Blue & Gold

Precisely. It's huge. At the end of the season only four teams will have any shot to play for the national championship, but at the beginning of the season there are really only ~five-ish true contenders anyway (in that respect college football is seriously broken and, frankly, uninteresting for 98% of college fans, but I digress). But the bowl games are great! One of the best times of the year! Young men playing the sport they love & that they've focussed most of their respective lives on playing. Bowls give a rightful sense of accomplishment & exposure. They give the athletes another month of practice to hone their skills, usually a pretty cool trip to the bowl sight (even if it's not a tropical location, the hosting sights do a great job of treating the young men like kings), make life-long memories and stories to tell, and the opportunity to win a big-ass trophy. If you like football, then what the hell is not to like?! Can't wait till we're playing meaningful football in November & get to another bowl game.

I can see the potential of this team though right now it's still just potential. We have 3 future pros on the roster in X, Freeman, and ... Nate Johnson. But Nate Johnson has only played 3 games in his R-Freshman year (I know GoZips.com lists him as a Sophomore but GoZips.com also doesn't even have player pictures posted yet). He's going to have growing pains. But you can clearly see the potential. (Jimmy Conyers?) We only need Greg & Garvin to be solid defenders & give the opposing defense something to think about once in a while. The key to the season is Sammy and Hankerson. They are the missing ingredients that need to get going... and our season hinges on whether they do or not. If they fail to find their respective strokes, then we currently have a roster full of players that can't throw it in the ocean (sans X) and I'm afraid it's going to be a very long, very disappointing year. However, if they both can find their respective strokes then we've actually got an extremely formidable lineup. Aside #1: Does Hankerson take a split second too long to line up his shot? Has anyone else noticed this or am I suffering from cynicism? Aside #2: Kobe Mitchell is an obvious transfer candidate at year's end. If the HS sharpshooter can't find PT with this Gang Who Can't Shoot Straight, then there is simply no PT to be had for Ohio's #14 all-time leading scorer. (Disappointing but not too surprising. I watched a handful of his high school games online and the SE Ohio D-4 competition they faced was truly abysmal. Didn't prepare him at all for this level.)

Really authoritative dunk by Sammy. Also, though it didn’t count, he still saw a three go down.

Offensive abomination.

Great! Need Nate to stoke some confidence stroking the 3-ball. Two in a row.

Now this is what a typical early-season Zips crowd looks like.

You’re correct. Hmm. Well, Idk.

Posted within one minute of each other 😂

Tonight may be a good measuring stick of the potential of Amani Lyles as during the first two games the true freshman was thrown into the fire going up against some top-shelf D-1 bigs.

I'll be thrilled if Johnson hits double-digits tonight, and disappointed if Hankerson does not.

It does. Not surprising but a little disappointing. They were both 3-star recruits so I thought they'd at least make the 8-9 rotation. They're obviously not playing with the defensive intensity Groce demands. Do you think that's the problem with Kobe Mitchell not earning any more PT than he is? This team desperately needs another 3-point threat so I thought PT would be falling directly into Kobe's lap. But not thus far.

Precisely. Miss. St. wasn't even guarding Tribble for some possessions Friday night. If I were a Zips opponent I'd also let Garvin shoot all day from 3. If Garvin kills you with the 3-ball then the basketball gods were simply against you. Greg & Garvin may not have the typical D-1 guard basketball skillset, but they do have D-1 athleticism (Tribble possessing elite athleticism) so can make up for it with hustle & intense defense (which is priority #1 in Groce Ball). As soon as I heard about Dawson's injury my stomach sank & my high hopes for this season were tempered. He's our junkyard dog who can also stroke it from distance. Nate Johnson is supremely athletic but is another guard seemingly hesitant to hoist the 3. As the season goes on I hope the game slows down for the redshirt freshman & he can just let it all hang out & let it fly. On the bright side, I really do think Sammy's jump shot looks good - just a little off right now. Hopefully he doesn't get into his own head and keeps shooting; shooters shoot. He also looks pretty good down low. I like his game & hopefully he'll come along as the team figures out their chemistry and respective roles. I also have faith Hankerson will be a decent one. Numbers don't lie, so he'll be shooting his average here sooner rather than later.

Sweeeet! 💪💪

Exactly. If they'd exempt football from the Title IX quota it'd make a lot of sense & even it out. You've got to sponsor quite a few additional women's sports to meet the Title IX quota for football alone.

Oh, and I don't want to neglect to publicly note how incredibly impressed I was with their style of play and team-ism today. I'll be honest that I was skeptical and prepared for the worst coming off a couple years where Jordan Dawson really seemed to dominate the ball & play of the team. With Dawson being so dominant I wasn't sure what kind of team we really had and what kind of coach Melissa Jackson really was. Today I thought we were playing better team ball than we had been the last couple of Dawson years. Camp really looks more than comfortable and competent running the show & Reagan Bass is great. Layne Ferrell is a 6-2 guard who can hit threes and handle the ball & Faith Stinson is going to be another load down low to complement Bass.

On the bright side I thought she looked confident. She definitely didn't look out of place, or sheepish at all. After Christmas break I'll bet she starts to contribute even more.

Thanks. She's amazingly fluid!

Who’s this PG #1 Dominique Camp. In the little I’ve seen of the team this season she’s looked really good. GoZips.com says she’s a senior but doesn’t list her as a transfer.

Ugh. Sunday morning and I'm still awfully bummed about our showing Friday night. I had let myself believe our days of getting blown out by 20 to P5 teams was over.

”GOR”?

Has anyone been able to closely watch Cam Threatt? Do his problems look physical, mental, technical? Does he look like coaching, or an increasing familiarity with our defensive scheme, could fix his problems? @catdaddyp

Yeah, I shouldn’t have said that. It was early & I was cranky. I take it back. I’ll edit my post but it’s already been quoted a couple times.