phil

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.

I love watching Brien play. The first couple years here he was a great rebounder for a guard. Great player for Akron. Good luck as a coach. I thought he would find his way on the staff at Illinois. If his shot does not rim out at the MAC final, Ohio U does not go to the NCAA. No sweet 16 run for John Groce No job at Illinois with a large salary. Amazing how one bounce of a ball can change a lot of things.

What, no olive jars?

I agree with everything you said and I will rephrase. "We are a good Mac team and the Mac is a weak conference." The only way to get better is through recruiting. Find more Trees, Harneys and Qs. These are our best players and one graduates and the other 2 are seniors. We did not have an impact freshman this year. Both Big Dog and Cheatham had chances but neither became a solid starter. They need to get in better physical condition. I believe that they can be solid players and maybe even excel but only time will tell. The only way this team can jump to the next levell is if the current players work on their game and learn to penetrate and move without the ball. We also need our guards to become better shooters.

Not surprised that Western Michigan got killed. Last year when I went to Detroit and we lost by 40 I realized we are a good team in a bad conference. The game last night once again reminded me that our conference is not very strong and when we play a good team out of conference we are going to struggle. Our guys have to work in the off season to get quicker, stronger, more athletic and tougher if we are ever going to win that elusive 1st round game in the NCAA or even have the opportunity to do so. Tree is a very strong player but he cannot carry the team. Harney is also very talented but has to dedicate himself to basketball. Evans and Carmello need to develop a consistent shot. Also, they have to improve their d and learn to move the ball while under pressure. The best part of the season was watching Deji go from no time to a full time player. He took the opportunity that was handed to him. Big Dog needs to become leaner and quicker. Cheatham has great potential. Hopefully next year at this time we will be celebrating a first round NCAA victory.

I thought the Zips had penetrating the Bowling Green defense because of our spacing problems. We have too many post up players and the middle was clogged. When KD went to the smaller lineup it opened up the lane allowing our guards to penetrate the defense and dish off to the open player. I don't think Big Dog and Pat saw the floor 5 minutes into the second half. When Tree gets the ball the players guarding Pat and Big Dog double on Tree and we seem to have trouble getting a good shot. Leaving the middle open and allowing our guards to penetrate made our spacing look much better. Obviously. it helps when we can make some 3 point baskets.

I think that Deji will probably get the start tonight over Cheatham based upon his play on Sat. He had a great game on Sat. and hopefully this will continue. Bentacourt and Evans shot 1 of 9 on Sat with 7 of the shots being 3 pointers. They have to do better if we are going to win. I did not think the team quit but they had another awful start scoring only 2 points in the first five minutes and never seemed to recover after going down 12 points. Tree took 5 jump shots to being the game and missed all of them even though they were open looks. Our post players are getting double teamed and having problems passing the ball to the open man. I like the way Ohio U. had players move without the ball and take 10 foot jump shots off the screens with a catch and shoot. Our players still do not move well without the ball and everything seems to be off the dribble. If we win this game and get Kretzer back soon we may be able to make a run and get to the tournament.

That was the worst home loss that I can remember in a long time. I started with the comment that we could win if Pat, Evens and Bentacourt stepped up. It did not happen. They were a combined 1 for 10 and scored 4 points, all by Evens. They also had 5 turnovers and 3 assist. However, this loss was a team effort. Ibitayo was the only player to have a good game. The game started with Tree missing open jumpers. That seemed to be the theme the rest of the night. We had open looks. Big Dog missed a couple of bunnies from less that 3 feet. Just not our night shooting. Evens went from 18 points to 4. I just don't understand the inconsistent play. The play before the half when he was dribbling and looked confused was just awful and then he turned the ball over. It was just plain ugly. We have got to play better than this.

