1981 grad

Like the move by Groce to bring Cheese in for Jackson. Paid dividend right away. Riak is a great rebounder tonight. Go Zips!!

This team struggles so much offensively I will be curious if we can play good defense the entire game against the best of the MAC. A road win against Toledo would work wonders for the confidence of this team. We still look terrible when we try to sit on a lead. We struggled to close a game with a 26 point lead. Ohio had a couple of unforced turnovers at the end of the game or it could have been more interesting. I think Groce is correct when he indicated that this team has to get better to compete with the best teams in the MAC. WE need to get more offense from our center position. (4 points yesterday on 2 of 7 shooting). I think that if this team can shoot 40% or better that it will have a chance to win if we continue to play great defense.

Utomi, Ivey and Jackson played well on the road and we played great defense. They were really bothered by our zone press. GReat to see some decent shooting from the outside. Let us hope that we can continue to play well on the road.

I love watching Cheese, Ivey and Jackson one on one on a fast break. They never hesitate and take it to the hoop. Ivey has gotten better each year.

Great defense but watching the Akron offense makes me think it would have been better if the stream did not come back.

Thanks! Have it now playing a commercial. Will probably lose it again when game starts up again.

Not getting the stream. Anyone else having problems?

After watching Buffalo lose last night it makes you realize how difficult it is to win on the road. They have a great veteran team and have lost 2 road games. It reminded me of what KD used to say, that opposing teams always brought their A game when they played Akron based on our past success. Now Buffalo is the class of the MAC. We need our 2 veterans, Utomi and Ivey to have great games. Also, we won against N. Illinois because Jackson had a great game. We need him to play well on the road. That simply has not happened. WE need our first road win. Go Zips!!!

I will be curious to see where this young man lands. Beating up a teammate during a practice will not endure you to many coaches. It is weird how the NCAA will remove an athletes eligability for a recruiting violation but he is still eligble after knocking a teammate unconcious.

Attacking the basket is a good thing. After Riak gets a rebound he needs to attack the basket. Yesterday I saw him make a 3 pointer, attempt a fade a way 8 footer, and turn the ball over several times passing the ball outside. Jackson attacked the basket and finished at the basket. If you noticed he did not circle around in the paint as he has in previous games. Groce has to teach these guys a basic rule in basketball. When you have the ball in the paint, take it to the hoop. You either get fouled, get blocked, or get a layup. Anytime you have a basketball play where you have a 67% chance of scoring you make that play. This team has the athleticism and quickness to get to the hoop. We just need to do a better job of finishing.

We shot well in the second half. I also noticed at halftime that we came out early and did 3 point shooting drills. I watched Roscoe drain about 5 in a row and thought he would look good in the second half. Of course he air balled his first 3 ball but made his second. Glad to see Groce do something different and it paid off. We shot 40% from 3 ball land. Finally!!! This team is playing good defense. The first 10 minutes was tough to watch. I can tell you our offense, Utomi, 3, Riak, 3, and Jackson 2 drives to the basket. It was a struggle. When this team was up 8 with 4 minutes to go I knew that N. Illinois was going to make a run. We just cannot keep a lead late in the game. They switched to a zone, we looked lost and then the game got tied. It is great that this team is finally winning close games. Jackson played his best Mac game and was able to finish at the basket or draw a foul. Great win for the Zips. Need to win one on the road.

There are numerous reasons for low attendance. The last few years when KD was the coach we went to the MAC finals, drew a big crowd and then lose the game. A lot of those people did not come back. We lost a slew of season ticket holders when KD left the program. Basically, there is no marketing of the B Ball program. And the price of $15 for a ticket, $10 for parking, and the high concession prices make it an expensive night for families. I like the pricing at the superbowl. Charge less and serve more.

A friend sent me this link and I thought I would share it. Aron Jackson interviews the Zips and at the 4 minute mark Jake gives advice on how to improve your jump shot. Considering how poorly our team has been shooting, Groce may want to follow Jake's advice. It certainly could not hurt. Aron does a great job doing the interviews. It is great seeing Ivey, Antino, E man and Josh as frosh. Antino is playing professionaly in Italy. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjae1p4KXUU

I also saw Riak pulled each time he shot the 3 ball. I liked how they got yanked. I noticed on the box score that LCJ only played 23 minutes. I would like to keep those minutes where they are until he starts making the 3 ball or starts taking better shots. When he is off, Utomi is off, and our centers are offensively challenged, we are only getting scoring from Cheese and Ivey and we struggle. Cheese is doing a good job running the point. I thought Jackson did well beating the press and handling the ball, expecially at the end of the game.

