clarkwgriswold

Nate looked like he got caught between dunking it and laying it in.

They're running the finest of AAU offenses.

Looks like Garvin has transitioned into a small knee brace. Good to see.

Here's an article about Triston McKenzie's appearance in Akron-https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/01/guardians-triston-mckenzie-on-ego-heaters-franconas-managing-style-more-at-hot-stove-banquet.html

I'm old fashioned. I don't get why you would pay the cost of a lower bowl seat and not attend the games.

This group of kids is sure easy to like. There doesn't seem to be a poor character kid in the group. I realize now that this is the second or third year I've essentially said "they're young, they're going to get better,"

I think they are above the middle of the conference and will only get better as the season goes on as they are quite young with 6 freshmen on the roster.

The Zips head to the land of perpetual snow Tuesday night to face Buffalo. Buffalo comes into the game at 10-11/4-4 fresh off of a six-point loss in Garrettsville. In the MAC, the Bulls have beaten Ball State, BG, NIU and Ohio while losing to PCCC, Miami, CMU and Toledo. 6’5” sophomore guard Curtis Jones leads Buffalo scoring at 15.3 ppg while also contributing 5.1 rpg. 5’4” junior guard Zid Powell is second in scoring at 13.7 ppg. 6’8” senior forward LaQuill Hardnett leads rebounding at 7.5 rpg. Buffalo is second in MAC offense and 9th in defense.

He was in Akron for the Rubber Ducks kickoff event. Not sure how he ended up at the JAR, but that's what had him in Akron.

Again, hell bent on making it interesting.

Wilson is a good player but not very good on defense. Enrique is showing everyone who is the best big man in the MAC today.

Sigh. S****ty start to the half.

Outstanding half.

OU is wholly committed to stopping X. Fortunately guys like Sammy and Hank have shown up today.

Boals gets t'd up. His assistant should have been about 30 seconds earlier. A ref should never take crap from an assistant.

Best crowd of the year. OU is very balanced.

Nice GA crowd shaping up.

Mr. Guthrie- why must my eardrums be busted before the start of every home game?

I enjoy seeing KD in that short video. He looks happy/content. There have been times I have seen clips of him in the last 2 or 3 years where he looked like a beaten man.

I liked how Miami mixed up defending Enrique last night. Sometimes they ran the double immediately at him and sometimes they didn't. By mixing it up, they made it a little tougher for the Zips. After 20 games, I still can't see much of a reason for any opponent to not focus their defensive efforts on X and Enrique. No one else has stepped up enough that I would do anything other than send double teams at Enrique and put my best perimeter defender on X, deny him the ball and trap him whenever possible.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2023/01/25/akron-zips-basketball-score-miami-ohio-xavier-castaneda-mid-american-conference-leading-scorer/69836878007/

Jeff Boals, an Akron assistant from 2006 to 2009, bring his Ohio U Bobcats to the JAR for a Saturday afternoon game. It is hard to believe, but Boals is now in the 4th year at the helm in Athens. The Bobcats come in at 11-9 overall and 304 in the MAC, with their MAC wins over Ball State, CMU and WMU and losses to Buffalo, BG, PCCC and Toledo. They have had a rough time on the road, posting a 2-7 away record with wins over only Chicago State and YSU. The Bobcats are led by big man Dwight Wilson, a 6'8" graduate student forward, who leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). They have 3 guards, Miles Brown, AJ Brown and Jaylin Hunter that average between 10.2 and 10.6 ppg. The Wilson/Freeman showdown should be a good one as Wilson is second in the league in RPG while Enrique is first and Wilson is first in FG% to Enrique's 4th. Guard Miles Brown is shooting an impressive .476 on threes for second in the conference. The Bobcats also lead the MAC in rebounding. They are 4th in the league in average points scored and 5th in points surrendered.

...and I thought the zips had a rough night.

Groce was very critical in the post game, as critical as I have heard him. He was happy they fought through it for the win, but was very disappointed in how they were outplayed and how Miami was tougher than most of the game. Game. He said they had an awful practice yesterday and it carried over into tonight's game with the Zips players not staying on their feet on pump fakes and trapping like they had practiced. He gave some credit to X obviously and was happy with how Kobe played, but otherwise was pretty disappointed in their performance.

Zips seem hell bent on making this interesting.