Illini Zip

You have me thinking about this. Ha!! What do you think of this analogy? Guard = Soldier, Point Guard = General, Shooting Guard = Sniper, Combo Guard = Navy Seal. Some soldiers and guards are elite in their duties. It's the best I can do. ?

I was away from the action for a week and this game is old news now, but here is my two cents anyway. We are looking more and more like a John Groce offense. I love it!! Our guys are still getting comfortable with the fast pace, especially the freshmen. Way too many turnovers. And on one play Cheese found himself so wide open, he freaked. Instead of easing himself into a three or maybe a mid-range shot from the free-throw line, he drove the ball right into the defense. The comfort level, decision making and system complexity will continue to grow all season long. We have a legit stretch 4 with X. How exciting to add that dimension to our game. Reece is fearless. Tribble is getting minutes running the point from day one, awesome. When we start seeing all of our big men involved in pick and pop action, the lane will open up, and the half-court offense will be humming as well as our transition game. Something to look forward too in seasons to come. Baby steps. That said, we should expect some road kills out of this crew. I thought that maybe Ali Ali would redshirt, but he looks good out there for a freshman. Perhaps Tre Edwards is a redshirt candidate? Finally, I was all concerned about the West Virginia full-court press. Where was that I wonder?

Jeremy Roscoe departs.

I am interested to see what wins out pertaining to their full-court press; LCJ speed or WVU size and length? If they are too slow in reacting to LCJ they could face foul trouble. And if we can handle the gauntlet, WVU can be exposed down on the other end by Riak or X. If we don't run the gauntlet, well it can get damn humiliating fast.

The Zips schedule states that this game will be on AT&T Sports Network. Is that a cable or internet channel? Anybody know. And will it be available to the general public?

I listened to the game, but appreciate everyone's play by play and insight. I don't expect to see Ali Ali starting against Press Virginia (Their full-court press crushed an Illini team a few years back. It was brutal). But who knows, it sounds like Ali is a good passer and the offense moves well with him in there. It's more likely Ali won defensive drills this week. Groce rewards effort in practice. Or Groce might have wanted to balance out the rosters between experienced players and the new comers for this first one.

Jake Fischer is no longer with the team.

Correct. I went with red for "red shirt". Also, each gold shade represents a different class.

The 2019 recruiting class was so hard to follow and rightfully so. And this 2020 class does have one lingering wild card in Mikal Dawson. Let me just say, Deuce Deuce, if you're out there - bust your ass and qualify!! I am really bullish on this guy and want to see him play for the Zips. All we know is that he didn't qualify for this season. But at the same time he has welcomed new players to Akron on his twitter account and his twitter avatar still declares himself a proud Zip recruit. So I have to believe it's his scholarship to lose. https://twitter.com/_23Dawson?lang=e If Dawson qualifies, that would leave one scholarship left for the 2020 class since we just added point guard, Garvin Clarke. When you study Verbal Commits you will notice a concentration of offers at the Power Forward position. That would be nice. And as mentioned by Dirtyolcrowe, a blitz of offers has been unleashed over the last few days including a shooting guard, a few wings and our latest walk-on Forward, Enrique Freeman might be in the running for a scholarship according to VC. So maybe Dawson is not a lock? Or maybe at this point Groce will take the best player he can get regardless of position? Those of you who spend time around campus please report any recruit sightings. The early signing period is coming up (November 13 - 20). We should know more about this class soon enough. http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/akron

My guess would be Combo Guard. And I define a combo guard as a point guard who can be productive off the ball as a shooting guard as well. This year Tyler Cheese will be a combo guard. And I would guess out of necessity LCJ will be a combo guard also. Next year Greg Tribble will likely practice at all guard positions and Gavin Clarke will focus on running the point.

Here are some more videos of Gavin Clarke. He will be our next LCJ, but he is listed at 6 foot. He is a pass first point guard able to deliver on target on time. His shot looks to be a work in progress. He is your primary ball handler for sure with tight handles, but he will have to reign in some of his style points because Groce won't except him turning it over being careless. He is athletic and he has that turbo burst to lead a fast break or attack the lane. Highlights (#1 or #410): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C81NtyIhSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJEl_JPmr1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie7ErfpY8AI Full Regular season game from last season (#1 Euclid, Blue and Gold) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHvfvQchvxQ District final victory for Euclid highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJWT-SljvFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is_p0IX4KI4

Zips pick up Gavin Clarke.

That's not the only "Grocism" GT butchered in that piece. I'm sure Groce would love for his guys to play like NBA All-Stars, but what he asks of them is to play like NBA All-Stars in their roles. It's similar to Belichick's saying "Do your job".

Zips add walk on Enrique Freeman.

And a general question. Can you redshirt a walk on? Why does that sound strange to me?

Zipppyfan34, can you please confirm that he is a walk on? It's the logical conclusion, but I just want to make sure before adding him to the chart. It's been a crazy offseason. Thanks.

One of Clark's comments inspired this poll. Feel free to discuss your reasoning in this thread.

I agree with this especially when it comes to guards, but there is an exception to the rule and that is the physical maturation of bigs.

I think B&G has the right idea, especially to start the season. I thought Ali would be a good redshirt candidate this year as well, but maybe not now with the other two sitting out. Another question which will be interesting to learn is where Groce focuses Tribble this year. Remember Groce likes to limit Freshman to one position. I think it's going to be at point guard. And I agree with Let'sGoZips94 that Cheese is likely to help anchor the point guard position early on, especially against competition like West Virginia. But this off-season, Cheese is likely practicing at all three guard spots and LCJ is learning to play as an off guard with Tribble running the point. It's hard to predict how the team will develop through the course of a season, but here is a point guard heavy lineup that might not be a starting line up, but one I hope to see on the court by the time we get to Cleveland. Tribble LCJ Cheese X Riak

LePear Toles listed as a Walk On.

I'm quite excited about this pick up. Finally, a big man with decent footwork and a shot (from all levels too). I think our offense will expand greatly with X being used at times as a stretch 4 and now with Currie coming in we will be able to maintain it. My only concern is that he has changed teams a couple times already (He had committed to Michigan before deciding on Wisconsin). Hopefully he has all of that out of his system and is ready to commit to finishing his career at Akron. A single season at the junior college level is probably a good decision for someone who has to sit out of D1 competition anyway per transfer rules and who has already been off the court for a redshirt season. I imagine the Akron coaches and trainer will have a conversation with the staff over at Mott CC to discuss a potential developmental program for skill work and conditioning. To finish off the 2020 class, I would like to see us land a rim protecting center and for Mikal Dawson to qualify. Let's go Zips!! Correction: We still have too many recruits on the board for this year, which means we have at least 3 slots left to fill in 2020. So I will add a speedy PG to my wish list to replace the outgoing LCJ.

Mikal Dawson removed for this year and future unknown. Zips pick up Taylor Currie.

I am hoping Greg Tribble matures quickly and maybe he can play some point guard this year too. I would prefer to see Cheese primarily at the wing. Even though Reece is undersized, we really need his physicality around and above the rim. And I know our bigs are not going to be high-volume scorers, but I want to see them be higher-percentage scorers. Ideally, Riak and Sayles have been mastering at least one spot away from the rim this off-season. Riak likes the 3 pointer straight away and Sayles likes to shoot from the free throw line. Also, I like the use of "X" for Xeyrius, nice. And I think he could be an X-Factor for this team, especially on offense. See what I did there. And finally, high level defense is not optional.

Mikal Dawson is not listed. And we are still one scholarship player over the limit. ?