It is game day and I thought I would start the thread to indicate the game is at 6. I just picked that up yesterday and wonder how many people will assume it is a 7:00 P.M. start. They also set the Can't game for Friday at 7 which works well for my schedule. With our suspension, illness, and injury, I still think that Akron will beat OU. I had given up on NIles Evens and then he plays a great game offensively in Buffalo. Hopefully, this will give him some confidence for tonight's game. If Pat, Bentacourt and Evens step up we should win this game. I know that we have been down on Bentacourt and Evens this season but in a sense they are first year players. Evens is new to the team and Bentacourt was a backup most of the season. I think they both lost a great deal of confidence playing in the Hawaii tournament against top competition. They could not handle the pressure. In hindsight playing a tough out of conference schedule was difficult for this team because we had an inexperienced backcourt. I think in the long run getting Cheatham, Big Dog and Pat more playing time will help us at the Q and for the future. I want to see Cheatham develop an inside game and not just shoot threes from the wing. We already have to many 3 point specialist and need guys who can get to the basket and draw fouls. I am not sure what the crowd will be like tonight. Anybody have any idea.

This is the first game that made me realize how much we miss Zeke defensively. They took to ball to the hoop repeatedly and scored. When Zeke was in the middle the ball would go back in their face. I would like our team to go to the hoop on back cuts and ball screens. We have outside shooters, McAdams and Kretzer, post players including Tree, Pat, and Big Dog. Our guards do not penetrate well although they did ok on Wed. Q and Harney and Tree are the only players that can slash and get to the hoop. That is why we struggle offensively if we are not hitting our 3 point shots. The other teams clog the middle and we have a difficult time scoring. I would love to see Chetam put on some muscle and learn to take the ball to the hoop. He has a perfect body for it.

Our team played well. The miss by Evens was big. Let's hope this game is a big turnaround game for our guards. I do not think we turned the ball over much. The refs did a good job in letting the guys play. Looking forward to the rematch in Akron

kd should have called the timeout on the last possession before Big Dog turned the ball over. Tree looks dead on his feet. I don't think he has had a break the entire half. He is amazing!

Kwan is young. He needs to build his body. In that play where Kretzer got hurt he had position and got tossed around. I like to see him go inside and not rely on the 3

Niles Evens and Bentacourt are playing great offensively. However, I have seen Evens leave his man 3 times. If you are playing man to man defense, just stay on your man. It is that easy. Leaving McCrae alone underneath the basket is crazy. Tree had every right to be mad. He switched off with Evens after a pick and Evens leaves McCrae by himself. Not smart basketball. I still don't know why Keith starts Ibatayo. He just has not been playing well and has not made an outside shot in a long time.

The administration is on top of the issue. In the game against Buffalo they are having a Proenza bobblelhead night. I am sure that will pack the students into the rafters. I can't wait!!

After the first 5 minutes, I actually enjoyed the game. Our guards looked good with Evens and Bentacourt driving to the basket and getting some layups. Evens had 9 points and made some clutch foul shots. By driving to the basket he got fouled. Good things happen if you just don't stand at the 3 line and shoot three shot baskets. Bentacourt also had some really nice feeds. I thought Cheatum played well although he did not score. He had some rebounds and played good defense. He needs to learn to drive to the basket. KD was critical of Q but I thought he had a good game. The one thing we did well during this game was getting out on the fast break. Q had some great breakouts especially during the second half. I thought we fought hard for some rebounds. Tree obviously was amazing and was 7 of 9 from the line. However, we he gets the ball almost everyone on Northern Illinois had their eyes on him. I wish our guards would move without the ball and get some easy jump shots. You do not need to shoot a 3 every time. The funniest part of the game was when Q had a fast break and threw Tree an a lob pass for a dunk. The only problem was that it was above the backboard. Tree looked at Q like he was crazy if he thought he could slam home that pass. It looked like these guys were having fun even when Q made a mistake. Looking forward to Wed game in Buffalo

I dislike the play to have Cheatham try to hit a 3 for the game winner. Rather have Tree take it or have Q drive to the basket. Live by the 3 and die by the 3. I do not think we played that well. Every time I watch Evens play I wonder what Keith saw in him. He drives to the basket and take the ball out instead of trying to make a layup. Even the announcer for the Western Michigan had no idea what he was doing.

