1981 grad

LCJ has really impressed me the last 3 games. He had no turnovers today and did a great job of running the offense and breaking the press. When he drives to the basket he has been under control and found Reese for some easy dunks. (Reese missed another dunk today and I think that is at least 3 missed dunks). He also leads the team with 6 assists. Banks and Cheese played well although I think that Banks gets beat off the dribble too easily. However, he seem to make it up because he knows how to take an offensive charge. Cheese had some great drives to the basket and got to the line 11 times. Our defense was better in the second half and I was glad to see the team pull away. I did not think the crowd was that bad for a Sunday game against the Browns. The Southern team had 3 buses so they brought some fans. Great win!

Great win for the Zips. Williams and Jackson played there best games as Zips. Jackson has really found success with that floater. The team shot 50% from 3 and outrebounded the Heard. The Marshall announcers were very complimentary of the Zips. We had some great success in the paint. Probably our best road victory under Groce. When this team shoots the ball well and runs offense they are tough. They did not run the ball down the court as in past game and I think it helped their team to play a more controlled offense.

I finally got the steam after paying the $6.75, The stream is very good. Williams is hitting some open 3 pointers. He is a much better shooter when he squares up. Jackson made another steal on a lob inbounds play and then made a 3. This team needs to run better offense like they did against the zone. A lot of missed shots but good defense.

I am on reddit and no stream. Anybody have it?

Does anyone know if the game is being broadcast. Akron only has on their web site TBA?

I noticed on the box score we only attempted 10 three point shots. It reminds me that in the last few years under KD and now with Groce it seems this team has become dependent on the 3 point shot and we shoot 30 a game. Sometimes it seems that shooting a 3 is settling for an easy shot instead of working the ball into a better shooting position.

I remember losing to a really good VCU team at home when we were leading by one point with about 7 seconds left in the game. Although VCU was a really good team and went to the 2nd round of the NCAA they were never ranked.

I have watched a lot of Akron basketball since the eighties and do not recall an Akron team ever beating a ranked team. Please correct me if I am wrong. Will this be the year?

I check his stats at USC and he is 7th in minutes averaging 19 minutes a game, averaging 4.3 points a games, shooting 31% from the field, and a team low 19% from the 3 point line. His bright stat is averaging 4 rebounds per game. It is still early but their schedule is only going to get tougher in the PAC 10. Not sure if shooting 19% from the 3 line will help any team. I wonder how Daniel would have adjusted to the faster play. I am sure that the play is faster at USC and maybe that is why he is struggling with his shot.

I actually enjoyed watching the game because the Zips played very smart and disciplined basketball attacking the zone. LCJ looked like a leader and made several nice floaters in the paint. The Zips only took one bad 3 point shot and that was by LCJ. Both Cheese and Williams were able to attack the zone when they got the ball at the elbow by the foul line. They both made some nice 12 foot jump shots or faked the jump shot and attacked the rim. The Zips only took 12 3 pointers and 2 came at the end of the game when they were running out the clock. Groce did a great job coaching our team on how to attack the zone. Williams finally had a good game shooting and went 6 of 12. He had 6 turnovers but many of the turnovers were passes that were miscommunications between him and another player. I have been down on William because of his poor shot selection but I heard him on the post game show and he is a very articulate guy and does play by play on e sports. During the interview he indicated that he watched the film and noticed that he has been taking to many difficult shots and he needed to take better shots. He indicated that he had been settling for easy shots. I only saw him take one poor shot tonight, a 3 pointer. I hope he watches the film tonight and realizes he has the talent to score 20 points a game without shoot 10 3 balls. He is a great foul shooter. Really impressed with Cheese and Banks. This team has some real talent and was fun to watch tonight.

L'CJ had his best game as a Zip. If he can play that way the entire season we will be tough. Love the way he attacked the basket and made some floaters. Cheese and Banks are great players. Ali and Tribble looked like frosh. First time in a big arena. They will get better. Good to see Sayles and Riak score some points. Several people indicate that Williams had a bad night shooting. That has been his whole season. A lot of his shots are just bad shots. They are off balance shots where he is not squared up. When his is open he has just missed. He has not shown any ability to his the 3 ball all season. Groce needs to coach this guy to take good shots or look for his teammates or drive to the hoop. Shooting the 3 ball is not his game.

