1981 grad

Basically, we are all guessing what happened. I wish him good luck and hope that he recovers fully and finds the right basketball situation. I know that he spent a year in Florida to improve his game and was of Groce's first recruits. He had some good moments last year. I hope the good memories of his playing time in Akron outweigh the recent incident.

With all the bricks our players have been shooting the last 3 games, by the end of the season we will have enough materials to build that wall.

Illini Zip: I like reading your posts but you have only been posting for over a year. I have been a Zips B Ball fan for a long time and I have never seen a post by a Zips fan where we blame the refs for our loss. Never! Especially when we lose by 17 points. However, looking at the minutes played by our starters on Tuesday, Ivey 41, Utomi, 40 Jackson, 40, Cheese, 31. They then had to fly to a road game on Friday. They then played a trap zone using a lot of energy. It is possible that they got tired and that is the reason they fell apart in the second half. Our former coach, KD, rarely played anyone more than 30 minutes and his goal was always to play 9 players. People on this board would get upset because a guy would get hot and then he would pull him from the floor. By the way, the 2 guys that did not play heavy minutes on Tuesday, Roscoe and Banks, shot the ball well and were 4 for 10 from 3 point land. Conincidence? I apologize for the sarcasm but my point is that the refs had nothing to do with our loss. I believe that Groce played our guys heavy minutes on Tuesday and it came back to haunt us on Saturday. He needs to get more players in his rotation because the MAC schedule is a grind. Also, he needs to play Jackson less minutes because he certainly is not playing as well as he was in the beginning of the season.

If you need a reason why this team is playing so poorly, just look at the 3 point stats. We are 26th in the nation for 3 point attempts. But we are 217th in 3 point percentage makes. If you just look at just the MAC stats, we would be dead last in the country on 3 point field goal percentage. WE love to take 3 point attempts but cannot make them at a high percentage. This was the same problem last year. Different players, same problem. One of the problems is that we do not have a center who like to take shots in the paint. We just have more guys taking 3 ball shots. Loren Jackson has been terrible shooting the 3 ball and is 3 for 25. Hopefully, when they get home this percentage will improve. If not, this will be a long season. Groce always indicates that his players are great shooters. It is time to prove it or work on a different offense that does more than shoot 3 balls.

We sucked on the road last year. We have sucked on the road this year. It is difficult to win on the road, especially with inexperienced players. Ivey and Utomi are our experience and they did not play well in the second half. As soon as I compliment Utomi for his inside game he starts the second half with an air ball. All of these players like to shoot the three ball and when they are cold they seem to fall apart. I think Jackson is a great player but he has struggled, expecially his shooting. Our shooting stats on MAC play are horrendous and we are going to struggle until we shoot better.

I do not know why when there is a screen to the left a player jumps to the screen and allows a free lane to the basket. I saw it on Tuesday with Jackson and I just saw it with Ivey. What is Groce telling these guys when he teaches them defense. Once again, this team is not a good 3 point shooting team but they love to shoot them. Have not seen a team fall apart like this in a long time. The talent is ther but they look bad.

Groce needs to work on his half time speech. For the second game in a row we come out flat in the second half and lose the lead. I have seen more Roscoe this game than any other game. Glad to see Sayles look like he wants the ball and going to the hoop. Utomi cannot buy a 3.

Great to see Utomi attacking the basket. Lately he has only been shooting the 3 ball. He is so strong he should be scoring more inside. When he misses his 3 ball they are usually short. If he would follow his shot he would get at least 1 offensive rebound a game. I hate watching players pose after they take a 3 . If I were a college coach I would make them run if I ever saw a player posing during a game.

Wow! Based on the severity of the attack he is lucky to be charged only with Assault and not Felonious Assault. Does a transfer student who is sitting out practice with the team? I wonder if something happened at practice that precipitated the attack. I do not think that you would punch another player for no reason.

It may not look pretty but I have seen Sayles and Riak make some nice post moves. However, the other guys have to be coached to get them the ball and they have to want the ball.

When you look at the box score you can see where we lost the game. Utomi shot 6 for 13 from the 3 line. All his makes came in the second half. The rest of the team shot 4 for 22 from the 3 line. I keep hearing Groce talk about how good these guys are from t he 3 line. I just do not see it. This team is better at driving to the basket than shooting the 3 ball. When KD coached the team I always complained that we did not have athletic players that could attack the hoop. We now have those type of players. We need to play to our strength. Four of the starters played big minutes, 34, 36, 41, 40. I just wonder if the defense got worse as these guys got tired. Banks only played 19 minutes. Center production: Our 3 centers took only 4 shots. Can anyone even remember a pass into the post. THe center seta a high pick and rolled to the basket and never saw the ball. Finishing the game. I remember one possession with 2 minutes left where we tried to drain the clock with a 6 point lead. It did not work and resulted in a bad shot and score on the other end. I like how when we needed a basket we went to Ivey. He made 2 clutch free throws and a clutch drive. (okay, he missed a clutch free throw and committed the dumb foul) Still he is my go to guy at the end of the game. Defense: Our defense got worse in the second half. We did not defend their high pick and roll. I hated the way Jackson did not keep his man in front of him. Gave up 16 more points in the second half. I enjoyed watching this team play and was very impressed how we did not turn the ball over. As they play together more they should get better. I would like to see our centers get more involved in the offense.

