Let'sGoZips94

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Please tell me our marketing department has reached out to the Football HoF to try and get Jerry Rice to make an appearance, maybe even with Jason Taylor.

Stanford just 3peated. Embick needs to have the team watch tape on them. They ALWAYS look to score. I think there can be a nice balance between our style and their style.

67, 76, 75, 83, 94. Those are the point totals we've put up at home this year, with that first game including a measly 22 pt. first half. Additionally, we have three players averaging double digit PPG so far, with two more right on the cusp of double digits. Not sure how you've come to the conclusion we're not going to be able to score much this season, especially at home. Must have been old rubberbands that broke immediately, because I sure saw a lot of unfurling t-shirts. At least the ones that were rubberbanded didn't end up in the rafters. Three great and true statements here. The basketball has been very entertaining. In the past, I've watched these bigger schools (or even other mid majors ) do the simple things such as back cuts and zone defenses, and wonder why the heck we never did any of that. We are really covering all the bases early on this year. Lots of zone defenses, back cuts, offensive rebounds, jumping the passing lanes. It's a BLAST! This team is truly a TEAM, and they're only going to get better. I really commend Ivey for finding his role on this team as a leader and a do-everything-but-not-out-of-control-hero-ball player. His entry pass to Big Mark was a thing of beauty, and I don't know how many times he's kept a possession alive by tipping out an offensive rebound; it's intelligent ball. When was the last time we didn't bail out after shots and actually go for offensive rebounds? When was the last time we committed to playing a zone, and played the zone effectively? When was the last time we had a guard big enough, physical enough, and intelligent enough to drive to the basket for "easy" baskets? When was the last time we had players intelligently pull up for the mid-range jumper AND knock it down relatively consistently? When was the last time our big men actually looked to slam the ball home or at least go up strong?

Great win. That was fun. Best crowd interaction this season.

I wonder what the combined shooting percentage is of our opponents. I feel like we've mainly played teams that simply struggle to miss, especially from beyond the arc. If we win, it's a well-earned victory. If we lose, it's a well-earned victory by App State.

We have no idea (right now) how to attack space atop the box and rip shots. This is frustrating to watch.

DANGIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RIP THOSE SHOTS!!!!!!!!

Tempering expectations, as someone previously did, I went with 16-19. I don't think the MAC is very good, and it will come down to the ability to steal some on the road, which we haven't done yet. I definitely think 20+ is possible though.

10 hours.

Well maybe some people should get off their phones an pay attention. @NWAkron I don't blame anyone for not really paying attention, however, to the t-shirt cannon. If the t-shirt doesn't unfurl, it's launched into the rafters, never to be seen again.

In response... 1. I think the "strength" of our OOC schedule is the competitive nature of the opponents. The teams we scheduled this year have had success in recent years, but are going through a transition phase, whether it be because they graduated players or they have a new coach. Regardless, I think they are all talented enough to challenge us the way we need to be challenged, but not overly talented to where we get stomped. One of the biggest keys for young teams is learning how to win. That's the "strength" of our schedule thus far. 2. Agreed. High energy. Two reasons why are is always action: rebounding and defense. We actually crash the boards this year, on both sides of the ball. We also look to jump the passing lanes more. 3. I like that he rips Parrish for that. Act like you've been there before, and get back on D. 4. We are a defensively sound team. We execute the fundamentals very well, in my opinion. It's refreshing. We also don't seem to foul near as much, as we go straight up more often on contested shot attempts. When we do foul, we foul hard as to not let the opponent get a shot off. 5. I don't think our FT shooting these past couple games is going to be the norm. The way the players react to miss free throws lends me to believe they work hard at them. Groce also indicated on the post-game show that the guys that missed, don't normally miss. I think it's a cold streak, they'll continue hit it hard in practice, and it will go back to a higher percentage. 6. The turnovers were a product of our youth and lack of chemistry. We aggressively put ourselves in situations where we got stuck and had to force the ball into passing lanes that weren't there. It didn't both me TOO much. 7. Ivey's effort, particularly on the defensive end, is going to win us some games come MAC play. It seemed like last night, he found his role on the team. WAY more under control on the offensive end, and his defense turned into offense. 8. Malcolm adds an incredibly different dynamic with his physicality. Taking the ball into the lane and drawing the foul at the end of close games... what a novel idea. Cotton's 3 pt. shooting would be huge. He's struggled from beyond the arc prior to last night. 9. IPFW can SHOOT. Utomi has the textbook jump shot. Excellent ball rotation and arc. Additional thoughts... - Poke is coming into his own. He seems to not be wetting his shorts when he gets the ball down low. His aggressive intuition to typically go for the dunk is awesome. A lot of our big men in the past - some taller and bulkier than Poke - have looked to lay it up and in first instead of slamming it down the opponents throats with authority. He also plays intelligent defense, going straight up most of the time to contest and put himself in good positions to block shots. - I still want to know more about this Smith kid. Very odd that he got into the game, and when he got in. He has good size for a guard, and everyone knows we could use that depth, not to mention the fact that you can't have too many 6'4"/6'5" guards. - This team is going to be just fine, and possibly better than fine. They play a fun style of basketball. They're as physical or more physical than most teams we'll face. They can definitely contend, from what I've seen, for a MAC title. - Excellent halftime show. I think that's the most watched show aside from the Panda Plate Lady. Well done by the University to give those kids their moment. - Barely a mention about our Championship-level soccer team being in the College Cup (Final Four) on Friday. Pathetic. The game is on ESPNU, and I don't even recall if that was mentioned.

