Illini Zip

We need to figure out both sides of the ball fast or this could get away from us.

We are slow to recover on defense.

Let's have a game guys. Keep them raining!!

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I don’t see a run away win. There were times in both the NIU and Kent road games when the Zips were poised to run the score up to a 30 point advantage only to get their momentum stymied by the refs. Now there are 2 ways to make the refs less relevant, hit a very high percentage of your perimeter shots or be so strong and dominant in the paint that you can still score with guys draped all over. Just don’t expect an And One. Past Zips teams had moments where they were completely on fire from deep. I hoping to see that from this team at some point, but I will take the win anyway we get it.

I agree that Dawson should drive the paint more. But as to his shooting percentages, I believe I have heard something about water finding it's level. I just hope it happens soon.

I thought Scott showed some fight tonight. We needed that energy.

Freeman with the mop. He's unbelievable.

https://letsgobigmoe.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023-24/mentor-high-school/boxscore/5253

Yeah, I still don't see him making it. 😆

Thank you both. Don’t know why that was tripping me up. 👍

Stay with me please. So if you beat a very good team and they lose a bunch of players and end up tanking. That will be a less impressive win come Selection Sunday?

Does the NET equation calculate with the opponents ranking when you play them, where they rank at the end of the year or both?

I have been waiting for someone to react to that comment. Ha!! It’s a bit of wishful thinking on my part, I admit. But Groce will have these guys ready come March and believing that anything is possible. We can’t be afraid of success. There are some on this forum who just want to get that first NCAA Tourney win. And I too would be disappointed if he ever left Akron. I would prefer Groce with Akron leave the MAC, but you already know that. Go Zips!!

Good points guys. I'm out of likes again. I predict we will have 3 open scholarships. After we make our run to the Sweet 16, Groce will go after a few higher level recruits who have still not committed. Regular signing period is like mid-April to mid-May. And then, I agree we likely will add some leadership through the portal as needed.

We have 13 regular season games left, likely around 10 of those without Nate Johnson. Nate was averaging 25 minutes a game. That's a lot of basketball yet ahead of us and growth opportunity for the bench, especially for Tavari. Up until the Buffalo game, Groce had limited the roster to 8 players for the most part. That way he builds continuity within his rotations and frankly Tavari and Lyles were not grading out high enough. But if our entire bench keeps improving and playing winning minutes night in and night out, Groce would not only have better depth to lean on, he would have an opportunity to play differently. He could either play his starters slightly less and save their legs at times. Or play a style (which I love) that is more aggressive and uptempo. Constant ball-hawking on defense, leading to more fast-breaks. Right now Tavari (and Lyles) are fighting for minutes within the standard 8 man rotation, but a 9-10 man rotation is not entirely insane if warranted. We'll see how things progress and how quickly Nate can get back to form. I'm excited to see what Zips 3.0, Zips 4.0 and Zips 5.0 have in store for us.

…Kent State still sucks!!

I might be the only one who would care about this matchup, but as of today the NCAA tournament bracketology has (13) Akron vs. (4) Illinois. It’s bound to happen eventually.

I don’t like it nor do I think it makes for a better (marketable) product, but I absolutely believe what you say is true.

Good points. 👍

I agree, Tavari’s best game in some time. I would like him to surpass Scott first. Thornton has such a steady presence even though he is not a threat to score. This is the point where I pleaded with LCJ to live in the gym for awhile. And he did make a decent physical change before his Junior year. Tavari needs 10-15 pounds of pure muscle added to his frame. Get busy kid if you want to be one of the greats.

My nomination for post of the year.

Not going to talk about the officiating...not going to talk about the officiating...not going to talk about the officiating. Hey, how about them snazzy black uniforms!! Go Zips!!

I just got to watch the replay and the player post-game interviews. Definitely a complete team win. That said, I want to give a shout out to Sammy Hunter. I think that might have been his best all around game. He has hit a lot of threes in the past, but he is playing defense better, rebounding better, driving better, shooting mid-range better. He's making great strides, keep it up!!

Groce said Nate will likely be out a couple of weeks and hopefully not many weeks. Something like that. Edit: Groce was more specific in the TV postgame interview. He said 6 weeks, hopefully less. Ugh!!

As you might have noticed, I have some down time. So I’m replowing some old ground with the future bigs on our roster. Amani Lyles just has to wait his turn. He is a strong bodied center behind one of the best in the game. He’s not tall for a center, 6-7, but he can move people around. I would like to see him continue to get stronger and he already has the 3 point shot in his bag of tricks. Marvin Musiime-Kamali as I mentioned before is likely Ali’s replacement on the wing. At 6-6, he’s lean, explosive and has hops. His highlights show a player with scoring ability at all levels. Darrian Baker, at 6-8, 225lbs is definitely a forward. But he is built, moves and plays like a small forward. He’s a prototypical stretch 4 in my mind and eerily similar to Xeyrius Williams. Which would be awesome. Rich Brisco, is a 6-8 power forward. I don’t expect a lot from him offensively early on except for maybe cleaning up around the rim. But he looks like a defensive dream in the paint from the limited material on him. He earns his keep by blocking shots, rebounding and being an overall scrappy pain in the ass. He’s the type that plays angry and is not at all deterred by the occasional elbow to the face. In the Groce/Akron era, I would best compare him to Camron Reece. But his temperament is actually closer to Leron Black during the Groce/Illinois days. If Brisco pans out we are going to love this guy’s tenacity. Quote from Brisco about his own game; "I could score, but mostly I love playing defense. I love getting rebounds, blocking shots, deflecting shots, getting tip-ins. That's just my game. That's what I like to do to help my team win. Whatever they need, I'm gonna do". One final thought, there is a hole in this roster once filled by center, Aziz Bandaogo. Damn, that still hurts. We have a couple of scholarships available this year. I’m hoping Groce can land a 7 foot rim protector. 🤞🙏