Zippy87

For a bleacher seat, it is IMO. But the more unreasonable costs are the reserved ones.

Yeah, you can't do that. Honestly, the "big picture" issue with this Athletics Administration IMO is they don't put any effort into connecting with the average fan. Everything is focused on top donors - "The Summit Circle" being the latest example. They'd rather sell less tickets at a higher price than create deals/promotions at a lower "get in" rate to more people. Watch which people the AD mingles with at games and the picture gets much clearer.

On attendance: - Home games have been Southern Mississippi, Heidelberg, Bradley, Miami-Hamilton, Gardner-Webb, and Bowling Green. Which opponent is going to draw the average fan to the game? - Pricing is still too high. Looking at next Friday at Buffalo, it's $10 for a GA bleacher seat, $20-$50 for reserved, and $100 for floor. Good luck drawing the average fan. - Promotions are scarce and when there is one, it's barely promoted. We sat in the student section last night, taking advantage of the $10 winter break deal, and my wife asked why so many people would pay $10 for GA instead of $10 for a lower level ticket and I told her they probably didn't know. Why not do a Freeman t-shirt giveaway and give him half of the proceeds for NIL? Why not offer a free kids ticket with paid admission of an adult? Why not partner with a local business to do some type of giveaway? The effort, quite frankly, is embarrassing.

Freeman is now 9th all-time in points scored with 1,448.

Quick thoughts: - Tribble was fantastic tonight. Still has limitations to his game, but it's truly impressive how much he's improved his game on the offensive side - Really wish we would've added a big to rotate in off the bench. Interior defense and rebounding take a huge hit when. Freeman is out. - Awful officiating all night. - Great to see Dawson knock down a few from deep.

For a 9 PM game, I thought the crowd was good and very much into the game.

UMass is a good team. NET ranking is 82, higher than us and any team we've beat. The schedule doesn't get much easier for them with Dayton up next.

How soon we forget Khadim Gueye! But seriously, every successful D1 program is going to have some "bad apples". Naming 4 players in 13 seasons tells me culture was pretty solid back then too. I do appreciate Groce and the little things he does - having the team thank students for coming after games, having the players know and sing the Alma mater. We're really lucky to have had two really fantastic coaches back-to-back and for so long.

I haven't had any issues FWIW.

My only criticism of the final play was it took far too long to develop, especially within the context of having no timeouts remaining. I don't think he overcoaches, though.

Dawson had big games against SD State and UNLV. He finished strong is 2021-22. The talent is there, the consistency just isn't though.

I think what worries me is that I don't feel that I've even seen hints of either one figuring it out. X didn't take off right away, but he had a few standout games during the acclimation process where the talent was evident. Same with LCJ. Scott and Thornton haven't passed the eye test for me. I'm trying to stay optimistic, because if neither step up and Tavari stays stuck to the bench, that'd be a pretty big recruiting miss for this staff. Let's hope one can take the job and run with it.

Has to be Nate or Mikal. Tribble is already giving us more on offense than I expected and I don't believe in the last three listed.

I have to be honest and say it's crossed my mind that next year may be a retooling year. Of the 8 who play now, only Dawson, Scott, and Nate Johnson are due back. Tavari Johnson, Ryan Prather, and Amani Lyles could be transfer candidates. A lot of turnover could take place. We'll need a few guys to really step up, Baker to be pretty good right away, and for the staff to hit a few home runs (or at least triples) in the portal.

I was very surprised we didn't add a big this off-season. I thought it was an issue last year. Nothing special, either, just a guy with size who can defend and rebound. I wonder if they expected Baker to play?

Maybe I'm spoiled by two decades of really good guard play, but I don't see it. I expected more from both.

Take away the Heidelberg and Miami-Hamilton games and these are their numbers: Scott 4.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.8 TOPG Thornton 3.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 TOPG

I was at the game, did they say anything about Dawson's injury/status on TV?

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.

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.

No joke, Red Panda is in the NBA 2K24 video game this year.

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.

He won 305 games as Akron's HC. He can have strong ties to both, no?

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.