Illini Zip

Emmanuel Olojakpoke (E-Man) departs.

Daniel Utomi departs.

Agreed. Also, let me add that Groce will have 2 full classes coming in back to back starting with the Fall signing period (Likely all high school recruits). And he has had more time to recruit these guys and build relationships with them. Consider the normal process takes around 3 years. It doesn't mean every player will work out. But it does mean that Groce has been able to size them up for longer in terms of their skill and temperament. And that usually leads to a much higher retention rate.

I agree with all of that. This turnover is insane and I bet he isn't even done for the year. But this is the exception, not the norm. Transition.

Even I have to admit that this is quite the list of departures. And if this rate continues long-term it would be impossible to create stability and a winning culture. That said, each of these cases fall into their own camp. I really wish Parrish worked out, he has tons of potential. And Lord knows we could use another center next year. Others were either not talented enough, had attitude issues and in the case of Utomi not the best fit for the system (though I can't say that's why he's leaving). I agree with LZlp that a lot of this is the nature of a program in transition, but attrition happens regularly anyway. Also, I would like to add that it is my opinion that coaches are now much quicker to part ways with players. I am witnessing it with the rebuild at Illinois as well. Right or wrong, new recruits may very well only have a single season to show their potential. The exodus should slow down, it will need to.

We Homers gather on Thursday nights to provide fellowship and support through a 12 step program. Remember, admitting it is half the battle.

I actually caught that live. I'm learning guys.

Just the official end of regular signing period. My bad, I should have explained that date. http://www.nationalletter.org/signingDates/index.html

I hear you. Dawson screams shooting guard to me too, but he has more guard skills than I initially thought. And this wouldn't be the first time Groce turned his shooting guard into a lead guard. Now would he try to do that with a Freshman? Maybe not. But by dedicating Dawson as the back-up point guard you free up 6'-6" Cheese to put some time in at the three spot. That would give Groce more depth and maybe the ability to finally run wide-open with a small unit. We can only speculate so much at this point. Let's revisit on May 15th. Possible small/fast unit: LCJ Banks Cheese Reece Williams As for Sayles, what can anyone tell me about his second injury?

Since Groce is still floating offers we won't know the final 2019-2020 roster for a month or two. But going off of what we know today I am going to slot Dawson as the back-up point guard purely out of necessity (Cotton left a mess). When I watch Dawson's high school highlights I see strictly a shooting guard, but this years clips show me that he can handle the rock in traffic and on the move. I think his defense and decision making are works in progress. And time will tell if he is capable of running the show which will all play out in practice battles that we will not be privy to. Also, I initially thought Dawson was going to start packing on muscle like Duvivier and Utomi. But that has not been the case thus far. So that shoots down my power-guard theory. Though I still think he could very easily turn himself into a fullback at any point. Speaking of the weight room. LCJ needs to live in there. Being short is no excuse for being weak. Life on the road in the MAC is not going to get any easier next year and he needs to be able to take a bump. Even 10 pounds added to his frame would go a long way. Just as long as he doesn't lose his quickness. 2019-2020: PG: LCJ/Dawson/Cheese SG: Cheese/Banks/Roscoe SF: Utomi/Williams/Cheese/Toles PF: Williams/Reece/Poke/Utomi/Sayles C: Riak/Reece/Poke/Sayles Reece is likely the first guy off the bench. Biggest concerns: Roscoe's shooting was a huge disappointment and Sayles lack of reliability/consistency. And the center position in general. Ali Ali (redshirt)

When Akron announced the official signing of Mikal Dawson, Groce stated he is capable of playing all three guard spots. We shall see where he decides to play Dawson his first year. Groce likes to limit Freshman to one position since they already have a full plate.

We are such underdogs in this one that we are kind of playing with house money. I would like to see them come out and play loose, fast and together. And let the chips fall where they may.

Sound check!! I am not hearing any audio from this Groce post-game interview posted on the Akron basketball page. Can someone please test it and let me know if you are having any success? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZBW5n-O0YI

I did notice the poor sight lines for the people on the upper deck. Brutal.

I know the AK-Rowdies have snuck into enemy territory before, but what about you guys on here? Is attending a Zips game at Can't State considered convenient or sacrilegious? (Time to move over to the TV)

Let's go Zips!!

I was curious what Malcolm Duvivier was up to these days. He's back up there in his home country of Canada playing ball. I thought he came in and did a fine job for US last year. http://www.halifaxhurricanes.ca/sports/mbkb/2018-19/bios/duvivier_malcolm_pi69

1000 pts scored in 35 games averages to 29 pts/game. I think that's impressive at any level. Maybe the Zips have already found their much needed go-to scorer.

NWAkron had better hope LCJ never goes missing.

One of those turnovers led to Groce losing his freaking mind and calling a time out. Ivey was also pulled at that point. I don't want to sound like I'm throwing the guy under the bus, because he has made huge strides this year. Huge. And I concede he was effective on the defensive end. But he is the Senior leader on this team. The bar is set high for him and we are going to need his best down the stretch. Hopefully this was just an off day.

I can't argue with that. But he was not on the same page as everyone else with many of his passes. And I don't remember him leaving his feet and getting caught without an outlet like he did today.

Even though Ivey had a few good moments, this is the worst I have seen him play in a very long time. He just wasn't fully engaged today. Otherwise, great teamism from our Zips in a must win game.

I thought Parrish was really good with a huge up-side. We are not in practice, so we don't know if he was a distraction or not. But I do remember Groce riding him last year on his unwillingness to commit to the defensive end. So with Parrish this year we are probably better than a Kenpom #263 offense, but we are also not likely a Kenpom #21 defense. I think finishing last in the MAC in defense last year is why Parrish is no longer at Akron.

I would like to see Groce asked about that last play. Trapping might have been the answer and we are all disappointed that Riak wasn't in the game to rim protect. But Groce chose to go small even with LCJ on the court. That tells me he hoped to keep BG out of the paint altogether with a quick defense. And we all know now that didn't work.

I am obviously in the "sold on Groce" camp, but I think this is fair and understandable. And I realize in the end some people will still prefer the old Akron system. I get it. I would say that you are seeing most of what the defense has to offer, except for a lack of truly aggressive ball hawking. It was good to see Banks attack the passing lanes the other day. And when this defense is on fire you will see defense to offense transitions far more often. Also, the right athletic center will be able to cause a ton of havoc on the opposing guards way up top as well as at the rim (Similar to Riak in stature, but quick enough to stay in front of guards). As to the offense, I would say you have seen maybe 40-50% of what I have witnessed. And who knows what Groce has up his sleeve and was never able to install at Illinois. A main reason this offense is stalling out at times is because we are without bigs that can pull their defender away from the rim. Riak and E-man simply are not scoring threats. Once you open up that lane some, you give LCJ room to operate and the defense is then forced to scramble and rotate out of position. Eventually leading to some wide open looks.