1981 grad

I was just going to start this post when I saw your post so here is my take. Even though we lost yesterday in a game that we led almost the entire time, there are a lot of positives going into Buffalo and the MAC tournament. Zips fans, be happy: Three weeks agp Groce did not like this team's effort, intensity or coachability. In the post game he indicated he was happy with all 3. Happy coach, happy team! We have been competitive the last 5 games. Utomi is playing his best ball right now. We finally have a road win so if we play on the road in the first round we have got that monkey off our back. We led most of the game yesterday without 2 scholarship players that will hopefully return for the MAC tournament. We played our best defense of the season yesterday according to the coach. This is the MAC, playing well at the end of the season even with lesser talent can mean upset in the tourney. Finally, for the small but vocal minority that is still is upset with KD leaving, the Dukes have lost 6 in a row. Go Zips!!

I saw a concerted effort to get Klac the ball in the first half and after mumbled and fumbled the ball several times they did not go back to him. Lucas Smith and Torrey Patton gave us nothing offensively although they played good defense. Duvivier hit only 1 of 10 and 8 of his shots were from 3 land. He did not penetrate or drive to the basket today. Parrish had a nice game. Groce indicated that he was happy with his team's defense and coachability. They have been competitive the last 5 games and this was their best defensive effort. I hate losing but the guys are at least improving. It will be interesting to see what happens in Buffalo. We will be on the road for our first post season game. I am hoping to play Kent so I can make the game.

I thought the key to our win in Bowling Green were the points from guys other than Duvivier, Ivey and Utomi. Lucas Smith, Klac, Gbadebo, Parish and Patton. They each played good defense and collectively scored 27 points. That is a first for this team, where everyone contributed to a win. It is difficult to compete when only 3 players control the ball and do all the scoring. The above guys may be frosh and walkons, but for this team to compete they have to touch the ball, make offensive moves to the basket and shoot the ball. The highlight of this approach was Gbadebo shooting a 3 without hesitation because he was open. Klac posting up and making an offensive move. Smith scored 9 points. That was a career high. If we can get some consistent scoring from this group we should be able to compete in every game. Go Zips!!!

The Zips competed the entire game at Kent. They made some stupid frosh plays, Klac throwing the ball away while Avery from Kent hit every 3 pointer. The Zips did compete for 40 minutes but in the last 5 minutes Kent was the better team. The effort was there but the talent was lacking.

Fewer fouls called on home team. Interesting article on ref bias: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=4682821

I made the original post and I thought it was a foul because Jimond made contact with the player after the block. I did not post this comment as a bad thing. My point was that everyone complains about the refs and sometimes (not often) Akron get the benefit of the doubt. I cannot tell you how many times on the road that call will be made against Akron. This team played a great game and deserved the win.

Top 4 of the 5 teams are from the western division. Does anyone remember when the east used to be the class of the league? How the mighty have fallen.

You could see them playing better at Kent State. That is 2 solid games in a row. We cannot complain about the refs this week as there was clearly an Akron foul on the last offensive rebound. Eventually, everything evens out. Hopefully we can continue to play well. Go Zips

Our last 2 possession we have struggled to get offense. Need to get Jimond back into the game. Cotton looks to be in the doghouse. Played verry little tonight.

This team is playing very well. I have seen some really athletic drives to the basket. Even saw Klac with 2 post ups tonight and he scored on one. The team is playing to their talent level. Go Zips!

We are shooting the ball well on the road. Hope we can keep it up. Playing good defense on the road. Keeping it close. Also, Lucas Smith is really playing well.

To quote a often used phrase: "Size does not matter" whether you are 6 foot 7 or six foot 10. In basketball there are numerous factors that lead to rebounding. On the defensive end, it is boxing out, desire, being physical and learning to use your body to shield the defender as soon as the ball is shot. For example, Kwan was not a good rebounder his frosh year. However, he got stronger and learned to use his body to screen his man from the ball and became a good rebounder by his senior year. On the offensive end it is quickness and desire. Tree was always a great rebounder when he missed his shot and wanted the ball back. His was one of the quicker big men we had when his mind was into the game. I just looked up his stats in Israel and he is the leading rebounder on the team averaging double digit rebounds. Klac even though he is tall is not a good rebounder because as a frosh he is not physical, does not yet know how to use his body, and is slow to the ball. He also spends so much energy trying to defend he is slow to transition to rebounding. He also gets out of position through no fault of his own when somebody on defense gets beat and he has to become a shot blocker. Hopefully, he will improve but right now he is not a force on the boards.

I thought the effort was really good today. I saw a good team play, some unselfish passing and some really good effort. Unfortunately, this team folded in the last 5 minutes at the same time Kent got hot from the 3 line. I think if this team shows this effort the rest of the season we could still get some wins. I thought that Groce made a bad sub in the last 5 minutes taking out Parish and putting in Smith. Having Smith play forward and Klac playing center puts us at a disadvantage offensively since neither can score with any consistentcy. (They had a total of 2 points with one shot between them) Parish made a big 3 the last 5 minutes and was playing well. As soon as Smith came in a Kent player blew past him and made a layup. I would like to see Klac post up his man. This team does not get him the ball in the post. I did like how we spread the floor when Utomi was playing center. It opened up the paint and Duvivier and Jimond had some nice drives even though Jimond could not finish. This team may stand a chance at Bowling Green with this effort. Go Zips!

