1981 grad

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.

I heard Groce on the radio and it is the same speech, guys are not hustling and not playing hard nose basketball except for Smith. Makes me wonder if he has lost some of the players on this team. Duvivier and Ivey were out for long stretches of time. We were terrible on offense. Only 4 assists the entire game. We missed at least 3 layups if not four. Missed 5 foul shots. Most of our points were on drives to the basket or three point shots without a pass. I hate the spacing on the offense. Their center justs sits in the lane and double teams when we drive to the hoop. No dish offs, no give and goes, no back door, no shots coming off a screen. I think Klac may have posted up 2 times. Most times Klac sets a screen he goes to the basket before he draws contact from the other player. Our offense just looks sluggish at best. I hate watching us take a shot and nobody follows the ball looking for the rebound. I watched Daniel move away from the offensive end when we shoot the ball. I guess he is saving energy. I am glad to see him get out of his shooting slump but he looks a step slow on defense. We are also starting to take quick three point shots. Great if you hit them but sucks if you miss. I think we missed every 3 pointer early in the shot clock. Duvivier kept playing off his man at the 3 point line. He kept hitting 3 pointers. You woud think by the second half he would get in this face. You would think wrong. This is a young and athletic team. This team work and cohesiveness on this team just looks bad today. Not sure whether to blame the coach or the players. No place to go but up after this game.

Listened to Groce on postgame. He thought loss was because lack of toughness and lack of defense. I see a trend to settle for the 3 and lack of penetration. We rarely get the ball to Klac for any type of post up opportunities. Cotten did not penetrate tonight. Very few steals after the first 5 minutes. Very few penetrations and dishes. We also did not get to the foul line. This team will struggle on the road until we get that first road win.

I almost hate to watch Utomi shoot a 3. He is obviously a streak shooter and lately it has been just awful. I had a bad feeling about tonights game. If we cannot win with Jimond going for 40 I just wondered where we were going to get the offense. This team cannot win on the road without a strong showing from Klac and Utomi. I do see Patton display some nice moves. We play well in spurts but we play some brutal basketball in spurts. It seem that we have trouble scoring insided because other teams know we do not have much from the center position. There center just clogs the middle. I thought playing Utomi would open the middle but it has not worked that way. This team needs to shoot well from the 3 ball to win and it is just not happening. I did not see Cotton play that much tonight and I wonder if he is still sick. Lets hope they can turn it around at home.

We are dependent on the 3 ball to score. If we cannot shoot 40% from the 3 ball it can get ugly.

I hope that Groce's experiment with starting Lucas Smith was a one shot deal. I have nothing against the walk on but we just do not have enough offense to start him. Klac and Utomi have not been reliable scorers. We struggled in the start of the first and second half with this starting lineup because all of the pressure to score is on Jimond and Duvivier. I stated in the last game that the key to us winning is getting production from Klac, Utomi, and to shoot the 3 ball at 40%. It didn't happen and despite an amazing game from Jimond we lost. Winning on the road after a tough loss will be difficult for this young team.

I was at that game and you are right, great shot. No hesitation, he was going to take that shot from the get go. I would have to rate them equal. McNees did it at the Q. Jimond did it in a game where he score over 40 points. It wasn't just one shot, he played the entire game in the zone.

I was thinking of a Zip buzzer beater. I was at the Q when Penno made that shot. I try to forget about the shots that lost us games at the buzzer.

It sucks that it came in a loss. I cannot remember a more difficult buzzer beater 3. He was well beyond the 3 point line and had a hand in his face and was off balence.

Great game. I cannot remember a Zip with a better effort than Ivey this afternoon. It is a shame that we are so young and have a limited bench. Cotten is really playing well. Also, this is the best that I have seen Patton play. The effort is there it is so difficult to win when your best shooter cannot hit an open three and we get nothing from Klac. The call on Cotten on the lose ball was a terrible call but not going to blame our loss on the refs. We did not box out on the foul shot that gave them an extra possession. I also thought that Groce made a mistake going to the starting lineup in the second half when we started out so poorly in the game.

Utomi is probably 1 for 10 from 3 point land. When will he learn to follow his shot?

Whoops: Smith See above edit.

Groce, you started Smith the first half and could not score a basket. You start him the second half and guess what, we can't score a basket. Where is your offense coming from. Smith is not a threat, Utomi cannot score, Klac can't score, putting all the pressure on Ivey and Duvivier.

The refs have been calling a lot of offensive fouls off the screen. Klac needs to stop moving when he sets a screen. Has been called for an offensive foul twice. Jimond is keeping this team in the game. Love his penetration. I think he is one of the few Zips who has not turned it over. Utomi cannot find his shot on the road again. Threw up another air ball on 3 pointer. Last year he started on the road for Kwan and could not miss. This year his shot has been way off away from the Jar. Maybe he can find it in the second half. He did have a nice drive for his only basket. Great pressure defense the first 10 minutes. I thought they slacked a little on d in the latter part of the second half. Fun watching Groce play defense from the bench. One of the benefits of a young team, they listen to the coach. Klac not doing much from the center position offensively. This game is winnable. Need to close it out!!