-
Posts
7,891 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
273
Let'sGoZips94 last won the day on January 30
Let'sGoZips94 had the most liked content!
Profile Information
-
Gender
Male
-
Location
Bainbridge
Recent Profile Visitors
20,589 profile views
Let'sGoZips94's Achievements
-
"Little bro" will be around for a bit longer it seems.
-
Which is still not "Shamoo" which is how they were pronouncing it last night. You could tell their brains were really struggling to decide between Shamoo like the whale and Shamwow like the As Seen on TV product. No matter. We never have to forcibly go back there ever again.
-
I know; unlike Kent, I can read. 😉 I was simply adding another caveat to your statement. They also slowed the game down, made it sloppy, etc. vs. Miami and still lost by essentially double digits (I think it was by 9 thanks to garbage time points).
-
Miami tried full court pressing us nearly the entire game and let led to very easy transition baskets. Akron has shown better composure as of late (last night being the exception) with full court press defense. I don't believe Kent has the horses to slow this game down like they'd like to. They have benefited more from atrocious shooting performances (beyond what is probably affected by Kent's defense) by their opponents more than they have their own defense. Kent will have to make their shots to be in this game/beat us, assuming officiating isn't completely slanted in their favor. At halftime in their game last night vs. BUGS, Kent was shooting 68%(?) from the field and 60% from 3. They were up by 20 or a little less than 20 IIRC. They finished the night shooting 51.9% from the field and 45.5% from 3; VCD was 4-7 from 3 despite being a ~28% 3P shooter all season. Despite these ridiculous shooting percentages (both significantly above their season averages), they only scored 75 pts and won by 18. If we look at the BUGS numbers, they ended up shooting 32.1%(!!!!!!!!) from the field and 26.9% from 3. Just imagine Akron's margin of victory if our opponents shot 32% from the field and 27% from 3 on a night where Akron shot way above their season averages. Kent has a large uphill battle on Friday because of their offensive deficiencies. Talent aside, what they're lacking is leadership in that locker room. Kent's locker room is always full of knuckleheads, but the knuckleheads have eventually all bought in because of one or two leaders. Last year's team was kept together by Santiago IMO (the only respectable player they've had since Michael Porrini). I don't know if Sullinger or VCD have the same leadership qualities that Santiago seemed to have. And making their shots. Their game vs. Ohio was physical, slow, and sloppy, yet they still lost 61-59 because they didn't make their shots.
-
Pretty scary, huh? 42.9% from the field 30.3% from 3 80 pts. On the road. In probably the least inspiring gym in the MAC. 48-31 rebound battle. This is the difference between poor performances earlier in the season and now - we're crashing the boards hard.
-
I meant the end goal is always success in March. His regular season focus is making sure we're in a position to win in March.
-
-
Groce never won the MAC regular season while at OU. His focus is and always will be March.
-
Eh, our OOC wasn't spectacular. Saint Mary's (23rd), Yale (80th), Ark St (92nd), Milwaukee (107th), and Princeton (130th) are all higher NET than any MAC school we've played (Miami is 155th, Ohio is 162nd, Toledo is 198th), but Omaha (202nd), Lamar (213th), N. Kentucky (254th), Alabama St. (296th), and Jackson St. (313th) are all in the range of the bottom half of the MAC schools we've played. Our defensive numbers weren't great vs. the lesser part of our OOC and outside of Milwaukee, nobody lit it up offensively against us (87 pts by Saint Mary's had more to do with their height advantage on rebounds). If you're waiting for the game vs. South Alabama (128th coming off a loss vs. lowly ULM), I don't know what you're looking for that we're not showing already vs. Miami/Ohio/Toledo. Our two closest losses were to Arkansas State (80-75 in OT) and Princeton (76-75 on a last possession shot). In the Ark St. game, Hardman played 5 minutes (3 pts), Seth played 12 minutes (5 pts), and although Isaiah Gray played 32 minutes he only had 4 pts on 3 2PA and 0 3PA. Those 3 pieces have since found their footing in this system, and if that game were played again, we most likely win that game. In the Princeton game, Seth Wilson played 15 minutes providing 0 pts on 2 shot attempts and Nate Johnson played 36 minutes (way above his recent average minutes per game). If our more recent balanced attack was exhibited in that game, we probably win. What is our optimism and outlook on the season like if we're 16-3 instead of 14-5 because a few pieces clicked a bit better earlier in the season, leading to simply 1 more basket in each game that would've given us victories in both? It's ok to trust your eyes right now. This is a good team with one of the deepest scoring rosters I've seen in quite some time in college basketball, especially at the mid major level. Cautiously optimistic isn't a bad thing as long as you allow yourself to enjoy the ride instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Go Zips!
