Zip JD

Don't forget the shanked punt leading to a 51 yard FG by Colgate. When is the last time a Zips kicker hit from 50?

One arm, weak effort arm tackling.

I wish they were the Cavity Creeps instead of the Raiders (I realize this is a very dated reference and yes this is the wrong product but we didn't schedule Crest Academy so I'm going with it).

I just don't know how people can say he failed when even with all the shooting issues he won the MACC again. Fair point on all the recent backcourt misses but Groce is the one that gave Freeman a shot and developed him. He also got the maximum out of Tribble who could barely hit a layup when he arrived. Think back to Ali Ali's first year and see how much he developed as well. Look at Ali's dismal time in Butler and see what he got out of him. Groce brought in Hunter who turned out to be our best 3 pt shooter. Nate looks like he will be a force as well. I just think that Groce shouldn't take all the blame for underperforming players without getting some of the credit for all the ones that hit. No disagreement that Groce is ultimately the one who has the responsibility for the wins and loses but if Thornton, Scott, Dawson and/or Tavari could have hit shots with any consistency it would have made a huge difference. They all have talent, but it never showed for more than brief moments. Groce got those guys all kinds of wide-open shots all year but unfortunately, he can't shoot it for them. Last question, what would a run of the mill MAC coach have done with this team?

Agreed. None of our guards took advantage of all the double and sometimes triple teams that were thrown at Freeman. He was hardly a black hole. Freeman would kick it back out in a heartbeat when guys were open. LCJ would have been in heaven playing with Freeman this past season.

I put more on the players than Groce. None of the guys brought in to be perimeter players stepped up even though Groce's offense got them all kinds of open looks. Thornton, Scott, Dawson, Tavari were all disappointments from deep even though they got open shots every game (usually wide open). Prather was not expected to contribute and only got minutes because the rest of the aforementioned players were so inconsistent that Groce was trying any lineup he could find to generate some offense outside of the main core.

Agreed. There could have easily been polls for stretch 4 (Kwan and X for example) vs. power forward (Wood and Tree) or wings. How about 6th man, defensive stoppers and rim protectors? The polls are fun trip down memory lane so keep them coming. I will say that if Nate Linhart does not get his due, ZipCat is in for trouble.

My write in candidate: Nate Linhart (I didn't see him on any list but I am also a MAC referee so who knows?)

Thx for the correction. I had the right church, wrong pew. KD still got to see him play regularly.

LeBron gives Akron all kinds of free shoes and gear every year. He also set up a foundation that put over $40mil into U of A 4-year scholarships for low-income high school students from ----- Akron. He built a new gym for his old high school and still outfits them with shoes and gear as well. When the gym wasn't built in time for the graduating class to enjoy, he bought all of the seniors St. V's running suits to make up for it. If he's not your guy fine but don't play the "he doesn't care about Akron" card. He will be back again this summer for his annual bike-a-thon to help inner city kids. I have no problem that he added his old HS coach and former PG/best friend to his shoe distribution list. If Dru ends up elsewhere as a coach, the shoes will follow him. In a world where a lot of athletes don't give back, I am not going to be critical of LBJ. That doesn't make it a love affair, I just appreciate what he does. (The televised Decision did suck but nobody is perfect).

I didn't view this team as deep in the front court. You had Freeman as the only real banger, granted a MAC POY big but he was it. Hunter was the tallest, but he preferred to roam outside, and Lyles barely saw the floor. Nobody besides Freeman regularly boxed out (See EMU game). Aziz would have been a key piece to still have. Hell, even Deng Riak would have helped us. Your second line holds the true demise of the Zips. Thorn and Scott were ice cold all year and both eventually got benched. By the end of the season Thorn's defense was weak and he was terrible with the ball. The poor kid looked shell shocked and was nothing near the 9 pts a game, best MAC assist/TO PG he was before coming to us. I thought Hankerson was the most unimpressive one and done for us, but he would have been a godsend for this team. The Nate injury hurt but he was averaging about 8 pts before he was sidelined. I have NO IDEA what happened to Dawson or TJ's shots nor do they. It was amazing Groce got the Zips to the dance when the bench bunch seemed to shoot a combined 10-20% down the stretch. Next Halloween, skip the haunted houses, just read the box scores. They were terrifying.