Whoops. Had a yearbook, and he wasn't in there. Just ran down and grabbed a roster. So he's a JUCO?

Hopped on to post this exact same question. He's not in the program, nor is he on GoZips.com. It Lucas or Lewis?

If it wasn't for the gorgeous, year-round weather you guys have, you would think this is Akron. Are you sure "FAU_dad" isn't a typo? It could easily be UA_dad based on the similarities between the universities.

There are only so many stadiums to go around, let alone stadiums in desirable locations with weather that promotes fan turnout.

UTSA has a real bone to pick with the NCAA. 6-5 and had their game against Houston cancelled. Surprised WMU didn't get in strictly based on their appearance in the Cotton Bowl last year. Buffalo not getting a bowl bid is the cherry on top of a season of almosts for them.

Assuming these payouts have remained the same or still have similar margins, I'll take an extra $300k to play a good CUSA opponent in a beautiful area of Florida. Maybe, if we win, they'll even let us into their conference. It would be a dream come true not to see another directional Michigan in the conference portion of the schedules.

Revenge time for our postseason loss to them a few years ago.

Did one of our star players just get arrested for drug dealing? I actually like this bowl a lot. There is going to be a lot of media coverage with Kiffin being involved, and a good showing should help with recruiting since Bowden loves recruiting Florida. I just hope we come better prepared and more ready to play, since this will be our 2nd football game on THE ESPN, and hopefully 4th Akron showing on an ESPN network in 3.5 weeks.

Get ready for some media attention, and familiarize yourself with this man...

I think it's more of an indictment against the University and its marketing department. Soccer is the #1 sport in the world and is rapidly growing in the US (look at the MLS expansion in the last 5-10 years). The game on Friday is on ESPNU, with the Championship Game airing on ESPN2; this isn't a low end tournament/sport. The football team just laid a major egg on ESPN yesterday, but that can easily be forgotten with good showings on Friday & hopefully Sunday. TennZip isn't the only one frustrated with the lack of attention given to the soccer program in recent weeks. There has been virtually ZERO mentioning of their NCAA tournament matches at Zips basketball games, while the football team has had fanfare daily. The football team should absolutely get attention, but there's plenty of room for Akron soccer, too. We are the Alabama/OSU/Clemson/Duke/Kansas/UNC of Men's Soccer. Regarding the game, the only question I have is how wide is the pitch in Philadelphia? Someone mentioned that Louisville plays on a narrower pitch, hence the reason Akron found finding space difficult on the offensive end. Stanford's experience scares me more than their game does. Akron is the best team in this tournament from a pure soccer skill and technical ability standpoint; I hope it isn't automatically neutralized like it was on Friday with the narrower pitch.

The MAC blows.

There are lumps in a transition season. This was a lump I will gladly take. We couldn't make our shots, and that was the difference - they did.

If there isn't a major improvement this second half, Bowden just ruined 3 weeks of work trying to save his job. To me, this becomes a Dambrot/Groce situation. Dambrot built a foundation for the program, and hopefully Groce can take us to the next level. Bowden rebuilt this program, but I think it could be time for the next coach to take us to the next level.