kreed5120
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Posts posted by kreed5120
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46 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
Did I miss something? Did the NCAA increase the number of games in a season? These records seem inflated compared to years past.
Akron's best teams - AFTER the MAC Tourney - only posted 26-27 wins, with similar loss totals to Toledo/OU/KSUcks.
No, the MAC went to a 20 game conference schedule. We sacrificed 2 OOC games to do it. That's why you see MAC games in December whereas before MAC didn't start play until January.
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6 minutes ago, zippy5 said:
Yep, we just don't have the talent right now. It's simple. Different story if we had Carry and Walton on the floor. Still not as good as the 2020 team, but good enough to compete in the 2022 MAC
Did you see how bad we looked in Florida with Walton? I think we would even be worse with him. Teams would be able to freely double team Freeman anytime he received a pass in the low post and would be able to pack the paint to cutoff any dribble penetration. Walton makes Tribble look like an elite 3 point shooter.
Someone like Carry who could help space the floor and create offense for others certainly would have helped.
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10 hours ago, NWAkron said:
that job as Rhegi's sidekick couldn't have paid much more than a few hundred bucks per game. It's a real loss. But someone with her talent and personality was bound to move on to better things. So much change lately.
You see former players and media personnel land announcing gigs all the time. It was nice having an official to breakdown the calls made and provide a different insight to the game that you just don't see elsewhere.
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When you factor in how bad the MAC is this year, this might be Akron's worst team in the last 20 years (excluding Groce year 0 rebuild). Outside of Freeman I don't see anyone fighting all that hard for rebounds or loose balls on a consistent basis. Ali is probably the only elite 3 point shooter on the team for an offense that heavily relies on the 3 and even then he's only putting up 3 attempts per game. Akron was playing some really great defense earlier in the season, but that has appeared to regress quite considerably.
This team is just too flawed and doesn't have that one player who can put the team on his back to mask those flaws.
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1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
Meh. That team was uninspiring. They beat a Houston team that didn't want to be in the NIT, kind of like the Akron squad that played Green Bay in one of those non NCAA/NIT postseason tourneys and lost. That team actually exposed Dambrot's lack of coaching ability, as Big Dog was constantly found out by the 3 pt arc.
It was old school throw it in the post and let the offense run through the big type offense. I can see how someone in today's day and age could view it as boring as they want to see guard dominated offenses, but that doesn't mean it wasn't effective. We can agree to disagree.
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I'd say as of now big dog, Zeke and Romeo are all ahead of Enrique. Enrique can still add to his resume.
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1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
Rome never made it to the league because he was a 6'6" post player with a very limited jump shot (at best) and a 60% shooter from the charity stripe. I don't really think much of Rome as a basketball player; his legacy to me is cemented by being one of the two key foundational pieces that made Akron basketball what it is today. Forever grateful for he and Dru's services.
Maybe the 3rd best player on that team, but man was he clutch. He had the ability to do it all whenever it was needed - 3 pointer, drive to the basket, mid-range jumper, etc.
I don't think you're off-base at all.
Freeman has the walk-on factor that really elevates the perception around his legacy. He doesn't necessarily need overall team achievements for people to think highly of him; his journey is impressive enough. Easily one of my favorite Zips of all time.
Aziz is as good, if not better than Zeke at this point in their careers. Aziz could be really special come his senior year. It'll be fun to see him and Kalle develop alongside Freeman. Our front-court is going to be a force for several years. We will be set up to accomplish more than any Zips team ever has.
Zeke was really under-developed by Dambrot & staff. It wasn't until Zeke's national recognition grew and he got better off-season help that he took jumps to the next level(s). Zeke was a highly-touted recruit, obviously, so he needed team accomplishments to cement his legacy. That 2012-13 team was special. It's the only team to fairly compare the 2019-20 team to. Zeke was a huge piece of that, but if we didn't win multiple MAC Tourney Titles with Zeke, his career would've been viewed differently. The lack of NCAA Tournament success takes a bit away from him (somewhat unfairly).
