Illini Zip

I thought Groce was going to blow a gasket. He had just put Nate in for defense. That didn't work out well.

But they could tomorrow. Freeman shows up every game. Otherwise we roll with whoever is playing well. Tonight it was Sammy. Thank you Sammy!!

Did anyone see that foul on Nate late in the game? Legit or flop?

Sammy is playing like a man possessed.

Both teams defenses are winning early.

I can’t…

Sounds like BG is lucky to be down by only 6 points at the half.

Groce has said that none of these guys have separated themselves through the course of the year. Maybe Tavari is ready to take that step. I sure hope so, no better time. But Groce has a theory that Seniors die hard. Thornton knows his next loss means the end of his career. Also, if Groce wants players to transfer to Akron he needs to give them every opportunity to succeed. And in this case, Thornton could possibly lead to landing Coit. Just wishful speculation. But good analysis @1981 grad. I will add that Tavari might have the best +/- statistic on the team. I’m a fan. Edit: Sincere Carry’s name came up on another thread. It got me thinking which is always dangerous. If I remember hearing correctly we had a shot at getting Carry. If that would have happened I am confident Carry would not have been such a head-case under Groce. Because Groce truly believes the student, person, player culture stuff and he would have limited Carry’s playing time until certain matters were addressed. I say this because Tavari’s playing time could be affected by his grades or a character issue. We have no idea what is taking place behind the scenes. Groce is a big “teamism” guy. Another Grocism is a player needs to fit in (with the team) before he can stand out. I have no idea, just thinking out loud.

He needs to consider transferring to Akron next year so he could be first team.

I saw Coit ended up Third Team? I think he’s better than that?

I had to listen to the game on the radio, but watching those Ali to Freeman dunks were worth the wait. Tavari did play very well today. Nate’s shots weren’t falling, but he keeps looking better and better. Tough one tomorrow. Let’s keep it rolling. Go Zips!!

I was just about to hit send too. Ha!!

I agree, but they almost took Enrique’s head off on one play. For that game it was a weak call.

And this is the point where he either gets wise or gets gone.

I really believe this to be true. Not necessarily to begin the season, but I think they thought he would be starting by now. Moving Tribble off the ball. I still think he has a high ceiling. I liked seeing him dive for a ball and coming up with a couple of steals against Eastern.

Not to pile on but Garvin Clarke would have been a Junior this year.

I rewatched it and thought we played plenty physical from the jump. Western has big bodies that can move people underneath. We could use a road-grader type big too. As physical as that game was Freeman should never have fouled out. But that’s life on the road.

Groce told us before the season started that this team would be different than any other Zips team because the offense would be initiated through the best player on the team in the post. As a result we have often had wide open looks from deep. It’s up to our guys to make a fair share of them. It would have been nice if Nate was playing better going into Cleveland and it would have been nice if one of the point guards developed into a legit threat during the course of the season, but that didn’t happen. So as unfortunate as it is to say, this team peaked early and everyone else has closed the gap on us. That said, there is more than enough in that locker room to get it done.

I am really hoping the neutral court makes a difference in Cleveland. We have struggled since Miami and JMU showed everyone how to beat us. Double and triple team Freeman. Pack the paint and play extra physical. We have some mentally tough guys, but we are not physically tough at all. And except for Scott hitting 3 threes in garbage time we can’t buy a bucket. All of our loses except for Eastern (who really did play well), were on the road - including Miami. A neutral court will at least keep teams from hacking and hopefully keep Freeman out of foul trouble. I am as frustrated as everyone that we have not been able to overcome these shortcomings and as a result failed on some of our goals. But if Freeman is able to play at his best, we make a few outside shots and limit the mental lapses we can still take the MAC Tournament. I am grateful that Freeman survived the MAC regular season without injury because the guy got the crap beat out of him. You would never know it because of his good nature. Go Zips!!

I don’t remember much, but I think he said if it was obvious what buttons to push he would have done it weeks ago. He said he has been waiting for any of the other guys not named, Freeman, Ali or Tribble to step up and separate themselves as a starter. They all have different strengths and weaknesses which he is trying to manage. For example, this wasn’t a favorable matchup for Tavari so he didn’t play at all.

Our guys came to play tonight. Let’s see if they have a complete game in them.

Nate had 4 turnovers last game. We need him to get things straightened out now. No more time for acclimation.

Ali off to a good start.

Ali was 0 for 5 from deep. That’s not going to get it done. I’m afraid they’re stressing which only compounds the problem.

Nate knows what he wants to do, but he is not getting the results.