1981 grad

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!!!

Sure, if a guy is scoring from behind the 3 line you have to guard him closely even if he is 3 or 4 feet behind the 3 line. Duviver's man was hot from the 3 line and Duvivier kept giving him space so that when he shot Duvivier did not have a hand in his face.

I do not think Groce was referring to Daniel since he played 35 minutes. However, Duviver and Jimond only played 25 minutes and Jimond did not have a single rebound. I also thought Duvivier did not guard his man very well from long distance. Since Duvivier is a senior and Jimond is a senior next year I just don't see anyone leaving unless they change the sit out rule next year and then who knows what will occur.

I am not a genius when it comes to "Groce talk" but I think this means that he is coaching and members of the team are not doing what the coach is telling them to do: “I thought our coachability was poor and when your coachability is poor, your effort is not where it needs to be, your attitude is not where it needs to be. He then follows that up with it is my way or the highway: Paraphrasing a quote he’d seen, Groce said teams that struggle the way the Zips have possess two kinds of players — those who hate losing so much that they change their habits or those who love those habits so much they’re willing to lose. “Those guys who are the second type, they can do that someplace else,” he said. To be fair to Groce most of these guys were not his recruits or were last minute recruits so this may not be the team he imagined coaching. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

I am usually an optimistic guy but when I look at this game I see: A Zips team that has lost 3 straight. A Zips team that just lost by 21 at home. A Zips coach who indicates post game his players are not playing with any toughness, energy or tenacity. A Zips coach who indicates post game some of his players are not coachable. A Zips team where a non scholarship player with limited offensive skills is playing 30 minutes. A Zips team that has not won a road game or any game away from the JAR all season. I guess to put this in perspective, I think our chances of winning this game are about the same as one of our geriatric season ticket holders hitting the rim on the $25,000 half court shootout. Of course, deep inside I still am rooting that this team will turn it around and win their first road game. Go Zips!

You predate me as I do not recall these players. Although I started attending games in the eighties, I did not start following the team and attending more games until KD became an assistant coach under Hipsher since I knew KD.

I have been a Zip B Ball fan for a number of years but have no recall of the last 2 players. Can you tell me when Jenkins and Schutz played, the Zips coach and their postions?

When I heard Groce on the post games, he keeps coming back to the same theme, his players are not playing aggressive enough to win basketball games. He wants tough defense and guys who are going to get pissed off if their man scores on them. He wants guys who are going to win every lose ball and go for every rebound. Guys who are going to play harder when the other team scores. Last year I thought Antino best fit this mold. This is a guy who did not like to lose and if we started losing he wanted the ball and was going to score. He always played aggressive defense. Jake Kretzer was another guy although he was limited athletically and by injuries but who would often come up with that tough rebound and was always diving for that lose balls. However, the Zip player that I thought best exemplies what Groce is looking for was Jamie Bosley. This guys motor never stopped. Has the same body build of Duvivier and very aggressive. I would like to hear from other Zips fans on who you believe was the former Zip that would best exemplify what Groce wants on this team. Jami_Bosley_-_YouTube_(360p).mp4

Malcolm had some nice drives and finishes in the second half. He also had some nice rebounds and can box out. Something we rarely saw by Noah after his injury. Our guards are so much more athletic than last year. However, everything today was individual effort, that is why we only had 4 assist. We got within 3 at the end of the first half after Utomi made 2 straight 3 pointers. I thought get the ball to Utomi, he never saw the ball again in the half. That says something about this team. I really thought that as the season progressed that they would get better. Instead, I think the tougher competition in the MAC, the grind of road games, the longer college schedule and the constant losing is wearing this team down.