1981 grad

I cannot tell if the Zips are playing that good or is Eastern that bad. They certainly have a lot of unforced turnovers and really bad defense. The Zips have hit some nice shots and have pressured the ball. Nice to see Sammy score from the inside and back his man down. We need that balanced scoring that was lacking when we played at Miami.

I just saw Tavari make a nice drive to the basket and then a great pass down low for an easy 2 to Dawson. I still think he has the most upside of any guard if he can get it going.

Yikes!! The Tribble take to the basket between 3 defenders might be the highlight reel for bad defense.

I know that many of you indicated that you were not upset about this loss but I am both angry and disappointed because a team with this much talent and experience should not lose to Miami or anyone else in the MAC. The MAC is having a down year and we are loaded with senior talent. Because of the transfer rule and the money in college basketball that will probably never happen again in our lifetime. The only positive that I saw in this game is that we came back from a 10 point deficit and tied the game. If I am Groce I show that tape when we were outscored 15-0 and tell our players we have too much talent for this to ever happen again. When we came back from the 10 point deficit it seemed like Ali, Freeman, Tribble and Tavari went to a higher gear and refused to lose. We need that intensity from the opening tap. When you look at the stats you see that Ali went 5 for 17 and Hunter went 1 for 6. We started out very hot from 3 and I sometimes think that is fools gold because players rely on the 3 and stop working for good shots. I do not think we made a 2 point shot in the first 8 minutes of the game. Looking forward to Tuesday's game and hope we play up to our talent.

Does anyone else feel like it is time to experiment and get Dawson out of the starting lineup to generate more ball movement and offense? After he fouled out, Tavari came in and I thought the team played better.

Ali took 17 shots and was 4 of 13 from 3 point land. We need to get more players involved with the offense. I think that Ali forced a couple of those shots. He scored most of his points from the line. Need to have our guards penetrate more into the paint and force them to defend like we did in the 2nd half. I give credit to Miami's defense as we struggled to get open shots.

I thought we were better in the 2nd half of driving to the basket and drawing fouls. We were in the bonus with 11 minutes left in the half. We really struggled in the half court offense getting good shots in the first half.

Bad double team in the middle of the floor leaving the big man open in the paint.

Glad to see Tavari make a basket after a tough first half. Really need him to play well. This team needs a spark and he has the talent to provide it. After shooting lights out from the 3 line in the first 10 minutes of the game, we cannot buy one. Ali has had some great looks.

Groce needs to work on fast breaks. We had a 2 on 1 and Tribble did not run the floor and we miss the layup. We have screwed up 3 fast break points with misses or offensive fouls. That should not happen.

I have not had problem with stream.

I think the Miami offense with the pick and roll, backcuts and throwing out of the double team looked better than our offense. We really had difficulty getting open shots. Once we stopped hitting the 3 ball, we were in trouble. We also had our share of turnovers. Need to play well in the 2nd half or this will be our first loss.

The Miami defense is not allowing Freeman to get the ball down low. Tribble has not been able to penetrate. Might still feeling the effects of being sick. Need somebody to pick this team up.

Tavari comes in and Miami goes on a 10 point run. Not a way to earn more playing time.

I would like to see a breakout performance where we dominate a team home or away. The only dominate game I can remember this season was at Norther Illinois, the worst team in the conference. During the post game, Tribble and Freeman indicated this team has another gear. Would love to see it today. Build the lead to 20 and keep it there.

Would love to be undefeated in the MAC coming into this game. Certainly doable.

I am not keen on 3 point specialist. That was Hunter last year and then his parents came to visit and suddenly he learned to rebound and score in the paint. Maybe we should give Dawson's parents a call?

Give a big shout out to Tavari. The 2nd year player went from a starter to zero minutes. When it came his turn to step up because of injury and illness, he had a great game against Kent. I agree that they need to find him minutes when everyone gets healthy.

I once read a book about a corrupt ref who went to jail and he indicated that the NBA had their own agenda to make the league more marketable. Since this was a nationalized TV game, maybe the refs kept the game close to make the game interesting for the the national audience.

I I still see zip players breaking into the paint when he has the ball. It never happens and just clogs the lane for an easy double or triple team. They need to move on the perimeter and not clog the paint.

I think the biggest leap in his play has come this year, especially since Ali has joined the team. Having that 2nd scorer has opened up the lane for Tribble and his floater and now he has found an outside shot. For those that are down on Tavari, remember he is only is his 2nd year so I hope he stays with the program and I believe he could also have a great future with Akron.

With every game being televised, I could see that being a drain on live attendance.

During the current winning streak I have noticed that we seem to be playing better in the second half. Not sure if our defense is wearing teams down or that we are just a 2nd half team but it happened again last night. Also, we have not had the infamous Akron scoring droughts where we go 4 or 5 minutes without a basket. With Ali and now Tribble as a second scorer, we have 3 guys that can make easy baskets in or near the paint. Freeman with his post moves and offensive boards, Ali with his short jump shots from the side of the basket, and Tribble with his floater. And then we have the spurts from Hunter, Thornton, Johnson, Dawson. The past 2 games we had 5 guys in double figures. As a result when Hunter had an off night at Ball State or Dawson goes scoreless last night, there are other guys who can pick up the slack. I still think there is room for improvement in that in the first half we were very stagnant on the boards and got outrebounded by Buffalo in the first half. This team has to realize that everyone needs to rebound, not only Freeman. There were a lot of long rebounds that were collected by Buffalo. Also, we were not making our 3 points shots in the first half and that kept Buffalo in the game. However, this is a fun team to watch and Freeman is a special talent that I will miss watching when he graduates.

I like your list but I do not remember Daric Tarver. I am going to wait until the end of the season but he is by far the most improved player to ever wear the Zips uniform. He is certainly fun to watch and the perfect student athlete.

My idea for marketing a game. Shake the Jar Team with Dairy Queen, McDonalds or Swensons and offer a free Milkshake if Freeman gets a double double. Sell discounted tickets to the game.