1981 grad

We shot 50% from 3 and the Kent fans went home early tonight. We were up by 25 and Groce slowed it down the last five minutes and we scored only five in the last 5 minutes. I heard him in post game where he was upset that we did not play well in the last 5 minutes. But this team is just not built to take the air out of the ball and have Tavari dribble the ball till the shot clock is down to 8. Slowing the ball down is the right thing to do but it also means we score 5 points at the end of the game.

When we shoot the ball well from 3 we are unbeatable in the MAC. We just have too much talent and athleticism and wear teams down. We saw that in the 2nd half against Buffalo. However, when we do not shoot the ball well from 3 we have enough talent to stay with the competition but it will be a close game. Really hoping we get hot from 3 and send the Kent fans home early tonight.

I just bought my ticket for the Kent game on stubhub. I just printed the ticket and I will be sitting with the Kent fans since it is a season holder ticket. I did the same thing about 5 years ago wearing my Akron hat and a Kent season ticket holder told me I was sitting in the wrong section. I told him I was in the right seat. He yelled for the usher to check my ticket. A young college student usher came over and meekly stated he did not want to do this but asked to see my ticket. I showed him my ticket and the usher thanked me. I then suggested that he check the ticket of the guy who complained and we both laughed. Looking forward to tonights game.

This team broke the game open in the 2nd half when they went 8 of 10 from 3 point range. When this team shoots the ball well from the outside they look really good. In the first half they were 1 of 10 from 3 point range but their inside game kept them in the game. The Zips would have 3 more offensive rebounds if the 3 point shooters would follow their shots. The short ball comes right back to them but they just stand still. Finally, Groce looked upset that Buffalo was pressing in the last 30 seconds. The Buffalo coach was gung ho on keeping the press. I thought Groce wanted Scott to shoot the ball at the end instead of holding it. Groce gave the Buffalo coach a quick handshake and moved on quickly.

The next step of getting time in the NBA is the hardest step in Freeman's journey. He has to have more games where he both scores and rebounds in the G league to get noticed. I would like him to have 30 points and double digit rebounding in every game in the G league. Now that Zicarsky is with the Timberwolves maybe it will give Freeman more of an opportunity to score.

Freeman is back down with the wolves but had probably his best game with 29 points on 7 of 9 shooting and a team leading 12 rebounds. He did foul out and the Wolves lost in Overtime.

I always wondered what pursuaded Tavari to stay at Akron after putting his name in the portal and the annoucers indicated it was only for half a day and the coaching staff told him he needs to think about what he was losing. He then stayed with Akron. Like these announcers. Best yet.

Scott with another buzzer beater to end the half. That is 2 in a row. Not sure which shot was better. They both rate a 10 in my book.

Really strong defense from the Zips. Nice rip away by Young. They are also rebounding the ball well. Great start!!!

I agree. I also think it is also harder to win on the road in the grind of a long season. As much as this board gives Miami grief about their weak schedule, they have won all of their road games. Something we have not done.

Wow, I knew he had been off but I am surprised by how bad those numbers are in conference play. Is there such a thing as a sophomore jinx? I think Tavari also had better numbers as a frosh. I just remember he did not get in some games as a sophmore but he also had issues on defense.

When I looked at the stats this morning, I noticed that in the last 6 games the Zips have not shot 40% from the 3 point line. In our lost to Troy and our narrow win st Eastern Michigan we shot the 3 point ball around 27% for those games. Earlier in the season against good out of conference teams including Perdue we were averaging well over 40% from 3. I even commented that this might be Groce's best 3 point shooting team. I hate that our three point shooting in trending downward at the end of the season. Not sure what is the cause except the grind of a long season. Also, Groce has been playing some players long minutes and there has been a greater emphasis on defense. In our loss to Miami we only shot 25% from 3. Hoping that we can regain our outside shooting touch in the remaining games.

I watched the replay 5 times and it was a reaction jab that was no where near hitting the other player. Difficult to call it a punch but I guess it was techically a punch out of anger that was about 5 feet from striking the player. Again, watching the video 5 times it was clear but in real time nobody would call that a punch.

Really happy to see Marvin get some minutes and really play well. His foul shots were pure gold. You could tell he has been working on that part of his game. Made some real hustle plays. That was the 2nd bizarre game at the JAR in a row. Kent went 1 for 23 from 3 and in this game we almost shot 50 foul shots. That 10 minute intermission while the refs reviewed the scrum like it was the Kennedy assasination film was rediculous. I thought the Zips played well but our 3 point shooting was well below 40%. We also played slow and often shot near the end of the shot clock. I was surprised to see how much trap zone we played. The Zips did a great job on the boards against a very physical team. I thought we were more athletic and quicker than Mass. Great win for the Zips!!!

How would you like to play for this coach who basically threw all of his players under the bus. I think everyone on this board knew that Nate was a great MAC player but few thought the would be a great player at the next level. The coach has to accept responsiblity for assembling a team that cannot compete at the level. Basically, the players are pros and mayber the colleges should have a gm who evaluates talent and brings in talent. Tang might be a great coach but not sure if he can evaluate talent. When K State lost to Bowling Green he had to know this was going to be a losing season.