1981 grad

I have really been impressed all season with the play of Kwan, Big Dog, and Jimond. Utomi had a monster first half and KD has to find some playing time for this young man on Tuesday. Somebody on this board questions his defense but his defense looked fine on Sat. I am also hoping that KD can find more playing time for Dunn Martin. He clearly outplayed Josh and Noah on Saturday in very limited minutes. Noah had a bad game with 4 turnovers and 2 of his 3 point shots did not even hit the rim. Noah always seems play great at home (Marshall game) but we need him to be more consistent, especially on the road. Antino is the best defender among the guards and forced some turnovers on Sat with good defense. Looking forward to the game on Tuesday. Go Zips!

Now that the president of the U is a B ball fan, maybe we can bring her back! Best half time show Akron ever had.

I think winning on the road in the MAC is tough no matter what the opposition. We got a great first half from Utomi and a great 2nd half from Dunn Martin. I think good guard play is a must on the road and we got very little from Williams and Noah and still won. I rather have 4 close wins than 3 blowouts and a loss. Great defense from Kwan sealed the win. This team is showing some heart by winning games when they are down in the 2nd half. It is ironic that we are getting help from teams missing their foul shots since this has always been our weakness.

Dunn Martin playing well hitting a 3 and getting a layup. Why take him our for Noah unless he is tired. Let's see if Noah rewards KD with some good play.

KD brings in Dunn Martin and he hits a 3! He needs to leave Noah on the bench and go with the other 3 guards.

As Noahs guy beats him off the dribble forcing Jimond to pick up a foul KD finally takes him out. Noah is having a bad game. Bring in Dunn Martin and see what he can do or leave Antino in.

When you have Noah and Josh in at the same time you have 2 guards that cannot penetrate to the basket and things can get ugly. Noah tries to penetrate and has lost the ball 4 times. We are missing our foul shots. KD has not played Dunn Martin. I believe that we need our guards to play well on the road for us to win and hopefully they will have a better 2nd half. No way we can keep shooting the 3 ball as well as we did in the first half. We need better play from our guards.

Thanks for verifying that it was Romeo.

Best answer thus far, from 2007 against Bowling Green: "Zips senior forward Romeo Travis set a career high with 37 points in his final regular season home game. He did much of it at the foul line, making 16 of 23 free throws."

Because the way Kd plays a team oriented game with an emphasis on defense, I cannot remember the last time anyone scored 33 or more points in a game. I tried looking it up but could not find an answer so I will throw out this question to someone who has a higher Zip IQ than me. Who was the last Zip to score 33 or more in a single game?

I think that Big Dog has played himself into shape tonight. I thought he would wear out in the 2nd half but it never happened. Big Dog played the best game I have seen from a Zip in a long time. I think Antino may be the go to guy in the clutch. Great 3 point shot to finish the game. Also, Antino played solid defense the last couple of possessions. These high scoring games are really entertaining. Great to see Akron pull out a close one on the road!

I think one of the keys to the game is how well our 4 guards shoot the 3 ball. In the last 2 home games, they have shot the ball poorly, 3 ball less than 25%. These are open looks and they need to shoot the ball better. Unfortunately, this year in our 3 away games, we have struggled to shoot the 3 ball well. Big Dog, Kwan and Ivey are playing the best basketball of their careers so it will be interesting if we can dominate in an away game. Go Zips!

When did the team leave? I am also curious if you know how the team travels, on the MAC road trips outside Ohio. Do they usually travel the day of the game or the day before the game. I would think it would help if they did not play the same day after a 5 hour bus ride.

He may have an NBA body, but he is another guy who likes to fire up the 3 ball and 11 of this 18 shots are from the 3 line. His defense has not stood out as bad but have hardly seen him play except in blow outs.