I feel you're sleeping on the Big Dog, Kwan, Robotham, Antino, Ivey team. That teams weakness was their best player was pushing 300lbs so winning 3 games in 3 days was bit of a challenge, but given their size I think they could have picked up a win in the tourney had they made it.
Edit: That team beat a Houston team on the road in the NIT that went 12-6 in the AAC
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7 minutes ago, jupitertoo said:
UA at Akron just moved from Saturday 2/26 to Friday 2/25. Sux for those of us who wanted have fun in Athens before/after Saturday game.
It should have been assumed that game would get flexed. That's the current 2nd place team vs current 3rd place team.
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Ohio and Toledo would be bubble teams for an NIT at-large. Neither are or will be remotely in the discussion for an at-large to the big dance.
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9 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
I think it's the eye test for me. The quality of basketball in the MAC isn't very strong this year (heck, college basketball in general is harder to watch than usual). I don't look at Buffalo like I did a few years ago - capable of consistently beating teams outside of the Top 10. Toledo and OU aren't on that level either. The bottom of the MAC is as bad as I can ever remember, too.
It's not even the eye test. The MAC is objectively down. Let's go back and look at the 2019-2020 season(last full regular season before covid). The worst team in the MAC that year was WMU and their Kenpom rating was 237. Now looking at this year's Kenpom that would place them better than 5 teams this season. So the worst team in 2020 is better than nearly half the teams this season. You can take any year and it would be about the same.
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6 hours ago, NWAkron said:
What expectations did you have? that the Zips would make the finals and beat one of the 3 teams they already lost to this season? sometimes it's best to go in with minimal expectations. hope for the best. expect the worst.
I can't speak for Rowdy, but my expectation is that I think this Zips team is good enough that they're capable of beating any team in the MAC when they're playing at their best, but not consistent enough to string 3 of those games in a row.
His assessment is spot on about Akron looking better than it is because the MAC is down. We have another month of basketball so one just hopes we keep finding ways to improve and that we're playing our best ball in March.
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I really don't think we had the perimeter scorers for KJ to be a real solution. Think about it anytime you had Walton, Tribble, and Freeman in the lineup that's 3/5 players on the court that are no threat from beyond the arc. That just allows the opponents to pack the paint, which makes it easy to double Freeman in the low and it allows defenses to cut off Walton and Tribble drives to the hoop.
It's a big reason why I felt we played so bad in Florida. Teams were leaving us unguarded behind the 3 point arc just daring us to shoot and we just kept missing.
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1 hour ago, 1981 grad said:
I just do not see a new arena on the horizon. We lost about 20% of the fan base when KD left. We lost another 25% with covid. The jar is about half full on good nights. The interest in Akron basketball has diminished even though we have had some good teams under Groce. Akron has cut general admission to $5 and we are 10-3 and we still are not getting great crowds. I will bet that the Kent game will not sell out. Also, build it and they will come did not exactly work with Infocision field. We need to build our fan base before we even think of a new arena.
A new arena isn't going to happen anytime soon unless magically some alumni steps forward with a check in the 10s of millions. I wouldn't count on that. The city/county made a play for a new arena and failed miserably. The university itself is a financial mess in part because of the money they spent on Infocision. The money just isn't there. Perhaps in 20 years when we're done off Infocision it could become a possibility.
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Throw out the records. We always seem to struggle at Dekalb
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I feel @1981 grad hit it on the head. Dambrot strength was always recruiting and developing players that fit his system. He did a really great job of never losing key contributors to the transfer portal. Now with NIL and the transfer rules change I just feel the game has passed Dambrot by. What he had success with before really isn't going to be a winning formula now.
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Freeman should have a nice, long career in one of the better European leagues when he leaves Akron.
