1981 grad

The Dukes have not made the NCAA tournament in 47 years. If they win tomorrow, I would call that overachieving. Good luck to the Dukes. Maybe they can join Akron in the NCAA tourney.

The Zips did not play their best but played good enough to win. Freeman came up with some great rebounds and Tribble made the clutch free throws. Congrats to Groce and the Zips. Go Zips!!!!!

I remember we were really bad under Coleman Crawford. I wondered what happened to him and he never had another head coaching position. Out of basketball in 2006.

I am just glad we got to the championship. I had my doubts based on the end of the season but Freeman has been a beast and last night we finally made some 3 pointers in the 2nd half. If Freeman has gas left in the tank I like our chances. We just need somebody to step up besides our big 3 whether it Hunter with some threes, Tavari with some baskets and some passes or maybe Dawson, Nate, or somebody else adds some points. Nate had a nice drive and finish yesterday. Go Zips!!!

Parked in the stadium garage on Thursday and Friday for $10. Easy out both days. Wonder if they jack up the price tonight.

I throw in Jamie Bosley as a poor guess.

I do feel like his advocate for Tavari since Groce seems to be his worst critic. If the Zips had any flow on offense and Dawson, Nate, Thornton and Scott were producing I would keep my thoughts to myself. However, having to watch them struggle game after game and then watching Ali, Freeman, and Tribble press and try to do too much because they are getting no help is more than I can stomach as a Zip fan. Tavari has the talent and give him a chance. Thus far it has worked out.

I just heard the Groce's comments and glad to see him indicate how well Tavari is playing. Note to coach: he cannot play well if you don't have him in the game. In the 2 games he is a plus 27 while on the court. When the team has overcome 10 point deficits in each game, he has been on the court. He has outplayed every sub on the team and Nate Johnson. I hope that he gets the court time he deserves and Groce does not pull him if he makes a mistake on D like he did at the last Kent game.

My apologies, captain, much better than Thornton who took one wide open 3 and did not hit the rim. And yes, Scott had a wide open breakaway but missed the layup when he slowed up and let the defender catch him and poke the ball away. Scott might be 1 for 10 in layups. That is not easy. Dawson played 10 minutes on Thursday went 0 for 3, all 3 pointers, played 12 minutes against Ohio, went 0 for 4, all 3 pointers. I expect Groce will play him 15 minutes tomorrow. (LOL?)

Great players play great in big games. Freeman has been dominant in our 2 wins. Would love for us to beat Kent so the rest of the country can watch him play.

Should have kept Tavari in the game. What a dumb play and I saw him do the same thing earlier in the season.

At 14:04 Groce put in Tavari and we were down by 9. He played him the rest of the game except when he put Nate him for 20 seconds who immediately fouled and cost us 2 points on free throws. We won by 3 so Tavari was a plus 14 during the last 14:04. He had some great assists to Freeman and had some drives but was unable to finish and missed his one three pointer. Dawson did his usual 0 from 4 from 3 point line. I watched him in practice and he could not miss. Obviously it is a mental thing. I said it once and I will say it again, Groce need to play Tavari!!!!!!!! I think he should start or be the first sub. At least Groce had the good sense to keep him in the game until he subbed him for Nate and it almost cost us the game although I understand he did it for defense.

He did not choose to leave but wanted a commitment from the AD on a contract and the AD kept putting him off and they got into a dispute. He had turned down the Dukes numerous times but after the dispute he finally told them yes. We got Groce and the Dukes got KD so it was a win win. I do not remember him being disrespectful to anyone when he left. I agree he could have done better in the MAC Tourney but he had some letdowns by some key players. However, he always got us to Cleveland and always had us on the top of the MAC. I think he was a great coach for Akron and hope he gets into the tourney with the Dukes.

We really need somebody to hit a 3 ball. Ali is 1 for 16 in his last 4 games. His defense was very strong last night and he had some great shots in the paint. Don't know what happened to his long distance shot this year.

I feel better now that Toledo is out. Much rather face Kent or Bowling Green if we advance.

I really think Tavari can add to this team if Groce would put him in the game. Groce put him in the game at the 9:56 of the first half when we were down 9. During his time in the game he scored 6 points and had a steal. He took him out at the 7:18 mark and we were down 3. After a Thornton turnover and missed layup, he put Tavari back into the game at 5:01 and we were down 4. He came out of the game at 1:15 and we were up 4. That is a plus 13 when Tavari was in the game in the first half. I thought I would see more Tavari in the 2nd half but he did not get into the game until 7 minutes left in the game. I just do not understand what Groce is thinking. In the 2nd half Tavari had a couple nice passes to Freeman. He clearly outplays Thornton and Scott but is still the last guard off the bench. He scored 6 points in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I have to watch Dawson shoot 3 balls and go 0 for 3 again. We struggle shooting the 3 and the best 3 ball shooter sits the bench. I am hoping Tavari will see more action against Ohio but I have my doubts.

Great for KD to knock off a ranked team and advance.

Dukes only down 4 to no 3 seed Dayton. Game has 7 minutes left and on now.

Great memory!! He was great his freshman year. Then the knee injury and he was not the same player. He shied away from contact and stopped driving to the basket. I think he transferred out to Las Vegas, his home town and was not much of a factor on his new team. Somebody indicated that Dawson is similar to Robotham. He has also has stopped attacking the basket and has become a perimeter player this year.

Thanks!! I tried looking it up but could only find MAC player of the year. That was 27 years ago and although I recognize the name I have no memory of his play. It seems that Akron's first year impact players have all been transfers.

I grew up in Philly and still an Eagles fan and I watched them collapse after starting the season 10 and 1. I never thought it would happen with the Zips. Not very confident going into the game based on our recent play but just hoping for the best.

It is listed as a 4:00 P.M. start. With the 1st game starting at 11 and 2 hours per game that sounds about right.

I have watched a lot of Akron Basketball and cannot recall an Akron frosh making an impact his first year. Whether it was Freeman, Big Dog, Ali, Zeke Marshall or anyone else it seems like their frosh year was ok but not stellar. Has an Akron frosh ever won the freshman of the year award?

A unanimous MAC player of the year, a first team player and a honorable mention. We should be able to win the MAC with this talent. Time for other players on this team to step up!!!!!

Not sure that would help since he is playing division 2 basketball at Indana U of Pa and they lost to Walsh. Averaging 18 points but only shooting 25% from 3.