phil

Great first half of basketball. Really playing well as a team. Large number of assist and great job of feeding the dog and finding the open outside shooters.

Great article. To say that Kwan has been inconsistent offensively is an understatement. It would be great if he could have a great game on the road. If he plays well consistently it would really help this team. The last road game was a disaster so it will be interesting to see if this team can pull it together with a good team effort. Go Zips

Year of the Big Dog? After 20 games, here are the best offensive improvements from last year: Big Dog 6.9 points Antino 5.2 points Jake 3.6 points Reggie 3.6 points

Thanks for updating the site and being the administrator. I enjoy talking about Zips basketball with other fans. With the new change in the web site my name changed from 1981 grad to Phil. When you have the chance I would like to return to 1981 grad. I tried to make the change with no success. Thanks, Phi,l aka 1981 grad.

The Miami coach did not share your opinion regarding the quality of the refs. I like the fact that they did not blow their whistles very often but I thought most of the 50/50 calls went Akron way. (not complaining considering some of the calls we get on the road) They called several traveling calls against Miami that most refs were not calling since they were very close. Miami played bad and had very little flow to their offense. I thought we played better defense but Robotham still gets beat on the dribble drive, especially in the second half. He played 33 minutes so maybe he is getting tired. It was great seeing Josh scoring 15 but everything was off the 3 ball. I think one reason we shot the 3 ball so well is that the guys that were hot did the shooting. Other guys did the scoring and Antino did not have to shoot 15 shots and Kwan did not shoot any 3 point attempts. It was great seeing Jimond going 4-4 from the line. Amazing what a 30 point lead will do for your confidence when foul shooting. I hope that he gets the confidence to work more into the rotation since he is the one guy who likes to take the ball to the hoop.

The cupcake syndrome? Since conference play has started the Zips are giving up 9 more points a game than against non conference foes. Is our defense that much worse in conference play or was our out of conference schedule so bad that it masked our bad defense? This team has to realize that they have to work hard on the defensive end. I think that one of the reasons Reggie is starting at the 2 guard is that he defends and rebounds better than our guards. (Offensively he has also helped big time) I would like to see more Jimond as I think he could be a good defender because of this quickness, size and athleticism. But he has to earn it. However, we are scoring much better than in past years. We have 5 guys scoring in double figures. That is probably a first for a KD coached team. The shortened shot clock may have something to do with it since scoring has been up this year. There has been very little complaining about the rotation this year on this board because the guys that have been producing are playing big minutes in conference play. KD is playing 7 guy rotation playing 20 minutes or more in conference play. Josh is playing 14 minutes, Jimmond gets 7 minutes and Aron Jackson getting 4 minutes. I think the key to these 3 guys getting more time is defense. I also think we play better when Antino shoots less and passes more. He is not shooting the ball well this season. Also, Kwan has to realize that his shooting has not been very effective from the 3 point line and he has a better percentage when driving to the basket. Should be a good game tonight. Go Zips!

Congratulation to Reggie who is now ranked 20th in the nation on 3 point percentage. We did 3 things well we did not do well during our 2 game skid: We got to the foul line and shot more foul shots than our opposition. Shot our foul shots well at 75% (Big Dog went 12 of 13) Shot our 3 ball well at 50% I also noticed more intensity on defense. On one play Pat made a layup and then sprinted down the court and intercepted a pass as Eastern tried to score on transition. A pure hustle play. Also, whenever a player attacked the rim, our big guys defended and forced him into a pass or a contested shot. Very few uncontested layups. Although there were some passes for dunks, we defended and forced the extra pass. We did not let a dribble drive score an uncontested layup. This was big difference from the last few games.

I think the attendance was 2300. The upper stands were not as full as the last few games. However, they did have refreshments on the upper level and they did have some baton girls do a very good half time performance. I agree that we played much better tonight than the last 2 games. The players were hustling and we were not outworked. KD did a great job attacking the zone. It was a weird zone in that once you got the ball into the middle of the zone near the foul line, it was basically man on man. They could not control Big Dog and Pat underneath. Kwan did not look good against the zone although he played good defense. I thought we played good defense even though we gave up 88 points. A lot of their 3 point shots we had a hand in their face but they still made the shots. Eastern shot the ball well. I was surprised that when we were leading by 7 points with a little over a minute left they stayed in their zone. They let us run out the clock. I still do not understand why Anitno and Robotham pressure the ball 40-50 feet from the basket. They are right in the defender's face but then they get beat on the dribble drive. I still think the defense by our guards was very good tonight. The refs were bad. The first half the play was very physical and no whistle. Late in the second half they were calling touch fouls. It was bad for both teams. I think we shot 50% from the 3 line and that will win us many game. Reggie was amazing. Lets hope the hot shooting continues on Sat.