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Before the baseball team came back I felt the perfect place for a new arena was building it where the current baseball field is. That would get you on exchange street so you would be in easy walking distance to bars and restaurants. Not to mention lot 9 parking and the Exchange parking decks right there. Personally, I'm not a big fan of a downtown arena unless the city/county is chipping in. Being in the middle of campus makes it more convenient for students to attend.
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2 hours ago, Reslife4Life said:
Once covid started in order to keep distance, they moved a lot of the workout equipment into both blue courts. They finally moved some of the equipment so one of the blue courts could be used for futsal and other things. But according to rec employees, they don’t even know how to move all the equipment back because it already seems too congested now. If I were to guess on where in the Fieldhouse/rec they would build this, I think the indoor golf training room might be used as a part of the new facility
Yes, I really hope they wouldn't take those blue courts away from the students. Those courts were frequently used for intramural futsal, floor hockey, whiffed ball, and even open gym basketball.
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The main positive I'll take away is I felt the Zips were the team that played with more effort. I can't say that for some of the previous games. We just lost to the better team.
We're a vastly better team with Freeman on the floor vs him off. We need to get more quality minutes out of Aziz.
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2 5 point possessions in a matter of like 3 minutes lol
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7 minutes ago, LZIp said:
Well now we know where things stand. Second tier MAC team with Kent and Buffalo (probably more towards the middle than top) while OU and Toledo are above the rest. Doesn't mean we can't go on a run and win the tourney, see OU last year...but its tough to envision.
I'm not sure what the obvious fix is next year either. Just gotta hope these guys keep improving.
I just don't see this team being able to put together 3 quality wins in a row. When Trimble is on we're capable of beating anyone, but he has more bad games than good.
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We fell apart in 1st half when Freeman got into foul trouble. Have to do better defensively in the 2nd half.
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I'm kind of surprised Akron would consider Dambrot as AD. Naturally Dambrot being a basketball guy would likely start funneling more of the limited amount of athletic dollars to basketball, which I don't disagree with. It just seems the opposite of what the university has been pushing these past few decades, which has been funneling money to football (IPF, new stadium, paying 6 figure buyouts on numerous occasions). Meanwhile, all the basketball program has received is a fresh coat of paint and a new jumbotron...
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34 minutes ago, LZIp said:
The mighty Dookies of Duquense lost to St Joes last night to fall to 1-4 in conference play and 6-11 overall. With games vs St Louis, Richmond, VCU, Dayton, and Davidson on the immediate horizon, the upcoming weeks look grim and the fan message board is growing restless, especially considering prior to the season KD claimed this was his most talented team yet.
I imagine they'll let him coach out his contract, but chances on an extension seems near zero unless he pulls off a miracle next year. Thus far it appears no March Madness or NIT in his career there. I wonder if he regrets moving on for the seemingly minor increase in compensation.
I honestly don't think him leaving was as much about the money as it was him wanting to try to cement his legacy by making a sweet 16 run. He had opportunities to leave for more money throughout the years but choose to stay.
Duquesne promised him a renovated arena and a commitment to an increased budget. He looked at his age and knew he didn't have many seasons left as he's said numerous times that he doesn't plan to coach into his 70s. He thought Duquesne gave him the best chance to get those tourney wins that was the only thing his resume was missing. The fact it appears he won't make the tournament at Duquesne, let alone get tournament wins, I'm sure he'll view it as a mistake.
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Ohio University- 2/25/22 at 6 p.m.
in Akron Zips Basketball
Posted · Edited by kreed5120
If we look at kenpom (as it shows previous years rankings) Toledo is #87 and Ohio is #106. Last season the top 3 MAC teams were #74, #77, and #81. That means last year the MAC had 3 teams better than this years Toledo team. I'd say the MAC is down a crossed the board, top to bottom.
Edit: you have to go back to 2017 to find a year that the MAC top ranked team was ranked worse than what Toledo is currently.