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Wadszip, you may some great points that the trend is to take a lot of 3 point shots and Nova is a prime example. However, in the Zips lost to Nova we were outscored in the paint 36 to 12. In the loss to Green Bay we were outscore in the paint 40-28. In Green Bay it seemed like when this team gets tired at the end of a game we settle for the three ball with little success. There needs to be more balance in our scoring. Playing inside out works against weaker competition such as Charleston. They double Pat and it opens up the 3 point shot for our wings. But if we are ever to win against good teams, especially if we ever want to win a NCAA tournament game, this team needs to learn to attack the basket from the wings. At Green Bay I watched Jimond beat his man and take it to the basket and Aron Jackson's man came over to block his shot. Aron stayed in the corner instead of running the base line and looking for a pass for a layup. As the season progress I am hoping that our wings will do a better job of attacking the paint.

Must be something in the water. After a Jimond dunk, Charleston-Southern Coach went ballistic on one of his players throwing his coat down and yelling at the player for a minute. I thought Bobby Hurley was back in the building. I felt bad for the player. I heard KD post game and he indicated the he was going to try to get Jimond more playing time since he is athletic and can drive to the basket. He stated he was a Deji type player and the team needs this type of player. I like watching Jimond but tonight he settled for too many 3 point shots. We already have too many 3 point shooters and need someone who can slash to the basket. (Both Pat and Big Dog shot and missed 3 pointers tonight) It was nice to see Reggie go back door for a dunk and Kretzer had a nice drive to the basket but could not finish. We shot 35 three pointers tonight and shot 43%. It was nice to see that Josh played well and was able to score.

I stated in the preseason rankings forum that this team had some weaknesses from last year, We shot the 3 ball too much, ranking 2nd in the nation, we did not shoot it really well, and that we did not get to foul line very much and when we did we did not shoot it very well. In the last 3 games against good competition, we are shooting about 29 three balls a game, about the same as last year, we won the one game when we shot it well, 47% and lost the 2 games where we shot it poorly, about 31%. Kwan shot 4 three balls in the last 5 minutes of the game last night missing them all. We were outshot from the foul line 85 to 55. Once again we are not a good foul shooting team. Although it is early, it looks like once again we are a perimeter team and not sure if we can ever win against good teams unless we shoot the 3 ball in the mid 40% range.

Does anybody remember last year when we lost our first 4 or 5 close games because nobody would step up at the end of ball games. This is supposed to be an experienced group. The best we can do is Kwan taking 3 long range threes at the end of the game. NKD should have pulled him after the second one. I would rather see Ivey than Josh at the end of the game.

Josh Williams saw that Antino was coming in for him and took a quick 3 and missed. He then watched as Green Bay took it for a dunk. I know he is a frosh but he does not look good playing the point.

Ivey has really made a difference in this game. We need a player who can get to the basket and draw fouls. In Akron I noticed that he looks great at the foul line and he is perfect from the line. That block was great!! He has been very impressive where Josh has struggled. I hope KD starts him in the second half or brings him in very quickly.

Everyone on this board always talks about getting to the next level in Akron Basketball and this was it. We stayed with a top 10 team for about a half but could not stay with them the 2nd half. I think we had a chance to beat this team but the following must happen: Shooting: This team loves to shoot the 3 and we shot 33 three balls at Nova. In Arkansas, we shot 47% at Nova we shot 33%. That is an additional 15 points if we shot the same rate at both schools. The shots were there at both games. Did Nova wear us down more than Arkansas? If we are going to beat a top school we need to shoot the 3 ball in the mid to high 40% in both halves. Guard Play: 12 turnovers between our 2 guards with 8 by Antino. You are not going to beat a top program without exceptional guard play. Foul Shooting: Kwan and Big Dog a combined 1 for 8 including missing the front ends of one and ones. Must do better than that. Injury: Pat was 0 for 6 and you could tell something was wrong with his game. Needed his scoring in this game. I was impressed that we could stay with a top 10 program at their house for a half. Hopefully, we are only a few steps away from the next level.

