Illini Zip

It's hard to fathom such poor shooting numbers and from so many players. Especially, the fact that many of these shots are wide open and all of these guys are upperclassmen. It must be a mental block at this point. Hopefully they regain their confidence soon. Tonight would be nice.

Completely agree. I would add that Tavari needs strength and conditioning more than anything. But I still think getting Freeman in foul trouble is a focal point of Toledo’s strategy.

Fair enough. The transition defense was definitely our main issue last game against Toledo, but Tavari was not at all a deterrent. Hopefully, he is improving. We need his offense badly.

Yes, especially against Toledo. And especially on the road. They seek out the contact with Freeman. All of our guards need to protect him so he can be effective doing his thing. Tavari just happens to get beat off the dribble the most.

I am very interesting to see how Groce approaches this round against the Toledo Floppers. I share in the desire to see Tavari continue to gain playing time, but I also don’t want Freeman spending the whole game on the bench because of foul trouble. Also, let’s see if we learned our lesson and get back on transition defense.

Just watched it again and it's amazing the physical abuse Freeman takes down low. I know we have talked about the offensive struggles and we do miss way too many open 3 pointers. But this was a road kill in the truest sense so kudos to the Zips. Very little of Scott and no Thornton in the second half. Prather really did make good use of his time out there. A bunch of good passes, rebounds and hustle plays. And Tavari was not in for the last 8 minutes or so. Tavari might be missing some of the details on defense the staff expects from him, but it appears he's putting in the effort and is in position. It must be that the team defense overall grades out poorly when he's on the court because the opposing teams do drive on him. He needs to get quicker and stronger this off-season.

In the post-game, Groce gave Tavari compliments on his offense, but it was obvious he is still not thrilled with his defense. That is what is keeping him from playing a larger role. Defense is not optional at Akron.

Did Scott and Thornton play much the second half?

I hear they all count the same. Even the ugly ones.

Maybe a week off was too much time. Ugh!!

My streaming is choppy.

Yep, agree, down to the last 7 games. He needs to get re-acclimated and conditioned soon.

Conventional thinking would suggest the Zips come out ready to put the JMU game behind them and clean the floor with Buffalo. Which they very well could. But this is a road game in the MAC so we are likely to follow up a physical game with one where they get called for a foul for breathing on a Buffalo player. Zips by 12, but no Evan Wilson sightings.

Can't argue with that.

Houston, @zipnetter1951 is having a problem.

My guess is that Groce feels like we got punk'd last night and didn't answer the challenge to play physically. And he does not like that. Stuff like not boxing out, especially when rebounding free throws or having the ball ripped out of your hands. He calls that getting punk'd. As for last nights game, JMU not only beat us to a spot they pushed us around once they got there. Nothing dirty, just tough - stand your ground - defense. And we had very little response. Hitting more shots from the outside would have loosened that up some. Or Groce might be thinking we are still missing too many defensive assignments on rotations or not following the game plan. If Green was a focus on the scouting report and he goes 4 for 5 from beyond the arc, that alone would be justification for a brutal week of practice. Just a missed opportunity on national television. Plenty more still ahead.

I agree, but I wouldn't be that afraid to run it back against them. Especially on a neutral court. I say that only because I don't know if the physical tone they set on defense holds up if they are not the home team. And as others have stated we did have wide open looks and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last night. We do have shortcomings to overcome for sure.

Groce had nothing good to say about the Zips in the post-game interview. I expect a tough week of practice and maybe some changes.

Not our night. Bummer!!

Both physically strong as well. I think we are getting bumped off our spots too much.

Neither team wants it more.

Warning: I got long-winded late at night, sorry. When it comes to recruiting, there are few better than Groce. A saying at Illinois was "Mothers love Groce" for the way he was able to alleviate their concerns during the process. And the guy's work ethic is off the charts. Also, I think he (and Dustin Ford) have proven to be solid at player development as well as game planning at each of their stops. As long as the Akron administration continues to meet him half way the sky is the limit. I believed that on day one and nothing has changed. Groce has the ability and the patience to continue to grow this program incrementally. And I believe we would be even further along if not for COVID. It's my opinion that injuries and the unethical side of the business is why Groce failed at Illinois. Nothing more. You lose your 4 star point guard 2 years in a row to season ending injury it's going to have ramifications. And today, if Illinois gets into that 2 way battle vs. Villanova for Jalen Brunson they would send in the CEO of the NIL Collective to try to seal the deal. Groce didn't want any part of that crap. I don't have first-hand knowledge, but the evidence was clear then. Groce ended up the "recruiting bridesmaid" way too many times on the high level recruits for it to be pure misfortune. Groce always talked about "not taking any short cuts". I took that statement to mean he had no intention of buying a championship. Now thanks to NIL, all of those seedy dealings are legal and part of the standard operating procedure. The other aspect of the P6 racket that I don't think people quite appreciate is the pressure to win immediately. I know from following Illinois that P6 fan bases can be entitled and insufferable. And their donors can be even worse. I don't see any of that appealing to him anymore. There are many factors that motivate a student athlete to attend a university; prestige, promises of going pro, immediate cash payouts, specific educational goals, family legacy, other relationships such as girlfriends, favorite team growing up, etc. Some of those might not apply to Akron, but here are a couple that might. Guys from the Cleveland area can play for their local team and their friends / family can attend many of the games. Freeman's family is a great example. And this is the pitch I believe Groce is using more than any other; come to Akron and you can be a part of building something special, something bigger than yourself, create your own legacy and the players that follow you will stand on your shoulders to reach even higher. This approach appeals to a certain personality and it's not for everyone. But Groce can sell that. I truly believe Groce is just getting started. Go Zips!!

https://www.dominionpost.com/2024/02/02/sharron-young-scores-30-to-become-all-time-leading-scorer-at-morgantown-high/

I think you hit on a major factor here. This might also be the case with the assistant coaches.