Great analysis. I think we would have picked up a few more wins but for the injuries to e man and Sayles. We are basically down to our 3rd string center who early on did not see the floor and a 6 foot four walk on to play center. I would like to see more hustle from the guys on the floor. The execution on offense rarely produces anything and we often settle for a 3 point shot. They also do not seem to play well together as noted by the lack of assists. I was also frustrated by the MAC tourney losses the last 2 years. I liked Kwan but he never had a great game in the tourney final. I also thought that the 3 guards who transferred were not athletic enough to ever win a NCAA tournament game.

I always go to this game and sit in the chairbacks with the Kent fans. I bought my tickets months ago or I would probably watch this on TV. This team has problems on the road playing to empty arenas. I think this team will do even worse playing in front of a full house in a rivalry game. I hope I am wrong but I am expecting a repeat of the Ohio game where we will be down by 20 by half. Right now we are getting zero from the center postion and that means their center can just guard the lane. I would play Utomi at center, put him out on the perimeter and hope he or someone gets hot from the 3 area. If nothing else it should keep Kent honest so that Jimond and Duvivier can drive the lane.

He does remind me a player named Bardo from a decade or more ago. A guy who had size, likeable kid, but was not the quickest. Again, Klac is a frosh so he may improve but I agree with you that he is not taking advantage of the minutes that are given to him.

Skip, you are spot on! Right now he looks so slow you wonder if he will ever catch up to the pace of a division one game. It seems like he would have more success playing at a division 2 school. He has shown some good moves in the post, some hustle and some decent defense. But he has shown in most games a propensity to foul and do nothing in the stat sheet. What I don't like is that with all this playing time he has not shown consistent improvement from game to game. Big Dog was pretty bad his first year and I wonder if he was forced to play large minutes his first year whether we would have the same complaints. Only time will tell if Klac will become a viable center in the MAC.

I said before I am not sure about the development of Klac. Big men take longer to develop but he looks so slow at times I wonder if he will ever develop. Right now he is being outplayed at the center position by a Lucas Smith, a 6 foot four walk on. Klac needs to take the ball straight up when he gets the ball in scoring postion. Needs to learn to move his feet on defense and rebound rebound and rebound. I do not blame the refs for his fouls. He has set numerous illegal screens all season. He has been called for touch fouls all season on defense when he uses his hands instead of his body. He needs to show improvement as the season progresses and that is not happening. This is his opportunity to shine since 2 of our 3 centers went down. Instead, Lucas Smith and Utomi are getting the majority of the time at center.

Jimond, Duvivier and Utomi are talented basketball players. Cotten, Parish and Patton are good basketball players but are frosh and should be playing 5-10 minutes a game until they can understand the college game. They are not getting more confidant as the season progresses. After Cotten made that game winner I thought he would improve each game. I am not sure about Klac and only time will tell. None of the frosh has become a consistent player as the season has progressed. I believe Smith is just a hustle guy and he is great as a walkon. What surprised me last night is the team in the 2nd half did better running the offense with 2 walk ons than the starting 5. I think that was the only positive to this game.

Why has this team gotten worse as the season has progressed? I know that we had 2 of our 3 centers get injured. Poke going down hurt us because he was a shot blocker. If somebody got past their man he could alter a shot. Sayles was another big man and played well in spurts. However, neither player was a star and both did not contribute consistent offense. It seems to me last night that if somebody drove to the middle everyone collapsed to the paint leaving guys open at the 3 line. The commentator last night indicated that Ohio was playing inside out. I saw Cotton leave Darvis open to defend in the paint and I thought that was crazy. Darvis made some tough shots but many were wide open because his man had collapsed in the paint. On offense, Groce"s set offense is not producing any points or open looks. Klac sets a high screeen, rolls to the basket and never sees the ball. Last night there was one penetration and dish off to him and he hesitated and then tripped. A lot of perimeter passing and dribbling. When we do penetrate, their center sits in the lane and often blocks our shot. It looks to me that Jimond and Duvivier realize that the set offense is not producing anything and they are driving to the basket, shooting a 3, and trying to make something happen. Groce is getting upset because they are not running the offense and then sits them down. Lucas Smith may be a great hustler but offensively he is not a skilled player. I thought this team would hold their own in the MAC because they were athletic and well coached. I noticed in the beginning of the season that we never took quick 3 point shots and always ran offense. Based on what I have seen the last two games, I feel like this team may not win another game. I hope I am wrong.

Just heard Groce on the post game. I wondered why he called a timeout with 37 seconds left. He indicated he said everything he wanted to say in the timeout. There is no question that he believes Ivey and Duvivier are not playing team ball. We had 5 assists this game. Groce seems to have lost his 2 veterans, Ivey and Duvivier. I thought this team would be good this year based on the athleticism. However, too many injuries, too many frosh, too many players that have not played together, and based on what Groce is indicating, too much attitude. This is ugly basketball. I understand Skips point, Groce has been calling out his players publicly that they are not tough and not hustling. Some guys respond to that, some don't. It is apparent that these guys could care less if the coach calls them out.

I am going to add Cotton to that list. And now Patton after he took that early 3 shot and did not draw iron. That doghouse is getting more and more crowded. Never saw Sino play before. He is showing some effort.

I don't think we will see Ivey or Duvivier in the second half. There is no question they are in the Groce doghouse.

If you watch their defense, they have their center standing under the basket. Nobody is guarding Lucas Smith. We drive to the hoop and their center just swats our shots. I know Groce likes Smith's hustle but he is not a threat to score. This team looks horrible. You would think they would get better as the season progressed but this team looks plain awful. This looks like a 30 point blowout. Watching Utomi take a 3, not follow his shot, shot come right back to him because it is short and he does not get the rebound. That has happened about 10 times this season!

Duvivier and Ivey are both making poor shot selections. Klac, take the ball straight up!!!