I looked at the replay of the game to see when Pat got injured and the only contact I saw was with Reggie during the first half. It looked like Pat may have been playing hurt and that would explain his 0 for 6 shooting including an air ball from 5 feet. I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Injuries early in the season are better than late in the season during conference play. Also, it gives other players an opportunity to step up. Look how well Antino played after Robotham went down. Also, Pat excelled when Tree left the program. Hopefully, this will Kwan an opportunity to shine. He played well at both Arkansas and Villanova. I am also looking forward to seeing Utomi play as I liked his game in the brief showing during the exhibition. We need a player that is athletic, can attack the basket, and draw some fouls.

The Nova coach was very complimentary of our team and was surprised how well and how quickly we shot the 3. We got beat up in the paint and were outscored something like 38 to 8. They were a lot quicker than we were and were able to get to the basket. I think we made a good showing but we need Big Dog and Kwan to make some foul shots. I think they were a collective 1 for 8 from the foul line. I also heard the post game show and I thought KD indicated the Pat may have broken his rib and that is why he did not play in the 2nd half. He was taken to the hospital. Does not expect him to play on Tuesday.

My hope is that we can stay competitive in the first half. Do not want to see a repeat of the VCU game where we are out of it after the first half. I agree with skip-zip that we have to shoot well, especially the 3 ball. It was interesting reading the Nova blog where they depend too much on the 3 ball and noted they were 17th in the country shooting the 3 ball. We were 2nd in the country last year shooting the 3 ball so there should be a lot of outside shooting tomorrow. That means we need to rebound well to stay in the game. I do not know if we are athletic or quick enough to stay with Nova. Can Reggie, Kwan and Kretzer keep their men from attacking the rim. Can Pat and Big Dog control the boards? I think athletic guys like Utomi and Ivey will help us in games like this in the future since both guys look very quick and athletic.

Does anyone know the status of Ivey and Josh for the Nova game. Josh only played a few minutes so it looked like his injury was still bothering him. For those individuals who believe that our team plays better with limited substitutions, this is your game. Basically, played a one guard offense most of the night with 6 players. Josh and Aron combined for 17 minutes. It looks like this team will be taking a lot of 3 pointers again this year. Last year we were 2nd in the nation in 3 point attempts but 141st in percentage made. Last night we shot 46.4% from the 3 line last night. To put that in perspective, last year the number one team in 3 point shooting percentage shot 44.7%. Hopefully, the improved 3 point shooting will continue since we shot 35% last year.

A great win for the Zips. Cannot remember a game where everyone played so well. This team loves to shoot the 3 and when we are hot from the 3 line we look really good. Antino turned in one of the best performances from a guard in Zips history playing all 40 minutes. The announcers were very good and gave the Zips credit for the win.

That gives us 7 players and only 2 guards. Should be interesting. Of course we lost to a North Dakota team with only 6 players one year.

For Time Warner subscribers, the game is being broadcast on watch espn just like espn 3. Time warner has the sec network on channel 336 but they are showing woman's basketball. The game is being shown digitally just like our other games. It is just part of the sec network instead of espn 3. It would be nice if gozips would provide the link like they usually do for espn 3 games.

I do not know if this is true but I was told that Larry Nance Jr., from Revere and now of the LA Lakers also wanted to be a Zip but that KD went with Harney and Tree as scholarship players. If this is true I do not blame KD because Tree and Harney were probably the better prospects coming out of high school. How does it work if you have more scholarship players that scholarships. Does KD have the option of not renewing a scholarship if nobody voluntarily leaves the program?