I think it is way to early to give up on Josh. He is one of our best 3 point shooters and made a clutch 3 point shot at the Bowling Green game. His defense has improved. (although last night he had his back to the ball and let his man cut to the hoop for an easy dunk) He needs to develop confidence to dribble drive to the basket and finish at the basket on a consistent basis and work on this part of his game. Historically, one of the negatives of our inside out game is that our outside players just rely on the three and never develop an ability to drive to the basket. This season 80% of Joshes shots are from the 3 line and he has only gone to the line 12 times. Antino who has played just about the same number of minutes, has gone to the foul line 34 times. KD needs to get the guards to develop this part of their game. I think that in guard play Antino is best at dribble penetration followed by Dunn Martin, Noah and Josh.

I stated earlier when trying to predict how this team would do I could not find a "go to guy." But tonight I thought there were a couple of key plays that turned the game around. One was a steal and dunk by Jimond that started our run to the lead and another was a clutch 3 pointer by Kwan. Big Dog also had some key baskets down the stretch. Western Michigan double teamed Big Dog and covered Jimond under the basket leaving our 3 point shooters open and we could not hit the 3 ball. Antino missed wide open 3 balls, Noah, missed wide open 3 balls, and Josh did not score in 27 minutes of play. These guys are supposed to be our shooters, they are playing at home, they have open looks, and there is no reason for them to shoot the ball that badly. Luckily, Western Michigan shot 37% from the line. Kwan has really played smart this year and is having a great senior season. After he scored he pressured the inbounds play causing a turnover. He is also giving us some inside scoring. I think if our guards struggle away from the Jar we are going to have a hard time winning on the road. Hopefully, this will be their worst shooting game. Looking forward to Tuesday's game. Go Zips!

I do not think you have to reinvent the wheel. One of the best things I saw at our football game was having the brass section of the band or the drum line go to different parts of the stadium and perform during the timeouts. It was entertaining and fun to see the students perform close up. Is it an unwritten rule that our band can only perform at football games? Why not utilize our band during B ball and have the drum line or brass section at the game at do a 10 minute performance during half time or go around the jar on the track during a long media timeout. Our baton twirlers or flag team could also do something at a b ball game and it would not cost the U one cent. (I also have to mention the worst promotion at our football games was the play of the game. If we would be losing 40 to 0 and late in the game they had to show a good Akron play of the game late in the 4th quarter to the 400 fans in the stands who did not leave during the blowout.)

It is interesting to hear KD indicate that they found a way to get Jimond the ball off the Big Dog double team. Last year and earlier this year I would see Jimond standing out on the wing like he was Jake or Reggie and I thought that it was a waste to have such an athletic guy so far away from the basket. Great adjustment to have him cutting to the basket where Big Dog can get him the ball. He was 10 of 11 from the line. Hopefully, we finally have a guard/ small forward that can get to the foul line on a consistent basis.

Thanks, just played it and it was great. I remember the 1st time they played it at the Jar and people were loving it, especially the Kent part.

I tried to find the video on Youtube. Can anyone find it?

I think that is a great idea and I have also noted that the cheerleaders make a concerted effort to give the ball and t shirts to kids close to the court. It would be great if all the adults gave the the stuff to a kid sitting close by. I have seen it numerous times from my seats.

Great video, they even got the president of the University in at the 55 second mark, Akron B Ball No. 1 fan. However, my favorite is still the animated version where Zippy stomps or eats all the other MAC schools. Would love to see them play that again during a game.

I heard the post game where KD indicated that we have got to get better on Defense. However, this is the second home game in a row where our offense looked really good. We are firing on all cylinders when we have Big Dog scoring inside and making some great passes with 8 assist, Jimond scoring 23 with almost all of his points coming on layups, Josh made some clutch 3 pointers in the 4th quarter, and there is no question that Kwan is playing his best basketball right now as a senior. My only problem is when they went with a small lineup with Kwan at center. I think with had 3 guards, Aron Jackson at forward and Kwan at center. It did not work and we lost our 10 point lead. KD indicated that Hughs had a bad back. I still would have Poke playing center because Kwan is just not strong enough for the center position. I thought BG played really well and shot the ball well. I did not think our defense was that bad but that they shot the ball well. There was a new ref I never saw before I he call 3 fouls on Big Dog that were all questionable. Looking forward to Fridays game, go zips!

