Illini Zip

It’s ironic to me that we went away from the fast-paced, guard oriented system because we had a good (soon to be dominant) back to the basket post player. By the end of his career with the Zips, Freeman developed his all around game to a level worthy of being drafted to the NBA. Now he plays in a manner for the Pacers/Mad Ants that would be an ideal fit for the scheme Groce is running this year. Ugh!! I really hope Freeman’s success leads to the Zips landing some highly skilled and athletic bigs going forward. Edit: I should clarify because both Lyles and Okonkwo have had very impactful games and Lyles’ growth in the last year has been very impressive. There are exciting aspects to this offense involving bigs that I haven’t seen run in Akron just yet. Lyles is the player on the current roster most likely to implement them.

I do think the road games at Kent, Ohio and Toledo will likely be competitive games. But I really like this 10 player rotation. The opponent doesn’t know who to game plan for because it can be anyone’s night to lead in scoring. But also our guys are maxing out at about 20 minutes per game. They should all be plenty fresh for the long run. Edit: I’m wrong. Some guys played 25-28 minutes today. But each game it could be different guys getting extra minutes. We should still have fresh bodies throughout the season.

They haven’t figured out that Reghi is our weapon of mass distraction. And I personally liked; “Stole little Bro’s lunch money”.

person or lesson?

I’m not looking for something to complain about, but on TV many of the fouls against Okonkwo specifically appeared pretty weak. Is he doing anything I’m just not noticing?

Groce walked off the court with his arm around Tavari. I expect that last pass was the topic of discussion.

Nice D Tavari!!

Did I just see Hardman drive to the hoop? 👀

💯

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

Please add Ali and Tribble.

💯💯💯

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.

💯💯💯

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.