1981 grad

The one thing I have learned about Groce's teams is that defense, physical play and toughness gets you on the floor. Sharron looks great offensively but he looks like a frosh on a team that is mainly junior and seniors. The physical play of division one basketball is something that may keep him from being a starter this early in his career.

I enjoyed watching this game. The battling bishops were a very well coached team and shot the ball well from three. They are 2 divisions below the Zips and none of these guys are as athletic as the Zips but they played very hard and boxed out well keeping the rebounding edge very close. KJ really stood out on defense and had at least 4 steals and missed a dunk and the ball went up into the rafters. Okonkwo is a great rebounder but really surprised at his limited offense. This guy played at West Virginia and North Carolina and reminds me of Freeman in his 2nd year offensively. Hardman has a quick shot and seems to be a 3 point specialist. He shot 5 of 10 from 3 point land. TJ had a tough shooting night and missed his first 4 or 5 shots and he hit 2 threes in succession in the 2nd half. I think this team has potential. We will not be getting a great deal of inside points from our center like last year so hitting the outside shot will probably be key.

Am I the only one to see the irony of this discussion. In the football forum, we complain that the football team plays 3 of its first 4 games against power conferences. In the basketball forum, we complain that we do not play enough games against power conferences. I am going to make one prediction about tonight's game, we will not fall behind 17-0 like we did against Colgate in football.

After watching the first game, how can anyone get excited about this game?

Lyles is not used to being in the game when the game is on the line. Nice drive, terrible finish.

The announcers are pretty good for homers. Like that they had the stats on nba players drafted out of Akron.

Can anyone tell me when a true frosh led the team in scoring in his first game?

Thanks Griswold, I just won my fanduel bet, A Zip fan would complain about the refs before the 15 minute mark of the second half. (LOL)

We are losing the rebounding war and not shooting the ball well but we have a lot of talent on this team. Really see improvement with Lyles, looks quicker and leaner. Tavari looks good and Young has played well. If we shoot better in the 2nd half we should make this a close game.

Tavari has already made 4 great passes pushing the ball up the floor along with one turnover. I really hope he is our point guard this year who can lead this team.

Weird day. Got to the game late and as I am approaching stadium heard them announce Zips touchdown. It looked like we were dominating on d and moving the ball on offense and then 3 turnovers in 5 minutes on consecutive possessions and a turnover on downs. Stayed till end of 3rd quarter and finally gave up and left. Never thought Akron could come back. As I am walking to my car heard touchdown zips. Got home and watched the game and thought I missed fantastic finish. Too good to be true and then saw the muffed punt. Amazing how Akron finds new ways to give games away each week.

It has been 8 years since we have won 2 games in a row. Could this be the day?

I think I still remember the loss to VCU at the Jar. We were down by 1 with seconds remaining on the clock and we got the ball down to Zeke and he got fouled and made his free throws. VCU came back and somebody lost their man and they won at the buzzer.

I am impressed!!! For Zips fans that want to read something depressing, here is the quote from our AD at the time of the Bowden firing in 2018: "Certainly, Terry and his staff have brought respectability to the program over the last seven years," Akron athletic director Larry Williams said in a statement. "However, after undertaking a thorough review of the entire program, and in consultation with the [university] president and Board of Trustees, it is clear that we need to make a change if we are going to consistently achieve at an even higher level." Six years later, the football team has not won back to back games. How is that for achieving at a higher level? Further, if news reports are correct, we had to buy out both Bowden and Arth's contract at UTC to the tune of $650,000 to hire Arth. Larry Williams is now the Athletic Director at University of San Francisco.

Lets see who are the real Zip fans. Without checking the stat sheets, does anyone remember the last time Akron won 2 games in a row? (I cannot)

I say that every week and it never happens. We were up 17-0 and then our punt returner thinks it is a great idea to field a punt on the 5 yard line and fumbles it for a touchdown. No matter how well we play, we always seem to screw it up. Why should this week be any different.

Freeman made his first basket on a offensive rebound and putback. Had 3 fouls and looked good. Did not take a shot on offense and mainly set screens.

Got the blowout with Knicks leading by 30. Freeman playing almost the entire 4th quarter. Still has not taken a shot but has a great block. Love to see him make his first basket. Playing center and outweighed by 20 pounds but holding his own.

We should do a football promo: If the Zips football team cannot beat a division one team, you get a full refund on your season ticket price.

Hoping the game tonight is a blowout so Freeman gets some playing time.

So happy to be a Zip fan. We may not have won an NCAA game but we have a Zip in the NBA. Amazing trip to the NBA.

This is the only fact that me smile about the football program this year.

Considering how bad football is this year and basketball has not started, really happy to see how well Freeman is doing for the Pacers. This was an article before last nights game. Makes me wonder if Freeman might get a roster spot on the Pacers considering how he finished the preseason strong: Swider is still on the roster, but he does still have a battle with guard Quenton Jackson and rookies Enrique Freeman and Tristen Newton, who are currently on two-way deals. Swider's outside shooting gives him an advantage, as he's hit five 3-pointers in preseason play and shot 49.1% from 3-point range in Summer League play with the Miami Heat. However, Jackson and Freeman have had particularly strong camp performances so far. Freeman is averaging 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and Jackson is averaging 8.3 points per game.

From the Indy Newspaper: Pacers 121, Hornets 116, end of overtime Enrique Freeman dominated overtime with nine points and the Pacers rallied back to win a game they trailed by as many as 16 points.

I have a vague recollection of a weather delay at Western Michigan a long time ago when we were big underdogs and the game started late and we ended up pulling a big upset. Maybe this is a good sign. Or could just be wishful thinking.