I am going with 13-5 and I think all the losses are on the road. This team seems to play well at home at we always seem to shoot the ball well at home. However, not sure this team has the mental and physical toughness to win on the road. We really have not been tested in close games and we still lack the "go to" guy when we need points in a close game. I think that this team has the potential to be really good but a lot of things have to happen for this team to win out in the MAC. First, Big Dog has to have a great year. He is one of the most talented big men we have had. It is rare that you get a guy that is big, quick for his size, coordinated and is a great passer. He could dominate the MAC this year. However, it bothers me when KD indicated that he is still playing himself into shape. In non conference play he is averaging over 14 points and shooting 68%. If he continues that type of play we could be very tough this year. Will Kwan have a great senior year? He is shooting over 40% from the 3 line. His defense and rebounding have been great in non conference play. He has hit 14 of 15 from the line but he should have more foul shots as an interior player. I was real impressed with his game in Creighton and if he can play that well on the road we will be tough. Also, can he not get down on himself when things do not go his way. If Kwan plays well with a little inside offense we could go far. Jimond Ivey. I like his game because he gives us an athletic guy who can score on the fast break and close to the basket. When Big Dog has the ball and all eyes are on him Jimond can move without the ball and get easy baskets. He is now on KD's list of players that can make a mistake and not get pulled out which means he is playing with a lot more confidence. Like to see him average in double digits without shooting the 3 ball. If he has a breakout year we will be tough to beat. Antino I think Antino could be our best one on one player with his step back jump shot. I like him at the point, especially when Big Dog is not in the game because he probably the best point guard at getting to the basket and finishing at the basket. Unfortunately, all of our guards are small and not particularly strong and need to play tough on the road because it will get physical. He turns the ball over more than Noah but that will happen when you are aggressive driving to the basket. He shot over 40% in non conference play both from the field and from 3 point. Noah, would love to see Noah play like he did his frosh year before the knee injury. He had a great game at Marshall. Can he bring that every night. He has to shoot the ball well for this team to be successful. Because of the double team on Big Dog he will get the open looks. Josh Williams. He could be our best shooter. No doubt he is the streakiest shooter we have. When he is on it is like he cannot miss. I like to see him move without the ball and come off picks for open threes. He needs to improve on attacking the basket and his defense. Has only taken 8 foul shots the entire non conference schedule. I think we have good backups with Jackson, Hughs and Dunn Martin. We played a pretty weak non conference schedule at home so hopefully the good shooting is not a result of weak competition. Looking forward to MAC play and winning the MAC.

I listened to the post game broadcast and learned that the tournament, Don Haskins, is named for the coach who the 1966 tournament starting 5 African American players. I saw the movie, Glory Road that is based on his book and it is a great sports movie although it fudges the facts a little to indicate he won the tournament his first year at the school. KD indicated that the team was treated extremely well by the hosts and that they would love to come back some day. I also did not realize that UTEP, the host school, brought in 2 mid majors, and a 4th weaker team, Md. so hopefully the home team would be in the finals against a mid major. It did not work out that way. I would like to know why they won't stream the games so fans to the schools can watch their team in the tournament. KD started Dunn Martin at the point in the first half and then moved Antino to the point in the second half with Josh at the 2. The change must have worked since we pulled away in the 2nd half and Antino won MVP. I think Antino plays better at the point. His frosh year he played some of his best basketball after Noah went down with his ACL tear. Although I know it won't happen, I wonder how this team would play if Antino started at the one and Noah at the 2? KD also mentioned how well Ivey is playing and that he scored all his points within 2 feet of the basket on back cuts to the basket and movement without the ball. That is exactly what this team need, a guy who can score easy points and does not rely on the 3 ball. KD made a great move putting Ivey in the starting lineup and letting him play through his mistakes.