On their game winning basket Riak needed to step up quicker. I did not see a push off but Jackson needs to keep his man in front of him. His second half defense was bad and he put pressure on our big men as a rim protector. I still think this team will get better and we will close out a close game this season.

This team still needs to learn to close out games. We were terrible on the pick and roll on the second half. Jackson saw the screen and started leaning that way giving his man an open path to the basket. I still like the way this team plays. Ivey made a couple of clutch free throws. What are the chances of an air ball rebound and then nice fake on the 3 ball. Just bad luck.

That finish by Banks was amazing. Little room to work with and still was able to finish at the hoop. Love to watch Cheese, Banks and Ivey finish at the basket.

Utomi still missing 2 wide open 3 balls and no defense on the inbounds play. This team did not come out ready to play defense after the half.

Considering that I cannot remember our leading scorer Utomi scoring a basket, I think that it was a good half for the Zips. I really like how we have taken the ball to the hoop and playing good defense. Ivey is having another great game. If Utomi can find his range in the 2nd half we will be looking strong.

That last run was the best sequence of b ball from this team. Taking the ball to the hoop with our quickness and ability to finish at the hoop!!

I like this teams defense and the way they push the ball up the floor. Poke with a put back. He gives up a basket on defense but comes right back and scores. I agree with the commentators, try to work the ball inside. Most of our points have come on drives to the basket. Utomi must be 0 for 5 on 3 pointers.

Looking forward to tonights game but it is difficult to predict a win considering this is almost a completely new roster, we were terrible on the road last year and lost our first 9 MAC road games, our shooting sucked last game and we have been unable to win a close game. The good news is that we are playing good defense, have a very athletic team that pushes the ball up the court, Ivey played like a beast last game, and Central has played a very weak out of conference schedule. Being an optimist I am going to predict a win in a close game with Ivey, Banks or Jackson making a clutch shot. Go Zips!

I noticed the same thing. Our spacing sucked. Our center stood near the basket and their center just stood in the lane and double teamed the ball when it got to the lane. We could not get the ball to our center.

I thought Ivey had one of the best all around games I have ever seen him play. He was all over the floor on offense and defense. He had a great block from behind when the Western player had a clear path to the basket for a layup. I liked the first 5 possessions which were all layups. I remember looking at the score with 15 minutes in the half and the scored was tied at 11. I thought this was going to be a high scoring game. Then neither team could make a shot for the next 10 minutes. A lot of these shots were bunnies. I saw Sayles make a great drop step move and then miss an open layup. We missed a lot of easy shots close to the basket. I guess the theory in today's game is that if you cannot make the short shots then you can make the three ball. Riak took a 3 shot and then the next possession their center shot a 3. It was ugly basketball. We could not shoot the 3 ball today. After taking one or two 3 balls in the first 5 minutes we then took 28 for the rest of the game. I am still not convinced that this team is a good shooting 3 ball tea. I thought we son this game because we more more athletic, quicker to the ball, played better defense, and Ivey had a great game. The old adage is that defense can win you games. I think we saw that today.

Our strength is in our wings, Ivey, Utomi, Banks and Cheese. I was a little disappointed with LCJ the last game. With his quickness he should be able to beat just about anyone off the dribble. Would like him to take it to the hoop or pass off to a center for a dunk. Our weakness is our 5 position. We keep waiting for someone to have a breakout game and it has not happened. I agree that E man has regressed. He was a great shot blocker his first year and had shown spurts of offense but this year he has struggled and is our 3 or 4 the center. He was off B ball for 9 months and I think he would actually benefit from a red shirt. The key to the game is whether this team will get off to a quick start. We always seem slow out of the gate. Also, this team loves the 3 ball. If we can shoot the 3 ball at or near 40% I think this team will be tough to beat. The other key is rebounding. This team sometimes forgets to box out. We need to pound the boards and need everyone to rebound. Hoping for the Zips to blow Western out. Go Zips!

Cotton won at least 2 games for us on clutch plays. We have lost several close games when we have not had a player who can make a game winning shot. Who will finally be the player this year to step forward and win us a game. I am banking on Banks. My pick to take the game winning shot.

I sat with a dad of the center from Carnegie Mellon, minimum s.a.t. score 1350, and he filled me in on the team. He told me that the team plays division 3 in an academic league with other "smart schools" and that they play in an old gym that was built in 1920 and that they usually draw about 250. (smart kids don't watch hoops?) His son was the center and played very well. When he got the ball he took the ball straight up even though he was against our centers who were far bigger, more athletic, quicker, and stronger. He told me that this was the only division 1 team on their schedule and was the super bowl. Watching this game it reminded me how offensively challenged we are with our 4 centers. E man does not look the same from last year and the 9 months off from b ball has really hurt his game. After I indicated that Klac would transfer he looked good against this team and it helped his confidence. Riak and Sayles should have dominated but it did not happen. Riak had 3 points in 23 minutes. Jackson did not have a very active game. He is so quick he should have been able to attack the basket at will. When he did drive he never finished at the hoop. He needs to take the ball up and stop circling the hoop. Our team needs to learn to finish at the hoop. I see Utomi doing the same thing. He gets position under the hoop and then hesitates or fades away from the basket. He has a strong body and needs to finish strong. When you drive to the hoop you draw fouls. Our wings, Cheese, Banks and Ivey are the strength of this team. If this team can shoot 40% from the 3 line in Mac play we will be tough. I would just like to see one our centers develop an inside game. How I miss Big Dog.

My feelings exactly, you beat me to posting. See above.