Illini Zip

Zips fans, you can’t properly pound on the table in rage after a stupid decision or call unless you are wearing the official Coach Groce sideline vest. Get yours today!!

Did we see the once upon a time church mouse, TJ, become the official leader of this team last night? Time will tell, but I think that would be a wonderful development.

Late it the game a Miami guy (Craft) hit that nice corner three on the move. That’s so hard to defend. It would be nice if Hardman mastered that during the offseason. Hardman has improved greatly already this year. He does have a ceiling in terms of defense, but it’s great seeing him drive and finishing at the rim on occasion.

Yeah, that’s brutal.

All I know is it’s too warm in Cleveland this year for sweaters.

I forget. Late game loss in the Championship?

Battle of the Bros Championship Edition.

Maybe Furman has a “No Stupid Hair” policy?

For the 8 years I have been following the Zips the Rockets have been an offensive juggernaut. This year not so much, so they went all “Kent State” with their physicality. So kudos to them for having good teams, but the coach is a complete tool.

Stop me if you have heard this one, but I really do hate Toledo.

Nate with 31 points.

We beat Toledo twice this year in basketball and now once in rugby. I love our fight and strong finish. Go Zips!!

Tavari just took a huge step up in my mind.

CBS is as clueless as the refs. That was an intentional takedown of Okonkwo. Good on Tavari. Edit: The refs got it mostly right in the end, but they lost control of this game. CBS announcers are still clueless.

Not a lot of Marvin today and Amani with only 2 shot attempts. 4 attempts for Okonkwo. The game plan was all about the guards in this one.

You would never think BG’s Johnson was a D1 basketball player, but the big guy has a nice stroke.

That sure lit up Groce. You guys weren’t kidding.

Come on Reghi, he said we lost our only conference game to Toledo. 🤦‍♂️

At least Western Michigan made them work for it.

Come on overtime!!

I wonder if Amani Lyles was at all close to getting a mention.

I could see Scott getting the 6th man. Groce, coach of the year and Young, freshman of the year. Besides that maybe “teamism” for player of the year. Nothing is as obvious as Freeman last year.

I just want to add an item to your list, recruiting. Funding for travel certainly applies to this, but I think it’s worth being more specific. Most people don’t realize the time and expense that goes into it. I don’t know how Groce goes about recruiting at Akron, but at Illinois he was flying a private jet all over the country during his so called “down time”. Even with the help of staff and the Fear The Roo Collective to narrow down good prospects, there is no substitute for face time with a player. Especially on their important nights such as state championships. This one on one interaction is an area Groce absolutely excels so the more he can be in the room, the better.

Perkins ended up with a career high 35 points. https://pressprosmagazine.com/2025/03/08/perkins-lights-it-up-as-westerville-north-wins-first-regional-title-since-1996/

I know it’s been mentioned already, but kudos to Groce & Co. for green lighting the Evan Wilson start. Very nice.