Illini Zip

Not sure what his stats were today, but I think Ali is developing nicely.

There are no redshirts this year. The NCAA cleared everyone to play due to Covid. Edwards was a redshirt last year anyway. Wynn was our only redshirt this year and as you can see he's playing now.

Our 7 ft Center, Aziz Bandaogo is #21, he walks in at the very end of the clip.

What I really like with Freeman is his fast-twitch hops. He doesn't have to wind up before take off. He catches the ball and effortlessly dunks it. Obviously, he will have to add strength to his frame as he goes along, but I hope he doesn't lose any of that explosiveness in the process.

Giddy up!!!

Tribble is having a rough day at the office. Teammates need to help him out and call blind side screens so he doesn't end up with a concussion. Let's go Zips!!

Ugly at times, but take the win, learn and move on.

Good morning, I would say Groce learned a whole bunch about his team vs. Ohio, but the rotation is likely to be fine tuned through out the season. If I were Tre Edwards I might be concerned that I am being passed over. Maybe he is progressing just fine behind the scenes and there are not enough minutes at the wing to go around. Maybe Covid actually helps him. Not a great sign though. Groce moves slower with the bigs generally. I expect to see more play out of both Curry and Aziz going forward. And one of them making the starting line up by March. Freeman is undersized like you have mentioned, but apparently is the best option at the moment. They will have to earn it in practice, nothing is given. Freeman has to be loving life right now.

There will be plenty for the coaching staff to point to when they go over the film, but the Zips took a giant step forward today. The hot shooting is always great to see, but I really liked the increase in hustle and energy. It was also nice to see Currie on the court even though it was at the very end.

Team Pepto Bismol had a day.

Solid half. I see green shoots of chemistry. Keep it going.

Watching the game highlights, a quality I really like to see with Freeman is he seems to have good hands and can handle passes cleanly.

Guys, I heard Groce say on the air that Freeman has 3 more years of eligibility due to Covid. I have no reason to doubt him. So I guess that means Michael Wynn gets to play immediately and then still has 2 more years. What does that mean to the scholarship limit and the log jam with incoming freshman? I don't know if anyone really knows how this is going to play out next season and beyond. Until I get more concrete information about the general NCAA policy and specific Akron players I am putting the chart on hold. Please keep your ears open. Thanks.

Michael Wynn activated. No longer a red shirt.

My best guess is he is still a defensive liability in practice. I thought we would have seen him by now too.

One of the announcers likes the line up of LCJ, Clarke, Dawson, Marshall and Freeman. They sure are not jelling as a team right now.

So far it sounds like the Enrique Freeman show.

Zips add Evan Wilson.

Booo!!

I know that to be true. Defending is not optional with Groce. That said, I have to believe the line up ends up closer to what @Blue & Gold suggests.

Allow me to clarify something. Toles was initially a scholarship player, but is now a walk-on. So he is not taking up one of the 13 scholarships. What is disappointing is he appears to be a really good guy/talent and he was looking forward to playing for his local team. I am glad he is able to stay involved with the team to some degree, but some us really would love to see him suit up at some point.

Hilltopper, have you by chance seen Toles during practice? Can you describe his involvement/activity/role?

Good question. My knowledge of Africa is shamefully limited. Fortunately for us he made his way to Louisville, Kentucky. I have seen him linked to both Aspire Academy and DeSales High School. Not exactly sure how that all works, but next stop is Akron, Ohio. Giddy up!!! Hometown: Bamako (Capital), Mali, West Africa

I'm not for certain, but I will take a shot at this. It's possible thanks to Covid we got a steal on Kalle. I didn't come across any flags with personality, actually he's a high-motor guy. Clark points out that 6-10" Kalle is athletic and dunks everything around the rim with authority. But I read he was looking to show prospective schools that he has been working on his shot and gained 15 pounds of muscle. There were even bigger programs than UCLA and Rutgers inquiring at some point. But with limited opportunity to showcase his growth he just might be a diamond in the rough that fell into our lap. Let's hope. Consider that his visit to Akron was a virtual visit and you realise this was not your typical process by any means. Edit: Here is my source material. Is ScoopmanTV creditable, no clue. But the idea that late bloomers would struggle to get attention this year makes sense to me. https://scoopmantv.com/2020/07/18/interest-in-2021-forward-sekou-sada-kalle-starting-to-pick-up/

It sure does feel like a great day to be a Zip with some awesome pick ups. But I am going to predict some even better days during the 2022-23 season. 6 returning Seniors and the turn over of only one scholarship screams success in March. Go Zips!!