Blue & Gold

I think I saw Cameron Stitt taking in the Malone game. I think.

ABJ/GT: Akron vs. West Virginia "Scouting Report" These things are insulting to anyone looking for actual insight into the upcoming games.

+1. IMO we have the best looking uniforms in college football. And basketball, for that matter.

I thought he did a good job. I like him.

I don't think we can go 10-deep against WVU. Some of our players are too green. I'm thinking Ali & Tribble ride the pine Friday night. They can continue getting their D-1 feet wet against the NC-Centrals and USC-Upstates of the world.

True. True. I'd be shocked if Ali Ali starts Friday night in Morgantown. Gotta get Cheese in there.

Not Dr. Z quality, but here are some nice shots of last night's game action

ABJ/GT: Zips a little jagged in season-opening win Groce cited a litany of problems the Zips need to work on as theyprepare to take on West Virginia on Friday. Rebounding, where they squeaked out a 41-38 advantage, and turnovers, where the Zips committed 17 that led to 12 Malone points. A glaring stat is that the Pioneers matched UA’s points in the paint with 34. Our rebounding will have to improve dramatically if we want to hang with big, bad WV. The points in the paint stat - both teams with 34 - may be a little misleading. 1) our bigs also like to shoot 3's, and 2) like I mentioned above, we let Mouliom have 5-6 dribbles in the paint to get his shots off. We're not going to allow that if we're truly playing to win.

Glad to see Channel Banks get his shot back. That could win a number of games for us this season. Surprised me to see Ali Ali with the start. As mentioned above, he's an unknown commodity due to the lack of recruiting information on him/video of him. He's quite composed for a true frosh & obviously has the proverbial 'high basketball I.Q." He's long & athletic & can handle the ball well for someone 6'6" - 6'7". Looks like Tre Edwards will be the redshirt of the class. Personally, I was also surprised to see Camron Reece with the start over Riak. But Cam Reece is a beast. Not to put too much pressure on him and say he's our next Tree, but... he kinda reminds me of Tree. Deng Riak, as someone mentioned above, is precisely the same player we saw last year. Next to no PT for Jayden Sayles. Greg Tribble is very athletic. He's going to have to work on his 3-point shot. LePear Toles in street clothes. Sad to see. Looks like his playing days are completely over. I was looking forward to possibly seeing him get a little PT last night. Tyler Cheese is still the best player on the floor. Check that. Best player on the floor is probably X. Man, is he smooth for someone 6'9". Has a nice 3-ball. Cool, clam & collected. He plays like a senior. LCJ, Banks, Cheese, Reece, X. When that group starts to gel after Christmas, man, that'll be a handful for anyone. Malone had a really good forward named Sehill Mouliom from Paris, France. There has to be an interesting story there as to how he wound up at Malone. He finished with, I think, 23 points. But that was one aspect of the game where it was obvious Akron's coaching staff was treating this game more as a scrimmage; they refused to double-team Mouliom on the block, allowing him 4-5 dribbles to get his shots off. If Akron were concerned with making defensive adjustments during this game, I'd have to assume they'd instantly double down on Mouliom & get the ball out of his hands on the block. But Malone ran a really nice offense, looked well-coached, and, IMHO, acquitted themselves quite well. It was a fun game. It's always difficult to get an accurate read on the team during that annual first game (typically against Malone, Walsh, Mount Union, etc.). I usually enjoy those first games because everyone gets to play. But 1) you can tell the Akron players aren't 100% engaged, and 2) it looks like Groce is hoping to play the entire bench anyway. I'm excited about going 10-deep, but doing so will probably mean it'll take a bit longer for the team to gel & for the coaching staff to find the right on-court combinations.

The game should be streamed here; WVU's athletics website. The game is blacked out in the AT&T Sports Network viewing area. I don't know what that is but I know it's not us.

FOXNews: Ohio facing troubling trends when it comes to prep football Article stating Ohio high school football isn't quite what it used to be. Declining number of youth participating in football compounded by the fact that Ohio is one of the slowest-growing states in the country. ...But Ohio also has one of the slowest-growing populations of any state and there are other troubling numbers: The number of high school football players in Ohio dropped by 28% from 2009-10 to 2018-19, according to data tracked by the National Federation of State High School Associations, and NCAA stats show the percentage of Ohio players competing at the highest level of college football has slipped from 5.9% in 2013 to 5.1% in 2018. That's still enough to rank fifth among the 50 states, but fourth-place Georgia has pulled away and states such as Louisiana (sixth) and Alabama (eighth) have gained on Ohio over the last 10 years.

It does. Let me try to find a few of the tweets I've seen...

ABJ/GT: Zips change offensive style for upcoming season Nice article, GT! ...The Zips will open their season Tuesday at Rhodes Arena against Malone University with plans to unveil a look that features speed, athleticism and the ability to score. Groce wants to run the court and earn more possessions. He plans to play up to 10 players a night, utilizing a bench he considers deep. ...But the new style might come with a significant tradeoff — turnovers. In playing two preseason scrimmages, the Zips flipped the ball to their opponent a combined 39 times, something that wouldn’t bode well for overall success during the regular season. Groce said he’s willing to “live with” 13-14 per game... "Nineteen, 20, 39 combined in the two is too many." ...“I’m into running and striking more in transition and having more possessions,” [Groce] said. “I’m even into understanding [that with] more possessions might come some more turnovers. I’ll swallow that, but I’m not going to tolerate poor defense.”

Everyone healthy.

Idk if the Malone game will be streaming, but you should be able to watch Friday's game in Morgantown against WVU at this link.

ABJ/staff report: Zips remain winless after blowout loss to Falcons Bubba had 19 tackles. Alvin Davis finished w/ 15 tackles (1 for a loss) and Lako had 11 (2 for a loss). We finished with a cumulative 100 yards of total offense. ? 71 yards passing on 10 receptions (7 yards per completion) ...and 29 yards rushing on 31 attempts (<1 yard per carry average). ?? BUGS forced 4 turnovers (3 INT's & 1 fumble) ?? ...and 5 sacks. ? Our OL is... just... wow. Lord have mercy.

7:00 Tuesday night (11/5).

Who’s at QB?

I’m not able to watch. Please post commentary. I see we’re up 3-0!

Akron Beacon Journal Akron vs. Bowling Green "scouting report" Kato's off suspension. I have no idea who will get the start. I guess I'm leaning Kato. Our OL is so porous I think we'll need Kato's scrambling ability. I'm still perplexed at how bare Bowden left the QB cupboard. Good grief.

These women deserve their own thread.