Prather like Tavari had trouble on the defensive end. He appeared to never really grasp the rotations and gave up a lot of back door cuts. Shooting 50-60% does not cover up giving up lay ups and dunks. That is what got him back on the bench (at least judging by the looks on Groce's face when it would happen). Prather looks like he will figure it out. TJ, on the other hand? I did like when Prather went to the line in a close game and nailed 2 foul shots. I believe it was against NIU, but it was the game where Thorton was at the line earlier and put the first one WIDE left and then barely hit the rim on the second one. The shots were so bad Groce had to pull him for the last minutes to avoid him going back to the line.

His son finished his NCAA soccer career as a Duke as well.

Texas Southern didn’t stand a chance against Tarleton State. BTW, they are the Texans. More importantly, Go Zips!

I'm all in on Tarleton State (24-9). Now I just have to find out who they are.

That's a very fair assessment and probably the correct answer. I just hate the continued neglect of the mid-majors. I liked the safety net of win your conference and get the NIT bid if you don't win the conference tourney. The regular season should mean more than MACC seeding.

Although Pitino did state he didn't want to go to the also-ran tournament, most of the time when this happens its schools that feel they were snubbed by the NCAA and then basically take their ball and going home in protest. That happens almost every year and has for a long time. It's no different than when bigger programs declining bids to lower rung bowl games when the feel they deserved a better bid. It just happens more with hoops. With teams declining NIT bids, it makes it even worse that Toldeo got left out. The MAC has been a one-bid NCAA tourney conference since the late '90's. Now it has gotten so bad we are a one-bid conference for the entire post season.

It sucks that teams in power conferences that finish 9th or 10th (or worse) out of 12 get a nod over teams that win a mid-major conference regular season.

It appears the NIT did away with automatic bids to regular season conference champions, so Toledo is out in the cold. This is just another way to keep the mid-majors out to let in more power conference teams with bigger fan bases and name recognition.

KD took over a program that was on life support not only due to Hipsher's coaching (or the lack of it) but his terrible demeanor and inability to build any type of winning culture for the Zips. KD worked non-stop to build the fan base. He was at community functions and ALWAYS working to get people to games. The Crawford years followed by Hipsher's tenure left a cavernous hole to dig out of and KD did it. Would we have liked a few more wins in his 9 (repeat 9) MACC games? Sure. Would we have liked a NCAA tourney win? Absolutely. But to say he underachieved is nonsense. WITH ALL THE REGULAR SEASON TITLES AND GREAT PLAYERS, TOLDEO HAS NOT BEEN TO THE DANCE SINCE 1980 --- THAT IS UNDERACHIEVING.

Maybe we could start by getting the sound system to the point where you can understand the video interviews.

It would be interesting to see how many of the "I gotta be out of here by the 4:00 minute left mark regardless of the score to beat the crowd" season ticket holders would stay.

It would be nice to see an ex-Husky that kept his shot when arriving in Akron. Didn't Hankerson end up with us via NIU as well?

I felt bad for Thorn getting pulled on Senior Night in crunch time for missing two foul shots, BADLY, but he left Groce no choice. One shot was wide right and the other barely hit the rim. That does not build confidence for Cleveland minutes in a close game. Tavari's defense (or the lack of it) puts him in the same boat. I'm just glad Nate is working his way back in the rotation and Prather is putting himself in the mix.

When the Zips had a shot clock violation that ended with a high and wide pass to Scott on the baseline and the buzzer went off and then Scott shot,,,,,,, anybody else have a feeling of certainty that would be the 3 pointer he would hit. Never fails.