This game was a bad idea. Hiram was so bad that they were stuck on 4 for a good part of the first half. It was so bad the crowd was cheering when they scored. They were very undisciplined and shot the 3 ball whenever they had a chance. Pat missed a lot of easy shots very close to the basket. Aaron had a very good second half and was probably the high scorer. I hate to say this but Josh Williams had several turnovers. Hopefully he will improve but the next few games are going to be very difficult for him. Jimond had a very good game but injured his knee. KD indicated that they had no idea how serious it was and the Dr. was looking at him. Kwan rebounded the ball well but I was hoping to see him get stronger and develop an inside game. After 3 games it is obvious that he is going to be more of a wing player than an inside presence. The highlight of the game was watching Big Dog play point guard. KD indicated that he handles the ball well and he may be needed to bring the ball up when the other team pressures the ball.

I am torn between Isaiah and Antino. I think that KD wants to play Pat and Isaiah together and if Big Dog would makes his foul shots he could be a double digit scorer. However, I am going with Antino. He played strong defense at the end of the year and that will keep him on the court. He looked good in the exhibition game and with Robotham being hurt he will have the opportunity to lead the offense. If he improves from last year I could see him averages 12-14 points per game.

I just read the SI basketball preview and they had their predictions of players who were going to increase their scoring average from last season to this season. Before the season starts, would like to hear some predictions from Zip fans of which Zip player will increase their scoring average the most from last year to this year. Last year there were 3 players who had big jumps in their scoring averages including Kwan, 2.3 to 7.9, Pat, 4.9 to 10 and Deji, 5.2 to 9.9. Which Zip player will have a breakout season this year? Here are the scoring averages from last year: Kwan 7.9 Jake 5.6 Reggie 7.0 Isaiah 5.4 Pat 10 Aaron Jackson 2.8 Antino Jackson 6.2 Robotham 9.9

That sucks that CSU has lost 3 good players who have transferred to bigger programs. The only transfer I can remember of any significance from Akron was Bubba Walters who made a lateral transfer and went to Ohio University. Nick Dials transferred from Ohio State to Akron and Bubba may have lost some playing time. It was about 10 years ago. Akron has always benefitted from the transfer rule and Pat is a prime example. Maybe KD always playing 10 players and never developing a true star might be a good thing?

After the beat down we got from VCU in the tournament 2 years ago, KD changed his recruiting. He realized that he can mold athletes into basketball players. However, he cannot mold basketball players into athletes.

There were a fair number of students in the crowd. Malone had a contingent at the JAR so it was a good crowd for an exhibition game. Antino has put on some weight and looks stronger. I thought he had a very strong game penetrating and dishing. He also shot the ball well. It seems like he will be tough this year. Josh Williams also looked good. He has good size for a guard and was under control the whole game. The Zips passed the ball to Big Dog or Pat in the post. Malone triple teamed the post player and the Zips moved the ball to Kretzer who was hitting the open 3. We shot a lot of threes the first half. My only complaint was that on a couple of occasions we shot the 3 ball to quickly without any ball movement. Kretzer had an air ball 3 and Reggie and Kwan forced up a couple of 3 balls. However, we shot the 3 ball well tonight. In the second half we made a concerted effort to score inside. They would run Big Dog or Pat off a screen and they would take the ball to the basket. Malone did not have the size to stop them. The second half we were tough inside. Not sure how that will work against better teams but it looked good tonight. KD also played Big Dog and Pat together. It created several offensive rebound opportunities. I am sure we can expect that more this season. We also pushed the ball on offense. Kwan had a nice pass to Pat on a face break. Pat really ran the floor well. Unfortunately, that was about it for Kwan. I was hoping he would develop an inside game but did not see it tonight. Missed a reverse layup and a fade shot from 6 feet. Did not get to see the frosh until the second half. I agree that Agba looks good. All the frosh are quick and athletic. The only question is whether they can learn to play defense. I think he has a shot a being a contributor but it is too early to tell.

The 19,000 were Halloween figures, 4,000 live and 15,000 ghosts of Akron's football past.