KD was not happy with the team play after Friday's loss and I wonder if we may see some changes in the lineup. Since we started conference play, there has been a downward trend on our offensive stats. In conference play we still shoot the 3 ball at a frequent rate, 31 3 pointers per game, but we are shooting only 32% from the 3 line and have gone from 33rd in the country to 68th in the country in 3 point shooting percentage. The opposition in 4 games has shot 23 more foul shots than Akron and shooting their foul shots at a respectable 69% while once again, we suck at shooting our foul shots shooting 57.5% from the foul line. However, we have played 3 out of our 4 games on the road so hopefully the downward offensive stats will get better during the next 3 home games. KD teams have always played well at home. We need to play better defense and stop the dribble penetration. I am hoping that we can get better defense from our guards. Go Zips!

I think it is difficult to win on the road and last night was no exception. However, at Central Michigan we were in the game with 5 minutes left and last night we were down by 15 with 5 minutes left. I do not think this team has as much talent as other Zips teams, especially on the defensive end. Our guards look slow on defense. We had only 2 steals last night by Big Dog and no fast break points. Last night Antino had a turnover right before the half when he had his pocket picked and it led to a Toledo layup. When is the last time an Akron guard stole the ball from an opposing player? When is the last time the Zips score on transition points? Josh Williams defense on the fast break is to back up until he is under his own basket and then watch the guy jump over him for a layup. Robotham looks a step slow on defense coming back this year. Antino has some quickness but continues to get beat on the dribble drive. Jimond and Aron Jackson have not played very much and KD is using Reggie as the two guard. We have 5 guards on scholarship on this team and KD is using Reggie at the 2 guard. That sums up our guard play the last couple of games. This game was a mirror image of the lost at Central Michigan where we were outshot at the foul line by a 2-1 margin. Pat had an off night and shot 2 for 10. We shot only 25% from the 3 line. KD indicated on the post game that he did not like the shot selection. The 3 point shots are the same shots we have been taking the entire year. They were basically all open looks. This team needs more team speed, especially on defense. Hopefully, KD can figure this out and maybe the team just needs this 3 game home stand to get back to playing good team defense. Let's hope last nights game was a wake up call to the team and not a harbinger of future games.

I just listened to KD on the post game and he was extremely upset with team indicating that playing time was earned and not given out. He stated that he was disappointed at the half when players were pointing fingers at each other instead of accepting responsibility for their own play. He also indicated that the shot selection was poor in the first half. Robotham did not play in the second half, was not injured and was in street clothes. I give KD credit for challenging his players. I think KD expect hard nose scrappy defense from his players. Now that we have hit MAC play we have seen little tenacity from this team the last 2 games. Robotham, Williams and Antino are not good defenders. Further, our forwards and centers are not very quick and able to cover for the guards once they get beat. I think everyone has to be disappointed with the defensive effort. Tuesday game should be interesting.

Watching Antino play defense is difficult to watch. He presses and get in the guys face 40 feet from the basket and then the guy blows past him. Why is he guarding a guy that far from the basket when he continues to get beat.

I am sure that every team we face will try to duplicate the Central Michigan game and attempt to dribble drive into the paint. It will be interesting to see what KD does to combat this problem and whether we will see an Akron zone. I think the reason we are struggling this year has more to do with a change in players than anything else. Last year Nyles Evans was probably our best defender even though he struggled offensively. Deji was a very good defensive player and Robotham lead our team in steals. Unfortunately, Robotham is coming off surgery and is still struggling to get back to his defensive form. I wonder if we will see more Aron Jackson and Jimond who are a little more athletic and hopefully may be able to prevent the dribble drive. With a good defensive effort we can bring home a win. Go Zips!

If Ivey would have made his foul shots he would have gotten more time. The same factors that hurt us last year bit us again last night, poor foul shooting, not getting to the line, and our opponent getting to the line and making their foul shots. How can we win a game when they score 25 from the line, 90% shooting and we score 5 from the line, 45% shooting. Our guards have problems stopping the penetration and this problem is not new. Robotham is recovering from surgery, Antino is quick but has not kept his man from penetrating, and Josh is a frosh who is still learning the speed of the college game on defense. With all these problems, we were only down by 2 with 5 minutes left and we then turned the ball over. Looking forward to Friday's game to see if KD can fix the situation.

We were down by 2 with 5 minutes left and then lose by 14. We did not execute down the stretch. Bad foul shooting, turnovers, and bad defense is not the way to close out a game. Antino was better defensively last year and needs to improve. Hopefully, we will get better in Toledo.

Early in the season Jimond had a great stroke from the foul line. Now it is a mental thing and he has missed his last 6 or 8. He can draw the fouls but cannot convert. Josh hit a big three. We can still win this game.

Instead of Josh Williams, KD has Reggie playing the 2 guard and it is working well. Reggie looks good playing this position. That last foul was cheap. Same ref who called the offensive foul against Josh.