-
Nearly the entire month of December was "off" shooting wise. Opp: 3P% NKU: 44% Milwaukee: 40% Yale: 33.3% Jackson St: 23.1% Princeton: 30.4% BUGS: 28.6% (January) The Princeton and BUGS games taught this team what it takes to win without shooting lights out. Prior to those games, if I remember correctly, they were ~250 or so on average for most defensive metrics. They are currently top ~150 in the mostly-unaffected-by-Akron's-style defensive metrics (stat categories that our up-tempo style doesn't naturally inflate). According to TeamRankings, we are... 66th in Opp. Turnovers per Game 73rd in Opp. Assists/Turnover per Game 82nd in Opp. Assists/FGM per Game 109th in Opp. Shooting Efficiency 116th in Opp. 2P% 117th in Opp. Shooting % 126th in Blocks per Game 143rd in Opp. 3P% Here are some other metrics that stand out... Rebounds per Game: 22nd Offensive Rebounds per Game: 64th Assists/Turnover: 47th Outside of our assists, none of these metrics have anything to do with our shooting. During the OOC portion of the schedule, we were heavily reliant on the 3-ball. Even if that was falling, the team didn't know how to do the other things well - rebounding, defense, etc. - to make up for the poor shooting. There are quite a few variables that played into what caused those deficiencies, and they seem to have been ironed out since. We are currently a true 10-deep team, meaning all 10 guys can contribute positively during the course of a game. We were arguably 7-8 deep in November/December. Wilson was MIA, Hardman was a reliability in every aspect (even his shooting at the time), Okonkwo was getting bullied down low and didn't contribute much offensively, MMK wasn't playing much, etc. The rest of the guys didn't have the chemistry yet to know their roles; Nate Johnson wasn't the leader he is today, Isaiah Gray was trying to make too much happen at times and played out of control, Tavari would go iso-ball and kill possessions, Shammah didn't have the confidence he does today, Young was still getting his feet wet as a freshman, and Lyles was hurt for an extended period of time. Our ball movement and off-the-ball movement has improved tremendously as the chemistry has been built. It has been interesting to watch teams try to push us off the 3P line, only to have a backdoor cut found for an easy layup, or our plethora of athletic guards drive by a pressing defender only to have limited help in the paint (typically leading to a layup although we have missed our fair share). This is the stuff that takes time to build with so many new pieces. November and December were some of the most frustrating months I can remember as an Akron basketball fan, but we shouldn't let it cloud our judgement of what this team is now and is capable of going forward. The growth they've exhibited is incredible and kudos to Groce & his staff for keeping the guys locked in going into MAC play.
-
-
They have a donor buying all the tickets for their games vs Ohio this Saturday. That's interesting.
-
Saint Mary's ranking as the top mid major at the moment, according to this account.
-
Football as a whole is a crap product right now. It's oversaturated with way too many penalties and relatively predictable outcomes. It will never cease to amaze me how suits with 6-7 figure paychecks ruin everything they touch through greedy desires.
-
You might be right. I think initial discussions had MVC in the speculation, and that has shifted to the Summit. Ironically, the Summit is currently two spots higher than the MAC in KenPom.