I respect your opinions but after watching every game except the Malone game I would beg to differ on some of the optimism above. This team is fun to watch? First, anyone who says this team is fun to watch did not see the North Carolina Central game. That had to be the worst display of basketball I have seen since being a Zip fan. I got a free ticket to the game for a friend and he refuses to go back. No set offense, just run and gun and turn the ball over. Williams player of the year? Williams has played good defense and rebounded well but his shot selection has been poor, he cannot make a 3 ball, and he has not been able to finish at the hoop. I heard a pregame show where Frenchy claimed he was rusty. He practiced with the team all last year! The difference between KD and Groce, KD would have pulled him when he takes a bad shot. Every bad shot he takes means someone else on the team does not take a good shot. My initial impression is that the guy likes to shoot the ball. When you make them you are great. When you continually miss you are just a "gunner" I am hoping that Groce will start pulling him when he takes a 3 pointer without running any offense. He needs to get his shooting percentage up and taking bad shots is not going to help. Riak, most improved player of the year? His game is the same as last year. No offense but a good rebounder, good defender and good shot blocker. I was hoping he would work on this offense on the off season but he seem to have little interest in getting the ball down low and does not seem to be part of the offense. I simply have not seen any improvement in his game. I love the athletic talent on this team. Like the team defense. Like the enthusiasm when they are playing. I enjoyed the first half of the game yesterday. I think Tribble, Reese, Cheese and Banks are solid players. Ali looks great for a frosh. Did not expect Tribble to be as good as he is for a frosh. LCJ has not proven that he can lead a team. Needs to stop turning the ball over and driving to the basket and getting stuck in the trees. If he can shoot 40% from the 3 line he will really help this team. Remember, this team has had 3 home games against weak competition. Groce's teams have won at home but have sucked on the road. We had lots of guys that have not gone through the grind of a MAC season. Will they develop a discipline to run offense and take good shots? My impression of this team is that this team has the potential to be really good but need to develop an offensive discipline and shoot well for this team to improve on last year's record.

We had a guard, Noah Robotham, who had a great frosh year and we thought he would be a great player over the next 4 years. He suffered a knee injury as a frosh or soph and when he came back he was never the same player. I remember he once had a fast break and instead of going up strong would fake going up. It seemed as though he was always a little tentative after the injury. He had a good career with Akron but never lived up to the career we thought he would have as a frosh. I believe he transferred out his senior year to go back home to Las Vegas. Good point that injuries can affect how a player develops after his frosh year. Sayles is also a little slow for this team. I think he is the last KD recruit. All of Groce's recruits are quick athletic guys. Our defense is so good because these guys are athletic enough to recover when somebody attacks the basket and goes to the hoop. Cheese had a great block last night from behind the play. I think Sayles will have limited minutes but he can still help the team by being aggressive on offense.

This team really played well in the first half. LCJ got into early foul trouble and the team played very well with him on the bench. Tribble looks stronger every game. LCJ must realize this also because he found his shot in the second half and finished with 18 points. Best shooting game he has had all season. My only disappointment is with Williams. This guy just likes to shoot the 3 ball. He needs to have better shot selection and stop shooting so much. His 3 point percentage must be below 30%. I really expected more from him. We finally have an inside player who has some nice strong moves to the hoop. Not Riak, not Sayles, but Reese. You got to love the athletes on this team. If we shoot the ball this well though the season we should compete in the MAC.

I agree with you that Sayles looks lost out there. He cannot hold onto the ball on offense. Had a couple of nice moves to the basket but could not finish. I think he played better as a frosh than as a junior. He is a step slow on this team and needs to be aggressive on offense.

Looking at some early stats it seems we are just a continuation from last year, the team that can't shoot straight. We are shooting 36% from the field and a dismal 29% from the 3 line. Remember, 2 of our 3 games were against weak competition. Our best shooters are Reese at 58% and Banks at 44% and 42% from the 3 line. X man is our gunner with 49 shots taken, 12 more than anyone else on the team but he is shooting 32% from the field and 29% from the 3 line. LCJ is shooting 16% from the 3 line. Maybe those 3 balls 10 feet beyond the 3 line are not a good idea? Biggest surprise of the year, we are shooting 83% from the foul line. (The starters are shooting free throws extremely well but our bench players are not)

That is one of the ugliest basketball games I have ever watched. Run down the floor, drive to the basket, dish for a three and miss the 3. A lot of turnovers tonight. If this team had played a decent team they would have gotten killed. I liked how we played in West Virginia, there was an offensive flow. Did not see anything like that tonight. The team shot 25% from the field and from the 3 line. They got bailed out by the refs and shot at least 10 more foul shots than the visiting team. I just don't know about LCJ. He kept driving to the basket and missing a layup or turning the ball over among the trees. LCJ got his points at the end of the game making foul shots. I just wonder if this team will be repeat of last year when we were one of the worst shooting teams in the nation.

Somewhere I coach is smiling and thinking I can do better than that.

He had some decent minutes last year. I was surprised that he got no time at West Virginia. Another bites the dust. It amazes me how many kids have transferred out of this program in a little over 2 years

I was very impressed with this team. We hustle and were scrappy. LCJ played much better in the second half and had some nice assists. I think this team should be able to compete well in the MAC. I like the pace of the team. We have some players that can really push the ball.

Williams missed open 3 to cut the lead to 3 and it has been down hill since then. Has Riak even touched the ball on offense?

No real post player to score in the paint. Drive and kick the ball outside. It will work if we can shoot the ball well. Our 3 point shooting is around 40%

Sayles looks slow compared to the rest of the team. I just not sure he is going to see a lot of minutes. LCJ already has at least 4 turnovers. He should know better then get trapped on the court. The poor shooting hit us again when we did not score toward the end of the second half. Not sure if this team can maintain this pace unless they get help from the bench. I don't think any of our bench as scored.

We are playing at a very fast pace. Really like the athleticism on this team. We look good on the open court. Can we play this fast the entire game without wearing down.

This team is shooting the 3 ball very well. Can they keep it up all game. If they can shoot the 3 ball at 40% we should be competitive. LCJ with a turnover and he just got beat on d. Needs to step it up.