and Pritchard, I could see them making a dent in Cleveland. They're certainll battle tested given their OOC schedule.

Got to agree with this. No doubt Nate is a super talent. He should be 1st team All MAC. But that doesn't excuse him from the outright carelessness he has with the ball. He has far too many unforced TO's. He has to work on this area of the game if we are to play beyond the MAC championship game. Better teams will take advantage of his TO's and turn them into points. That could be the difference in a big dance game.

That play also stood out for me. I noticed last year when Nate came back from injury he started throwing some bad passes and I thought it was just him getting back to the speed of the game. This year he has been simply amazing. His jumper is almost unstoppable and every time we need a clutch basket he seems to come up big and stop a run by the opposing team. However, he still has those one or two dumb passes. He was the only one who could score at the beginning of the game and kept us close. Every player has their one minor flaw and I guess with Nate it will be the ill timed pass.

In this week's Zipped Up, there is a compilation of Freeman's greatest moments. I know I was there, but I don't remember that Marshall 2021 ending. https://open.substack.com/pub/akronzippedup/p/zips-mens-basketball-weekly-update-743?r=4gotw8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

seems like every effing time Akron plays Central they make a bunch of late 3s in last 2 minutes. and that last shot to screw up the spread. So typical of Central.

That locks up a spot in the MAC tournament. We have a 2 game lead over Miami, but basically a 2 and a 1/2 game lead since we own the tie-breaker.

1-0.

The Zips are 1-0 today!

Some troubling decision making down the stretch. They still have some work to do on their "neck stepping."

do not like this at all

Weird game. Only 18 three pointers taken but huge points inside.

Lyles has been so good around the hoop and then cannot catch the ball. Tevari cannot make a 3 tonight. We need to come up big in the last 2 minutes.

This Ugnius dude is making it looks like we are Duke trying to guard Tacko Fall

This is a clinic on how to share the ball. Some very nice passes this half.

Gray has been fantastic this game

15th in the MAC in scoring; 25th in FG%; 11th in FT%; 3rd in steals. He may be the Zips MVP but he won't get votes for POY without being higher in the stats.

I don’t follow the rest of the MAC like some of you do, but Nate Johnson has to be in the running for player of the year right?

That pass on the backdoor cut by Gray, while being in the same side of the court as Young (the cutter), was elite. One of the prettiest passes on a backdoor cut I've seen in some time.

While it might not be true most nights in the MAC, a win by one point tonight will be good enough. This is a trap game with poor shooting and mediocre officiating...just get the W and move on! Let's go!

Gotta get some more effective height

Marvin and Okonkwo on at the same time. Must be our big team!!

I'll go with the game played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your ears.

Biggest "significant to some" 3 right there