I usually don't post on the football forum but I went to the game today and left very frustrated after the game. First, the attendance is terrible. When I arrived at the game with my son I am estimating there was 3,500 at the game. (The Chips had a couple hundred fans.) The upper level was almost empty with only a few scattered people at the 50 yard line. People started leaving at the half and there was maybe 1,200 in attendance at the end of the game. I still remember going to the Rubber Bowl when Akron would draw 8-12 thousand to a game. I think the Coach I hire and the 10 years of losing have taken their toll on attendance. I thought Woodson had a good game but could never make a key play except for the touchdown pass. On our second drive of the game he faked a handoff and started running left. He had a linebacker to beat and it looked like he could score. Instead, he turned it inside and was tackled. He then fumbled on the next play when we had him on an empty backfield and we did not score. We went from 1st and 5 from the 10 to 4th and 30 from the 35. He is big and strong runner, but he is not quick. Several times he tried to run when the pocket broke down and could never get passed the line of scrimmage. For a running quarterback, I expected more quickness. I agree with Skip-Zip that Bowden has to have some confidence in his offense to go for it from their 40 yard line. We punted from there at least 3 times and once late in the 4th quarter when it was 4th and 6. We never saw their side of the field again. The offensive play call at the 40 yard line was ineffective. The offense always shot themselves in the foot every time we hit their 40 yard line. Obviously, the Ianella play of the game was 3rd and 2 from their 35 yard line and we send in Grice. We send a guy in motion and the ref throws a flag and stops play. I did not see anybody move and cannot figure what is going on. We have 12 guys on the field and it is a five yard penalty. You would think that with 10 coaches and 5 in the press box, somebody would notice that when Grice went in that nobody came out. Really? Another squandered opportunity and we punt again from the 40 yard line. My favorite play was a Woodson pass to a received who did not turn around and it hit him square in the back and bounced about 10 feet to another Akron receiver. The most creative Akron play all game. The offense had some great starting position, had 3 or 4 good drives and could only score 6 points. That is 13 points in 2 games. This is not enjoyable to watch. I listened to Bowden on the post game show and state how close they were to winning games. This is a game that they should have won. I hope the Zips win out but not that optimistic.

It seems that Akron B Ball has the Middle East covered this year. Zeke is in Saudi Arabia and Tree is playing B Ball in the 2nd tier Israel Basketball league for Galil Galboa in Northern Israel. He is a starter and recently scored 26 points. I always thought that Tree had the most upside of any Akron U player because he was big, strong and athletic and very competitive. I was at the VCU game in Detroit where we were outmatched and he was the only player that looked like he could hold his own that night. It was disappointing that he did not finish his senior year but I think we are a better team this year. Pat developed into a great player in Tree's absence and I am not sure if develops that quickly in Tree's shadow. It also gave more minutes last year to Isaiah, Kwan and other players who stepped up in his absence.

I would like to share the enthusiasm about our team and I am hopeful that everyone is right. But we had a couple of weaknesses last year that need to be addressed before this team can move forward. Last year this team was 2nd in the nation in 3 point attempts and 127th in 3 point percentage. Everyone on this team like to shoot the 3 ball. (Pat excluded) This team lacked guys who could drive to the basket and could create their own shot. Early in the season we often struggled at the end of games because we did not have a go to guy. Our forwards this year, Jake, Reggie, and Kwan, are mainly 3 point shooters. I am curious this year if Kwan has gotten stronger and developed an inside game and learned to get to the basket. His development will be a key for next year. Deji was our best guy getting to the basket and he is gone. When we struggle from the 3 line we were not very good. Last year we also struggled getting to the free throw line. We ranked 296th out of 356 in free throws attempted. In other words we sucked at getting to the foul line. Deji was our best guy getting to the line followed by Pat and Big Dog. These 3 players took over half of our foul shots. And when we did get to the line, we did not shoot our foul shots well and ranked 258th in the nation in foul shot percentage. We need to get to the line more and shoot better from the line. And remember, these stats include a very weak schedule at the beginning of the season. I am curious to see if this team will be more balanced. Looking forward to watching the team this year.