Illini Zip

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I know this is just a single regular season game, but it feels bigger to me.

Please add Ali and Tribble.

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I will never understand why last year’s team couldn’t hit wide open threes at a decent clip. They are not that bad of shooters. I don’t believe it. Can you imagine trying to defend Freeman with this year’s guard play?

It is my opinion that Groce wasn’t expecting a complete rebuild. That’s it. And no it’s not common practice for a coach to take players with him. It’s actually frowned upon. And after losing by 32 points at home I imagine what is left of Buffalo’s fan base is being quite hyperbolic. They have had to roll around in ashes for a lot longer than one offseason.

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ROAD KILL!!!

Groce really does need to stop scheduling all of these D3 teams.

Marvin is way down in the pecking order, but his game keeps improving.

10 turnovers for Akron and Buffalo has 8 steals already. Yikes!! I think the game came to us too easy early on. We need to clean up our act.

I like that we came to play tonight. Easily could’ve been a let down or trap game. Let’s see if we can stay focused for the full 40 minutes.

Here we go!!

I’m happy for Akron fans, I really am, but I’m not so sure Groce takes the job if he knew what was waiting for him. I personally think he was blindsided. Between a depleted roster and a fractured fan base, Groce unknowingly walked into a situation far worse than Buffalo 2025. For all of Dambrot’s accomplishments and accolades, he left a dumpster fire behind. Many coaches would have reneged. It’s Akron’s good fortune that Groce is a man of character. He kept his commitment, didn’t pout, and immediately went to work on the rebuild. It was late in the recruiting cycle and remember transfers had to sit out a year back then. I don’t want to be hard on those guys, but much of the talent available was subpar and many Akron fans with winning expectations didn’t know how to handle a 14-18 season, 6-12 in the MAC. Give credit to KD for all he did, Groce certainly does. But make no mistake, Groce pulled Akron basketball out of the ashes. And I hope he retires there with many more accomplishments to come. Go Zips!!

I think you are right to applaud Bud Wentz for his major contributions to the program, but in no way does it diminish the coach’s role or obligations. If anything, the new NIL landscape adds an additional level of challenges to the equation.

You would think he went to an Ivy League school or something.

I have admittedly been hard on Tavari, and rightfully so. There was never any doubt he has skills, but he wasn’t mature enough to take on the demanding and much needed role when he arrived. He was an asset one minute and a liability the next. To be fair, LCJ took time to develop. And I wasn’t certain Castaneda would ever be more than a shooting guard. But they eventually hit their stride and were great leaders as well as all around competitors. All the more credit to Young for being impactful so early on. I don’t want to jinx Tavari, but it appears the light has gone on for him. If so, and he stays true to the process the next year and a half could be very special for him and the Zips.

💯💯💯 I’m out of likes again. Good post. Regardless of my views on the refs game management, the Zips control if they choose to play into it or fight back against it. And I agree, they need to get better at finishing games out strong. Focusing on the play in front of them and locking down the opponent regardless of score right to the very end.

Groce is right to have his team focus on themselves and not buy into the Akron fan’s protests. From getting caught reaching in, being out of position to moving screens, we have plenty to clean up. That said, 2 things can be true at the same time. And the MAC does not like blow outs. Especially on national TV. Without some timely calls and no-calls this was a 30 point rout.

I do expect the game at Ohio to play out differently. Tighter and more competitive. But the thing that pleasantly surprised me was how much we closed the gap on what was Ohio’s advantage heading into the season. And that being their cohesion. They are the team returning the most players and from the outside you wouldn’t have known that the Zips have added 9 new pieces to the roster. The OOC portion of the season was rough, but we are turning the corner for sure.

Groce mentioned that Lyles has been playing through pain from a sprained ankle. We have seen him back to 100% for about the last week and a half.

We did also have 7 blocks to their 4. And had double the points in the paint. Not too shabby for one of the smaller teams in D1.

That’s definitely technical material.

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Wow. MAC officials…