1981 grad

In my mind, Sullinger has regressed. Does not look like the same player as last year. Not as quick and not as good of shooter. I can see why Kent is struggling. Zips playing really good ball. Great ball movement and controlling the boards. KJ is just so smooth on his jump shot in the key. Really fun to watch.

Sharon Young went 0 for 5 and 2 turnovers. Difficult for a frosh to make a long trip and play well on the road. The veterans Nate Johnson and Grey and Scott really played well and Tevari shot the ball well. The more I watch this team Nate stands out as the one guy who seems to steady the ship when things go bad. Groce realized that also and he played 35 minutes tonight. Had some amazing dunks tonight. Groce need to practice against the zone as the ball movement was lacking. However, Northern Illinois really had a problem rebounding when they played zone.

The commentators were indicating how Tavari does not turn the ball over and then he turned it over right underneath the basket. I counted at least 4 turnovers tonight. He was hitting his floater and making his foul shots and probably scored 20 but did not play his best game.

I have numerous problems with the feed. I thought it was my tv. Thanks for adding it is just not me.

I am so impressed with Shamu Scott getting to the basket and finishing with a layup. He could not do that last year and always hurried his shot and missed the layup. Really improved his game this year. Nate Johnson seems to be the clue that holds this team together. Great dunk and great shot when we needed it the most.

After indicating we have the 2 tops point guards in the conference both of them have struggled today with turnovers and Tavari just let in a layup. They need to step it up. Really struggling against the zone and zone press.

We did not score for six minutes. Did not see that happening. The zone really has us struggling and all of a sudden our shots are not falling. How will respond.

We are on fire from three again. Simply amazing!!!

This is an interesting topic: Are we really good because after the OOC schedule we improved a great deal or do we appear to be good because the MAC sucks. My answer: time will tell. Even good teams will lose against bad teams. However, if this team is really good, lets win the rest of the games. A really good Akron team should be able to run out the rest of the schedule. Lets win at Northern Illinois and at Kent and then continue this conversation.

I have watched a lot of Akron basketball and here is something I have never seen before, emptying the bench when you have 30 point basketball game means bringing in one guy, Evan Wilson. By playing 10 guys and red shirting everyone else, our bench is Evan. And even more bizarre is that he is in for 3 minutes and gets a T. The first time I saw Freeman play was during a blowout his frosh year. Can anyone name a fan favorite who would come in during a blowout in past years?

Bizarre path to player of the week. His first few games as a frosh were amazing. And then he struggled. He had some good games but was not consistent. Second year he started at the beginning of the season and then came off the bench. And then there were games he did not even get into the games. Groce would pull him because of his defense. At the end of the season he was the 4th guard off the bench but had some great games against Kent and in Cleveland and played more than the starters. Many on this board wanted to see him transfer. This season during MAC play he has been great!!! I still think we have the 2 best guards in the conference. And we know that good point guards are worth their weight in gold.

I think that was the best first half of basketball Akron has played all year and shows the potential of this team. We shot the ball well, passed the ball well, outrebounded Miami 2 to 1, played great defense, and had more hustle that Miami. In the 2nd half we did not let up and kept the lead between 30-40. I have heard Groce say each year how good his players are at distance only to see them shoot around 30% for the year. This team may be different and it will be interesting to see if they continue to shoot the ball well from distance the rest of the season.

I know everyone enjoys making fun of the Kent Basketball program and how they have struggled this year but I need to remind everyone the season comes down to 4 games in Cleveland and although Kent sucked most of last year when it came down to the tourney they beat Toledo and came within a brain fart of beating us in the final even though we had a very experienced team.

For those on this board that have been complaining about the attendance, I just got 2 extra tickets and we had to move my season seats so we could sit together and my ticket agent told me they were expecting the biggest crowd of this year and it was mainly Akron fans. I told him maybe they should schedule more afternoon games and ditch the night games. He told me that was above his pay grade. Looking forward to a loud jar tomorrow.

What is helping Tevari this year is this teams spacing and 3 point shooting. The paint is always open and allows him to drive to the basket without being double teamed by another big. If a big clogs the paint then he passes to an open 3 point shooter. Also, he is using the backboard and not the floater which gives him more accuracy. Further, his defense has improved and Groce is not pulling him when he makes a defensive mistake. I liked Tevari last year (and caught grief from many on this board) because he was not afraid to attack the basket and did not just rely on the 3 ball. I also thought he was the best passer and getting the ball to Freeman. He has really upped his game this year and fun to watch the development of a third year player.

I agree. And Groce's first year team was not half bad as he recruited some great talent that first year including LCJ. We actually pulled a big upset in an away game to get to Cleveland in the MAC championships: "Kalamazoo, Mich. – The No. 11 seed Akron Zips men's basketball team outlasted the No. 6 seed Western Michigan Broncos, 79-78, in a rollercoaster of an opening round Mid-American Conference Tournament game on Monday night at University Arena. The Zips overcame an 18-0 start and 23-point first half deficit to advance to the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio at Quicken Loans Arena. We played the No 3 seed in Cleveland close and were down in the last minute by three when Groce subbed a good player Jaden Sayles for Mark Kastalec a not so good player who promptly fumbled a pass and we lost the game. Groce recruited Kastalec (6 foot 11) because he needed height and I believe he led the country in setting illegal screens.

I know that Buffalo is not very good but we shot over 50% from the 3 ball on the road. I have seen very talented Akron teams struggle on the road against some very weak teams. If we can keep shooting the 3 over 40% we are going to be tough to beat because we have some guys that can finish at the basket and we have 2 of the best guards in the conference. I know this was a blowout and we had some rough patches but still fun to watch this team.

They were some ugly turnovers trying to dribble through the press. Might just be one of the guys who is going to be streaky.

Good opening to the 2nd half. Tevari is on fire from the 3 point line. Another nice pick and roll. Great spacing from Akron.

Specific to Groce, I listen to the post game interviews of players on the way home from the game and he recruits articulate young men who are humble and always talk about the team first.

If you would have told me last year I would have laughed at you. I must confess I was hoping he would transfer last year because I just did not see any way he would contribute in a meaningful way. The last few games he really did well finishing at the basket and I hope that continues. I love being wrong when a Zip blossoms into a player of the week.

Are we the only school in the MAC to give basketball players NIL money? Is it public knowledge what players are being paid? Do teammates know what other players are being paid on the team. The above post makes me wonder whether Akron has an advantage over other MAC schools because of the NIL money. I am seeing our football disintegrate over the NIL money because we do not pay football players. I do not believe we have lost a basketball player because of the NIL in the past but could this happen in the future?

Now is the time to schedule a home and home with the Dukes while both teams are winning instead of the weak teams we brought into the JAR this year. We could have a reunion of his old team or put his jersey in the rafters. Anything to bring the Dukes to Akron. We should have a solid veteran team next year so no excuses why we should not play the Dukes.

Kent down by 10 with 4 minutes left and getting outscored by 19 in second half. (Yikes)

And the 3 techs that all have us scratching our heads!!!