clarkwgriswold

Exactly. An uninspired game against an uninspiring opponent. That's the worst team we've seen at the JAR this year, and despite the point differential the Zips worst game. Really liked Patton's effort today. He's taken not starting well and seems to be committed to playing hard and learning the game. My favorite play of the game was when Poke made an awful pass from out top that was stolen. He then stalked the Valley guard down the floor and swatted his layup. Back to the real games in Hawaii.

Your chances for a Taylor Made Jewelry mini basketball will be at an all-time high today NWAkron. Don't blow it!

Game day. Will there be more than 1,000 fans in the JAR. This seems like a perfect chance to get people into the JAR with free tickets to groups like the Boys and Girls Club, CYO, etc...

Translation- no new arena.

Aaaah, seems like just yesterday one of the Zips biggest fans was trying to convince us that the Zips were on the cusp of joining the ACC. God rest his soul.

You all realize that at the end of the season none of this SOS/RPI stuff means nothing, right? In today's MAC/NCAA dynamic, it makes little or no difference as you're only going to the NCAA tournament if you win the MAC tournament. We can hope for change, but that's the reality for now.

I think that only the long term is going to show us whether this slate of pre-MAC games was a strong one. After we see how the season develops, we'll be able to better discern whether these teams were competitive or whether the Zips just aren't that good and made mediocre teams look good. All in all, I like what I am seeing. For getting a late start, I think Groce and his staff put together an decent roster and schedule. In the end, I think it's a little better than a .500 team, but that's as good as could be expected after KD's departure and the losses the roster suffered.

It is definitely a 1-3-1. They threw in a 2-3 briefly at one point.

The Zips played Creighton and Gonzaga before the MAC schedule last year which are superior to anything this year, but I prefer the UT schools, App State, UPFW and the rest over the likes of Coppin State, Mercer, Radford and Adrians that were on last year's schedule.

Exactly. I hate an all game zone, like Syracuse. You could see when the Zips switched over to it against App State that the App State players had an initial "what the hell is this?" reaction for a possession. I think the 1-3-1 also tends to throw teams due to its little use by teams and it being conductive to traps.

The thing I like best about Poke is that he gets it all out of effort. Don't get me wrong, he's a freak raw athlete with his size and jumping ability, but it is obvious that the game is relatively new to him and does not come naturally. He counters that "awkwardness" by just pure effort, hard play and soaking in all he can from the coaches.

And did it all in just 42 minutes.

Don't teach him the handshake until he pays his dues. I'll message him with the address to send the check.

I thought App State was at about the level of a middle of the road or just below MAC team. Somewhere in the range of Toledo to BG of last year.

No, but if the Zips score 100 everyone in the crowd will get a sample of Minute Rice.

What in God's name was that odd contest last night? Were they supposed to make Star Wars type noises? Also, the hippity hop ball race was a farce last night. Clear cheating. PED's, corked bats, blood doping and now cheating in the damn hippity hop ball race. What's the sports world coming to?????

Or travelling to Penn State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Michigan, etc... in football. Need to try to make some money in some part of an athletic program.

The kids that choose to play basketball for Jerry Rice's alma mater are well aware of the ambitious schedule as the school makes no mystery of what they're doing. I'd prefer that they'd legitimately do their coursework from a distance than have them taking made up or fluff classes like those at UNC. As for them being on the UA schedule, it is a perfect time with exams this week, and into every season a Coppin State must fall.

Well, the Zips just played their best home game of the season against the best team they've seen at the JAR so far. Some defensive lapses early in the second half but otherwise a solid effort. Fantastic ball movement tonight. P.S. I was happy to see NWAkron come out of it unscathed by the t-shirt cannon. He flinched a little when it rolled out, but never took his eye off of it and stood in there like a champ!

Nice first half. I think this App State team is the most talented team the Zips have faced at the JAR this year.

5 minutes to tipoff and very few people here.

So, will there be more people at the JAR at 2:00 or 7:00? I guess I can go to Tuba Christmas. LOL. I hope the tuba players aren't flying in from down south.

I have been critical of some of those things, yet I appreciate all that KD did for UA basketball. I'm not more going to assume Groce has a high win total based upon the quality of his coaching than I am going to assume KD will have 20 wins plus in his first year at Duquesne. They're both in transition years.

New Poll- Bigger Crowd: A) UA vs. Appalachian State Mens Basketball at JAR B) Tuba Christmas at EJT