When Tree gets the ball under the basket he has 3 guys on him. We have Kretzer, Cheatham, and McAdams standing on the wing doing nothing. As I stated before our spacing is terrible. In the 2nd half, saw guys cutting to the basket. We got a layup. Good half time adjustment.

The one thing I have noticed is that when Tree gets the ball in the post with his back to the basket he usually has three players on him with one defensive player right under the basket. He has a difficult time getting the ball to an open player because the Akron players are not moving. One time big dog moved and got an easy basket when he moved as Tree was in the post. We should be able to get some easy looks if 3 players are watching Tree. Our spacing has to get better. I noticed that Evens got a little more time. As the season has progressed I am not sure what KD saw in him. He does not seem to like contact or drive to the basket, is not a good shooter, and the offense also seems to start late when he is in the game. I am hoping that he improves but I like Bentacourt a great deal more than Evens right now.

When I looked at the stats, 2 stats really stuck out. First, Can't had 11 steals to our 2 steals. I thought they were scrappier and played with more intensity. Tree had 5 turnovers. On a couple of occssions after the ball was stolen he would trot back on defense. He played a very tough game but he has to learn not to get frustrated. His intensity seems to turn into frustration very quickly. Did not see that last year where he just seemed to be a happier player. The other stat that stuck out was that Kretzer played 36 minutes and did not score with only 2 shots and no points. Pat did not play much but did not do anything when he was in there except give the ball away on a terrible play with Evens. All he had to do was hand the ball to Evens but under pressure he turned the ball over for 2 easy Can't points. We really cannot complain about the prayer bank 3 pointer. Lets remember the bullet pass Carmelo threw at the ref who was out of bounds, that hit his leg and then rebounded to Mcadams for an easy basket. The basketball Gods givith and taketh. Finally, has anyone seen Ibitayo recently?

Pat needs to go straight up when he gets the ball under the basket in a scoring position. Last night he got a great pass. After 3 ball fakes, he was fouled and we took the ball out. A wasted scoring opportunity.

I agree. I think Nick is playing well. One of the few players who has a quick first step and can get to the basket. He and Q like pushing the ball on the open floor. He had a layup last night just pushing the ball up the court and nobody stopped him The Central Mich. coach called a time out. Because Nick likes pushing the ball up the court, he often tried to creat too much and loses the ball. (Q also) He also has missed his share of layups. However, I would rather somebody take the ball to the hoop and miss a layup rather than not try at all. If Nick would learn not to dribble the ball behind his back, he might eliminate half his turnovers. He also been called for traveling for shoveling his pivot foot the last couple of games which has increased his turnovers. His block shot at OU won that game. I think Nick is a big reason we have won the last 2 games. The better he plays, the better this team will be. I am looking for him to have a breakout game of 20 points the way he has been playing.

I am surprised that Jerimiah Wood did not average 30 minutes. I think Keith would much rather have 10 players all contribute with nobody playing over 30 minutes. He tried it and it was not working. He just was not getting quality minutes from some of his players and it was frustrating Tree. In the Eastern game he shortened the bench and the team played much better. Evens and Ibitayo need to work harder and play better to get minutes. Kretzer is playing better, not only shooting better but rebounding better. In tonights game, Tree was triple teamed and Kretzer cut to the middle and Tree passed it to him. he missed the layup but made the follow up. This team needs players cutting to the basket when Tree gets double and triple teams. We need easy baskets and it cannot be all threes. I believe Harney, Tree and Q are the best players on the team and need to play a great deal for this team to be successful. If we get quality time from Bentacourt, Kretzer, Mcadams we stand a good chance of winning any Mac game.