I am not buying the ugly win. I thought the zips played well down the stretch. Tyler Cheese had one of the best games of have seen from a Zip. He was great on offense and defense. He also did a great post game interview giving credit to his teammates who told him to be more aggressive and take more shots. It is difficult to win when 2 of your starters Jackson and Utomi, shoot 2 for 20. Watching Utomi shoot is painful. He drives to the lane and then hesitates. He needs to take the ball straight up. He is missing wide open 3 balls and the shots are not close to going in. However, I give him credit because after the game he went back out and was shooting the ball. On the postgame show they kept indicating how good Riak was on the floor. I thought he was good but he needs to stop shooting the 3 ball. This team does not need our center missing 3 balls. I thought Poke had a really good game. He was very active and made several players miss shots. I thought he outplayed Sayles who looks slow. He needs to move his feet and do a better job boxing out. I cracked up watching Cheese miss a layup when the nearest player was at half court. He got the rebound and then made the second layup. I have done that several times so it is fun watching a college player do it. Of course on the post game he indicated he slipped. Great win for the Zips.

Sarcasm? Riak hardly touches the ball on offense and rarely acts like he wants the ball. Most of his "passes" are handoff 40 feet from the basket. Watching these guys do a high pick and roll is pathetic and Riak never sees the ball nor is he open. Our offense off of our center is zero. If you want to watch offense off of our center watch old clips of big dog passing the ball to Ivey.

I am a season ticket holder and sometimes bring a friend or family member. I always buy my extra ticket at the window. Rarely a line and when there is a short line a person will stop by and give me a ticket that they cannot use. It makes no sense to buy your ticket online because of the added fees.

Am I the only one that feels that way. I watched the football struggle to score and ranked last in offense. Now I am watching another Zips team that cannot score and will probably rank last in offense in the MAC.

Considering recent events, not sure if we have any room to talk.

When I watched Jackson early in the season I was very impressed with his game and noticed that he was a step quicker than everyone else on the floor. He could beat his man off the dribble and had a good outside shot. I also noticed how after penetrating he would find the open man or finish at the basket. He also was rebounding the ball. Yesterday, Jackson came back into the game with a 6 point lead and that lead became a 12 point deficit. He was completely ineffective in the second half. He turned the ball over, played bad defense, and could not buy a shot until the game was long gone. He is having difficulty penetrating and when he can penetrate he cannot finish at the hoop. The one time he did finish is when Groce pulled the center and it opened up the lane. He is also struggling with his 3 point shot like everyone on the team. We need him to play well the entire game. If he is not playing well, pull him and let Cheese play the point. We need more from our point guard if we are going to win a game on the road.

This coach is the one who recruited these players except Ivey, E man and Utomi. If the recruited guys that won't listen to him, it is on him. He has gone the transfer route recruiting players that did not work out somewhere else. The jury is still out on whether that is working. We are still early in the season but this team needs to learn to win on the road.

How about bad coaching! I am so tired of watching Utomi take a 3 pointer with a high arching shot and just stand there like a statute instead of moving his feet toward the basket and going for his own rebound. All of these guys love to stand there and watch their 3 point shot. I was taught at a very early age that after you shoot your ball you move toward the basket. The way we are shooting the 3 ball in MAC play, there is a 77% probability that there will be a rebound. Start moving towards the basket instead of away from it when a shot goes up. Our centers are the only one trying to rebound the ball and they are slow to the ball and not good rebounders. Is anyone on this team a good offensive rebounder? It is tough to win on the road. Last year we were 2 -10 and this year we are 0-5. And we just lost to a team that did not have a win in the MAC.

This must be groundhog day. Same old Same old. We cannot shoot a 3 ball but keep shooting it. Remember, last year we did not get our first road win to mid February. I think it is tough to win on the road and you need experienced players to win. Our only experienced players are Ivey and Utomi. They did not have good games. Cheese is really the only Zip who looked good. I would like to see these guys pound the offensive boards. Instead, they just watch. Groce better find out how to win on the road or we are going to have the same record as last year with another play in game on the road.

That last 3 pointer by Miami was Jackson getting beat on defense and driving the lane and dumping to a wide open shooter. Jackson needs to learn to keep his man in front of him.

I wish we could get the ball down low to our center and he would take it to the hoop. The first shot from our 2 centers is a 3 ball. The second shot was a missed layup. In the last possession, Groce said screw it and went small and we played with no center. It opened up the middle and Jackson was able to beat his man and get a layup. Our centers are not in the flow of the offense. When Utomi posted up his man the defender in the middle just clogs the lane and Utomi cannot penetrate. Our offense is struggling on the road but we are playing good defense. Cheese had some great drives. WE are shooting our MAC average, 23% from the 3 line. Worst in the country. If we could shoot the 3 ball anywhere near average we would be up by 6