NWAkron
-
Posts
6,640 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
69
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Posts posted by NWAkron
-
-
Crashing directly towards sole possession of last place. Nice choke jobs by Buffalo and PCCC and Toledo.
-
So basically we need to win tonight and Ohio, Miami, NIU, CMU, and EMU need to lose. So basically...we are screwed.
-
37 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:
Ditto on Cotton. I love the kid's play and moxie, but there's something up there that I can't put my finger on. He had his tiff with Ivey and a DNP shortly thereafter followed by his recent one game suspension. It makes me most uneasy as to his future.
Maybe you all should stop saying he looks like a girl with his dreds and that he needs a haircut. Words hurt.
-
2
-
-
-
25 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:
I'm afraid the Zips are going to be without a road win this year. I think Wiggins lights it up tonight as the Zips have nothing standing in his way down low. You'll recall that the earlier game against BG was a last second win with Sayles having his best game of the year before suffering what now looks like may be a season ending injury.
Well aren't you a ray of sunshine. Did Skip Zip hack your password?
-
5
-
-
Big Game Tomorrow Night!!!
-
-
Toledo?
-
1
-
-
13 minutes ago, skip-zip said:
Yep. They were just good basketball players who got a lot done, despite being undersized. That was my point in responding to a post that was making a blanket statement that nothing else will help us except more size.
A force? I think there's still a couple of you who are really seeing this through some extremely rose-colored glasses. And it's not just the offensive woes.
This is pretty simple. When a guy 6'-11" plays 20 minutes and commits 5 fouls and has 2 turnovers, and can only muster 2 points and 2 rebounds, you better hope you get some guys the following year who are good enough to put him back to 2 minutes a game coming off of the bench. And I think that was one of his better performances this year.
And lets be honest. Even the guy who was playing in front of him and getting all of his minutes before the medical problem isn't the long term solution either.
Haven't you figured out Skip that some of us like our rose-colored glasses. And being honest with ourselves isn't any fun either.
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
How about Balls blowing out Toledo by 28?
Yeah. They are the hot team right now. Really hate them, though.
-
On 2/16/2018 at 6:36 PM, skip-zip said:
One game?
I went a step further. Cleveland was like a 2 or 3 day vacation every year for us (depending on the year, and the tourney format). So much fun. I'll miss that.
I recall the first time that 7 year string of Finals ended, when we lost to WMU in the 2014 Semifinal. I had an incredibly empty feeling leaving Cleveland that Friday night, knowing that someone else would be in the Final. I think I almost got ill on the way home. I felt like that MAC Final belonged to us or something !!
I still have my schedule clear for that week in March. So many good times. It really was a ritual for us. But those losses in the final game the last few years just wiped me out. For me...maybe not the rest of us...but for me...I was ready for a change. Oh and leaving the MAC? I hope not. Best part of being in the MAC is having the tourney at the Q.
-
-
15 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:
I thought the effort was really good today. I saw a good team play, some unselfish passing and some really good effort. Unfortunately, this team folded in the last 5 minutes at the same time Kent got hot from the 3 line. I think if this team shows this effort the rest of the season we could still get some wins. I thought that Groce made a bad sub in the last 5 minutes taking out Parish and putting in Smith. Having Smith play forward and Klac playing center puts us at a disadvantage offensively since neither can score with any consistentcy. (They had a total of 2 points with one shot between them) Parish made a big 3 the last 5 minutes and was playing well. As soon as Smith came in a Kent player blew past him and made a layup. I would like to see Klac post up his man. This team does not get him the ball in the post. I did like how we spread the floor when Utomi was playing center. It opened up the paint and Duvivier and Jimond had some nice drives even though Jimond could not finish. This team may stand a chance at Bowling Green with this effort. Go Zips!
Are you the NEW DaveinGreen or ARE you DaveinGreen? Really appreciate your unbiased insight. Thank you.
