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Zippy87

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Everything posted by Zippy87

  1. The Zips enter conference play this week and have two months to come together before the MAC Tournament. There are some pretty glaring issues that will need to be resolved if they want any chance at a March to remember. 1) Point Guard Every Zips team that has won the MAC has had at least decent point guard play. This team doesn't right now. Tribble gives you excellent defense and has become the defacto point guard our of necessity, but he's probably better suited to be the first guard off the bench and playing off ball on a really good team. Scott/Thornton haven't done much against good competition and Tavari isn't trusted to be out there at all. We struggle against on-ball pressure and, at times, to even initiate the offense. Akron may be able to win the MAC in a down year for the conference, but they won't beat anyone good unless at least one of Thornton/Scott/T. Johnson step up and play much better. 2) Bench Production Aside from Dawson (who got hurt tonight and hasn't played well in December, there hasn't been much. The guard play mentioned above along with Prather and Lyles not being trusted to play at all has really made the depth of this team pretty thin. Moments like tonight (losing Dawson for most of the game) shine light on that weakness. 3) Controlling the Paint Aside from Freeman (obviously), this team lacks frontcourt talent. Hunter is allergic to the paint, Lyles isn't playing, Baker is redshirting. There just isn't much if opposing teams successfully pull Freeman away from the hoop. SBU outscored us 32-18 in the paint tonight and doubled us up in offensive rebounding. The team in its current state is probably good enough to grind out a MAC Tournament win because the league is so bad, but they're nowhere close to good enough to upset a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. I look forward to watching them progress and hope we can become a much better team by the time we go back to Cleveland.
  2. Last play took way too long to develop (especially with no timeouts left) and didn't get anyone open. I think it's fair to criticize it and the decision to call a TO in the first place.
  3. No joke, Red Panda is in the NBA 2K24 video game this year.
  4. I won't jump to conclusions but I really hope this is just a temporary situation. The history of the program is important for both fans and players to be aware of and appreciated.
  5. He won 305 games as Akron's HC. He can have strong ties to both, no?
  6. John Groce never takes the Akron job if KD doesn't first build it into a perennial MAC power. I get people that were ready to move on, but I also can tell the people who don't remember (or choose not to remember) Zips basketball pre-KD. I'll never understand hating on him.
  7. Never know with our Athletics Department 😂
  8. #25 might be hanging in the JAR when all is said and done. Incredible story.
  9. If Akron reaches the MAC Championship, I believe we'd have 23 games left. Going by season averages, Freeman would add 414 points and 299 rebounds, which would place him 4th all-time in points and 1st in rebounds.
  10. Since I can't find any kind of media guide from Athletics, I used on older one and added our more recent players to the rankings. Let me know if anything looks incorrect!
  11. Getting good ticket deals while helping a UA alum is a win-win!
  12. I will never, ever criticize a person or group trying to improve their community. Certainly, the I Promise can improve its effectiveness. The same can be said for the public school system as a whole. The LeBron James Family Foundation has worked to do that and invested heavily in doing so, but anyone who's ever worked with at-risk students knows it's not typically a quick-turnaround. Most students entering the school were two or three grade levels behind their peers. Most live in poverty. Many have experienced trauma. And his foundation is working to break the generational cycle those communities experience. "But I heard he doesn't tip well!" If you're always looking for the negative in things, you're likely to find it. For anyone interested, here's a good article on what the school offers and what's planned in the future. It's really cool to see what they're trying to do. https://andscape.com/features/lebron-james-promise-to-akron-gets-more-ambitious/ Now, back to the KD thread. 😉
  13. "His crying on the court" - tell me one NBA star that doesn't complain to referees "Chinese affiliation" - this is a slippery slope to go down, many of us are "affiliated" to Chinese products "Plethora of off days he takes" - he's played 25 of 27 games this year at age 39, averaging 34 MPG He left Cleveland in a shitty way. He made amends by coming back and winning us a championship. Again, for most it's politics or race and those other things are just excuses. As for the school, they offer counseling, health checkups, food pantries, clothing, tutoring, and even housing. They also help parents who didn't graduate earn a GED. It's true they've had turnover, which is true of most schools who serve inner-city, at-risk kids. It's an absolutely grueling job with a salary scale that doesn't meet its requirements. Teacher burnout is very real, especially post-Covid. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/ohios-teacher-shortage-as-schools-look-at-vacancies-teachers-fill-in-the-gaps.html I'm not sure if the school will be a long-term success or not, but the motivation behind it - to lift up the most at-risk kids in the city - is a noble one.
  14. If he were doing this for publicity, he would've picked the highest performing kids and boasted about the results. He didn't. Students who graduate high school aren't failing. For some kids, just crossing that stage with a diploma is a monumental success. Having access to a college education takes that even further. Also, the school features wrap-around services to not just support the students but also their families, so they're very much aware support goes beyond 8 hours a day. It seems some just don't like the guy (likely because he left or because he doesn't like a certain politician) and that's fine. But I hate seeing people knocking that school. It's going to change the lives of many. I love this video.
  15. I'm pretty sure she does! I received an email with it and she said to go ahead and share out to others.
  16. The I Promise school is for kids who are at-risk. Judging them against "regular schools" is never going to work. Progress looks different with an at-risk population - it's more about growth than it is hitting ODE's subjective measures. And each of those kids will have an opportunity once they graduate to attend college. They wouldn't otherwise. His foundation is literally changing lives for yhe better.
  17. Nostalgia is a helluva drug in the GOAT debate! I said it in my earlier post - LeBron is tight with KD, but he considers Dru as FAMILY. It's a much different relationship. Bron isn't going to be actively involved helping KD. He would be with Dru. Most young players today grew up watching Bron in his prime. I'm not saying Duquesne would become a top basketball school, but he has pretty significant influence with kids today and would be motivated to help a man he considers a brother.
  18. DISCOUNT LINK: https://www.rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com/group/detail/fieldhouseplus CODE: RIZZO
  19. You can bet that LeBron James will throw his influence behind Dru in a big way. He's tight with KD, but Dru is like a brother to him. Recruiting is different when you have the GOAT to support you in bringing in talent.
  20. Do any of our players have NIL deals? Would love to support some of them but I have no idea if any of them do.
  21. Honestly, the athletic department should already be marketing the hell out of him with him getting $ from whatever they do.
  22. Our Team Shop wasn't even open last game, I'm not holding my breath (although I agree!)
  23. Does anyone know if he has any NIL deals that aren't Barstool? Would love to support him and get my son something of his favorite player.
  24. Hoping this will be an opportunity for Prather and Lyles to get some minutes and for our guards (including Tavari) to work to polish some things. We need at least solid guard play to make any kind of run this year.
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