Great picture, great commentators, great game. Kwan is playing well and has made some nice penetration drives and really nice passes. Despite the defensive lapse, he is contributing without taking the 3 point shot. After last week, I thought we would have more of an effort on the offensive boards. Does not look like anybody is interested in offensive rebounds. Maybe they are more concerned with the transition defense. After Antino makes 2 consecutive shots, Keith pulls him out? The last offensive foul at the end of the half was bogus. KD was giving it to the refs.

Jimmond made 2 nice moves to the basket and missed 2 layups. He will get better with more experience. We need his explosiveness.

The marketing for this team is nonexistent. They use to have ads in the newspaper and billboards to promote Akron basketball but that is gone. They use to have half time entertainment, that is also gone. (one year they had a female Chinese acrobat that was amazing). The only way to improve attendance is to bring in some name teams that people would like to see. The VCU game was a sellout several year ago and even though we lost it was an entertaining game and many people would return to see the Zips play. The Can't game is usually a sellout because of the rivalry. The Ohio University team was usually a sellout a couple of years ago because of the rivalry and the 2 teams did not like each other. Really, how many people want to watch Lipscomb, Coppin State, or Bethume Cookman? I love watching Akron basketball but realize that most of my friends would rather watch the Cavs or Ohio State on TV than go to a Zips game. The only way to change that perception is to get people to the JAR that normally would not attend a game. Since there is no marketing that simply is not happening. I wish they would bring back the bracketbuster since that was our only chance of bringing a good nonconference opponent to the Jar. I hope that we continue winning and that may improve attendance but wish Akron would market this team better.

The Zips play at Central Michigan at 7 tomorrow and it is broadcast on ESPN 3. Central is 8-7 and 1-1 in the MAC losing at home to Eastern Michigan by 19 and winning at Bowling Green. This game will be a battle of the 3 point shooters since Akron is ranked 12th in the nation in 3 point attempts and Central is ranked 14th in the nation on 3 point attempts. We shoot the 3 ball better than Central being ranked 56th in the Country but Central is not to shabby being ranked 88th in the country. Akron is ranked No. 1 in the country on 3 ball defense so this will be a good test on how good our defense is against guys who can shoot the 3 ball well. Jake Kretzer is having a great year and is ranked 23rd in the country shooting the 3 ball. Looking forward to competitive game on the road. If it is close, I hope we can execute well like we did in Buffalo at the end of the game. Go Zips!

Wadszip makes some great points about the pressure of starting league play and being on national ESPN. When we were getting killed on the boards I though Jimond should get some playing time since he is stronger than our other guards, athletic, and a good rebounder. He had some nice drives to the basket and went to the foul line 4 times and made only 1 of 4. He is a good foul shooter. There is no question that he is feeling the pressure. Josh Williams has not done much in conference play and Robotham has not played well since conference play has begun. But we are still winning. When I look at earlier threads everyone thought the Jimond and Josh would excel and be immediate impact players. I think in most cases in take a frosh time to understand the quick pace of college ball. Western did a great job of offensive rebounding and hopefully our guys can learn from that and understand that you need to rebound, box out and hit the weight room on the off season.

We shot the ball poorly, only 34% overall and 31% from the 3 line, got killed on the offensive boards, 24 to 11, and shot poorly from the line, 55% and still won by 9 points. This team can play a lot better. When their guards are able to penetrate, even if they miss, it opens up offensive rebounding opportunities. The one stat that has been consistent is that we are not turning over the ball and had only 8 turnovers tonight. I cannot remember a Zip team that has been this good with the ball. Our guards and forwards have to keep their men in front of them and box out and rebound. A good win for the Zips!!

We look very slow on the offensive boards. Antino scores and then gets beat on the other end. It has happened twice this game. When we are not hitting the 3 ball we are struggling. Josh Williams and Antino are getting not strong enough under the boards. KD should play Jimond more as he is a strong rebounder.

WadZip, Good points about Kwan and Antino. I said this in an earlier post that Antino is shooting too much and has 50 more shots than anyone else on the team. Just because you can take a step back three does not mean you should shoot it. He has the quickness to get to the basket and then dish it off and would like to see more of that. At the Can't game last year at Can't he was very good at getting the ball to his teammates. He does not have to be a scorer every night. Kwan's play has improved after a game where he only played about 12 minutes. KD indicated that Kwan went to the gym to improve his game after that game. The main thing about Kwan is that he has a history of late in the game making mental mistakes like in the Green Bay game where he just kept shooting 3 shot baskets when all we needed is a two pointer. The one thing I like about Kwan is that he has been a consistent rebounder on defense and has some nice blocks. He has made himself a consistent defender. Out turnover rate has really been low the past few games and that has really helped us in the winning streak. Looking forward to the game tonight. Go Zips!