-
That could be a weird final game if the scenario is: If we win we go to Kalamazoo if we lose we go to Kent. Obviously, beating Kent and taking the momentum to Hawkins and the Broncos I think would be the preferred choice. I'm thinking Kent's going to lose in Athens on Tuesday. NIU (playing Ball State twice) and Central both have brutal schedules these last four games. If we can win 3 out of the next four maybe, just maybe we can get that home game. And Eastern has to play Toledo twice, so they might be looking at bottom 4 as well.
-
This is just a thread to discuss the team, the past, the current season as we lead up to the game at PCCC. I have some construction going on at my house, so as I wait for them to leave (and not wanting to to turn on the TV and face all the bad news) I turned to my favorite topic The Zips.
This whole Groce/Dambrot thing is dividing us all a bit on here. Looking back at the Dambrot years, they were really exciting. I loved all those trips to Cleveland, but FOR ME I hated the tourney losses more. I went to Detroit for the VCU game. That was just a horrible draw for the Zips and the coaching staff knew it immediately. Having no point guard was bad enough but then two guys got the flu. What was a coach to do? Remind us a bit of what's happening now?
While I keep VCU in perspective, there were many more losses at big moments that just left me really sad as a fan. (Ok, just there I sounded like a Bobcat Attack dweller).
Dambrot Exits Stage Right: For reasons only known to the parties in the room at the time, Dambrot left for Duquense. He got a big raise and a chance to play in a better conference where good teams are forced to play on his home floor. It's a multi-bid conference where he can rack of quality wins without leaving the conference to get them. It looks like he's doing well. When he left, some players went with him and three guards transferred for various reasons. Maybe some were already planning on leaving. We also lost Big Dog and Kwan. Although, Big Dog was the really big loss and the hardest to replace. The only tall guy left at that point was Eman and the unproven (redshirt) freshman Sayles. The good news was that Ivey and Utomi stayed. So on Dambrot's departure (and to me it doesn't matter whether he poached players or not) there were two solid guys and a back up center who was a foul machine much like a certain other guy we have playing now.
Groce Enters Stage Left: John Groce. The Kitten hero and the bane of our existence along with his star guard DJ Cooper. He helped make this vicious rivalry versus Ohio. God, he was annoying. Frenchy called him "a clown." He took Ohio to the second round of the NCAA with a big upset over Georgetown. The next year, with the same team, he lost early in the MAC. That year we had probably the best game I can ever remember attending: MAC championship with over Kent. However, the next year, Ohio, Groce, and Cooper were back and took us out in the finals and then swept into the Sweet 16 with the help of a good draw and then almost took out NC. Many wonder...what if Brian Walsh made that basket? What would have happened to Groce? Well, i assume they might have made an NIT run and would be back the following year with the same team. And who knows what would have happened. Did Groce catch lightning in the bottle? I didn't follow his career at Illinois, but it obviously wasn't good enough to keep him around. They wanted him out and were willing to pay him millions to leave. But it's tough at least for me to compare Big Ten coaching situations to the MAC. So he's fired. And we hire him. We get a good deal. We save some $$ for a few years.
What is the goal? What were Williams, Wilson, and Van Horn thinking when they hired Groce? What did they want for the program? Did they want the same regular season success of Dambrot? Or did they want more of the Ohio U model? Or did they want to start over and bring a guy in who could truly bring us to dominance so that we absolutely outclass the BGs and directional schools every season. I have no idea, but I guess my hope is the third option. Maybe some of you think they weighted Groce's prior success too much. I wasn't there. I don't know.
This Season: Yes, there were those of us, myself included, who were/are absolutely pro-Groce. Of course, that is subject to change. However, at least for me I want to be optimistic. I liked what I saw with the team he and his staff cobbled together. I like the style of play, and, hell, we were winning. However, a trip to Hawaii, an ugly loss at home to Buffalo, a effortless loss to EMU away, and injuries to our two big men left us wondering what the hell has happened to our team. We certainly aren't used to this. I'm certainly noticing a few more empty seats. Maybe those who will always re-up their tickets don't make it to every game now. But anecdotally the folks I talk to at the game who have been there for years are still positive about the team and the coach.
