1981 grad

The Timberwolves got blown out tonight and I checked the box score to see if Freeman got his first NBA action. Bad news, he was sent back down to Iowa. Good news, he scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds in their win on Sat. night.

As good as we played tonight, I still think this team has room for improvement. We did not shoot the ball well from three and we gave up 10 offensive rebounds. It appeared to me we rebounded better in the first half and we had numerous players crashing the boards. Also, we only shot 76% from the foul line. I thought Ohio had a lot of open looks from three but could not make the shots. Tavari was just unstoppable tonight. Lyles also had another strong game, especially on the boards and around the basket. Also, I have noticed when a team goes on a run, a player will just shut it down. Scott made a contested three and the lead shot up from 14 to 17. It seems all season that when a team mounts a comeback an Akron player will make a difficult shot even where there is good defense.

I find this conversation ironic in that dring the KD days we would be having a conversation about Akron getting an at large bid and then we would lose a game against a weak team and the conversation would end. I am sure Miami will pick up a loss during the season and this conversation will end. However, I would love to see them go undeated and lose to Akron in the finals and have the MAC be a two bid confernce.

I just checked the roster for last night's game and it looks like Freeman was active for the Timberwolves. He did not play because it was a close game but maybe he will finally get a chance to play for them: Enrique Freeman: DNP – Coach's Decision Rob Dillingham: DNP – Coach's DecisionLeonard Miller: DNP – Coach's DecisionJohnny Juzang: DNP – Coach's DecisionJoe Ingles: DNP – Coach's DecisionTerrence Shannon Jr.: Inactive - Injury/IllnessRocco Zikarsky: Inactive - G League - Two-Way

I just checked their roster and they have one player on injured reserve and 2 players injured that are game day decisions. I also hope he will finally get to suit up.

How is it that some players are just injury prone. I think that is why he did not have a large number of minutes at Duquesne. I feel sorry for the guy. Must be frustrating.

I hope they go undefeated and we get to play them in the MAC finals. That would be fun and add some national interest in the game.

Instead, they will be reviewing their stock portfolio with the money they received from Kansas State and Utah. (LOL)

After watching yesterdays game and see another team shooting over 50%, I wondered whether this is the worst Akron team on defense that I can remember. I was almost afraid to look at the stats, but we are now ranked 241st in defense giving up 76 points per game. (Kent is worst at at 336 and giving up 82 points). I know that we play a fast tempo and therefore giving the other teams more shots and we are not a great rebounding team giving up more 2nd and 3rd oppotunities to score. But the fact remains that statistically we are probably giving up more points this season than in any other season. It seems to me the players are working hard on defense. However, we do not have a rim protector and it just seems like we cannot keep the opposing team from attacking the basket or shooting an open three. Also, it does seem like there is more talent in the MAC this year. But we have seen all year, both in conference and out of conference it seems like we have trouble getting stops. Which leads me to the question: Do you think this team ranks last in defense or are there other Akron teams that were worse?

And bring back the half court shot

It is sad that we are having this discussion. Sports betting will ruin collegiate sports if the NCAA does not ruin it first. I respect Groce in that he recruits high class scholar athletes who know right from wrong. I hope he can continue to have a pipeline to these athletes.

I think individual sports such as ping pong or tennis are easier to fix since you have only one participant. However, basketball might be easier not to get caught since there are so many games and MAC games might get under the radar.

A 22 point lead is now an 11 point lead. Have not seen Stanovick play much. Nice steal then cannot finish at the other end. Not good when you finally get playing time and the lead evaporates.

I have not seen any of the games but when I look at the box score he just has not been playing well since he returned to Iowa. In one game he was a minus 26. The last game he shot 1 of 5 from 3 and only had 3-4 rebounds. After he returned to Iowa he seems to be shooting more three balls but has not been making them. Hopefully, he can turn things around the next game.

The Mahaffey brothers kicked that Wol down and then stomped on it. They really came through in the clutch when the game was on the line. I cannot remember the last time Tavari shot this poorly. Great that his team stepped up to secure the win.