Perspective: As noted above, those tourney losses were hard on me as a fan. I also began to realize last year that these 20+ win seasons were a mirage and not worth much to me as a fan and didn't mean anything at all if we collapsed in the final game. While that record looked good and the company we kept was good, if you knew who we played well it didn't mean that much. We had that home winning streak. Second longest in the nation. But someone on here said that wasn't too hard because we only had to get up for a few games a year at home. (Wow, to only have that problem this year.) So for me, when I heard Dambrot was leaving I was basically indifferent, and I am enjoying a new team, new coaches, and a new start even with the losses. I really want to get a game in Cleveland, but like the rest of you that seems so unlikely. I don't blame Groce for that. Next year I might. But not this year considering the big picture.
The Players: On this topic, as to who will stay and who will go I would defer to all of you. If Groce and his group are going with the third option mentioned above of building a dominant program then they may cut a few loose that may surprise us.
-
6
-
-
I don't think this debate over this Havrilek kid has anything to do with whether someone likes Dambrot or Groce better.
-
20 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:
Exactly, in large part based their performance in.....the....MAC tournament.
They don't have the finances to just send him on his way.
He keeps KSU middle of the road. Some moments of awesome but mostly frustration for their fans. As we all obviously know, the MAC is a tough grind for a coach. If you go back 20 years, you see how different teams dominated for a few years then dropped off maybe to make a resurgence later. That resurgence often involves crashing to the bottom before slowly rising back up...until that coach leaves. Dambrot did an awesome job always keeping us in the mix during his tenure. I like how Akron has it set up with Groce where Illinois is basically paying him until he proves himself. (Yes, I know the University is still paying him $300,000+)
-
49 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:
You are correct. On slo mo he was about 2-3 feet outside the arc.
I don't think it changed the outcome but was bad. From my seat in the stands it looked like the Ball State guy also pushed off with his forearm. Such inconsistency. I think they called that on Ball State another time but then flip it for this call.
-
Mr. Pinky! Love it.
-
9 minutes ago, zipsrule said:
10 at 7. We would be at Miami.
I guess that is somewhat better. Maybe we should lose to Miami at home because we know it's next to impossible to beat a team 3x in one season
-
Good a road game in Ypsilanti with the Zone and James Thompson with no big guy on our end. Better get hot from 3, or we will all be saving a lot of $$ (except Clark who finds free Tix) this year.
-
We had two close games with Ball State last year, and they brought back most of their players and their same coach. With Sayles or EMan these games may be at the 5 or 6 point differential instead of the 15-30 points. Zips fans aren't used to saying that another MAC team is simply better. With this loss, we are looking at an away game first round for sure...maybe at PCCC. Would be cool if that is our first road win!
-
1
-
-
I hope Ball State exits the MAC tourney early and painfully. If it's PCCC or Kittens or Buffalo who takes them out I don't care.
-
39 minutes ago, skip-zip said:
If that's what you call 2,300 (official tickets "sold" number), and you subtract half of the already-purchased lower bowl blue seats that were empty.
You call it decent. I call it embarrassing.
I don't think I've seen this level of waning fan interest this long before the end of conference play since the Coleman Crawford days. Even the Evans Lounge, that has always been packed and bustling an hour before gametime, has the atmosphere of a funeral parlor.
oh just stop already. Pittsburgh is two hours away.
As for the Evans Lounge, I think this year or was it last year they stopped giving free food to all the VIP ticket holders. Only the top donors (and you know what a wild and wacky crowd they are) can fill up on a meal before game and during halftime. For everyone else, it's basically good for grabbing a water or maybe some popcorn at halftime. There's no real reason to be there other than to watch everyone else eat unless you want to get there 30 minutes early to listen to an asst coach AND watch everyone else eat.
-
1
-
Game 27—@ BGSU
in Akron Zips Basketball
Posted
Praise Sweet Baby Jesus!