1981 grad

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!!!

This was the best crowd of the season. The Jar was about 70%. I will give a shout out the students who did some cheers during the game that was something new. I heard post game that the players gave out leaflets to students trying get them to attend. I think this team is trending in the rights direction for attendance and trying to get butts in the seats.

I sit behind the Ohio Bench and during one of the time outs I saw Tevari had words with one of the Ohio players who I was told was Coach Boals son. When the ref called the T, I am speculating that Tevari may had said something to him or the bench and the ref called the T. I did not see it but after the T I saw this player then talk to the ref who called the T. It is a lot of speculation but it would not be the first time an Akron player got called for a T for something that was said or a motion to the opposing bench. I noticed that Tevari sat the rest of the game. Again, just speculation.

I thought this was Akron's best game. We shot the ball well, passed the ball well, a lot of back cuts and points in the paint. Without a true center, the lane is always open when Akron starts the offense. Also, because everyone can shoot the 3, it is difficult to drop back on the ball handler. As a result, we have been able to attack to lane and score inside. The defense was good but we still have difficulty with guarding bigger guys and this is the 2nd game in a row we have had a big disparity in foul shots. We also had a great crowd tonight with about 70% capacity. I never expected Amani Lyles to be as good around the basket as he has been the last few games. Really finishing at the basket. Great team effort.

I agree and actually know some of those people. However, not enough to make that big of a difference. I do not think any of the MAC teams are drawing like they were 12 years ago. Even if you are a fan, you can stay home and watch the game on ESPN. I think the large crowds for MAC basketball are things of the past. Even this year I wonder if Kent has a bad year whether we will draw good numbers for these games.

In 2013-2014 the Zips would fill the Convocation Center and we would play a regular season game before 11000 crazy fans in the Ozone and we had 5000 fans at the Jar. They had DJ Cooper and Kellogg and we had Zeke Marshall and Treadwell and Abreau. Both teams were loaded and at the top of the MAC and there was some great basketball games. Last year we drew 5500 fans at OU meaning the arena was at less than half capacity. My guess is that tonight our building will be around half capacity even with all the student promotions. I just don't see the passion for MAC basketball that we had a dozen years ago.

And I stand corrected. After my post, this thread has taken off not with basketball posts, but posts about bars and alcohol. Based on this thread, $2 alcohol should be standard before, during and after the game.

Maybe it should be a Bud Light to promote our $2 beer promotion. (LOL) I know this promotion is something, but I just find that discounted alcohol at a college game to be a lazy way to promote a product. The other promotion I remember was a bourbon or some other tasting behind the basket. We should be able to do better.

Thanks, Did not know there is more than 1 page. I will vote for him.

Difficult to vote for him since he is not listed. Whoops

This is the first game I felt like walking out of the building we won the "physicality" part of the game. We outrebounded Toledo and seemed to have more blocks and hustle plays and hustle rebounds. Tevari only scored 3 points but had 9 assists. He is clearly the best passer on the team and is clearly developing a chemistry with our centers on the pick and roll. Speaking of which, this is the first game I can remember where we scored multiple baskets on the pick and roll. It got so bad the Toledo players were arguing among themselves about who was supposed to cover the center rolling to the basket while their coach just stood there watching the argument. Toledo started out hot and we were cold from the 3 line shooting around 20%. With the help of the refs, Toledo had a 12 point lead at half. Really impressed how we came back the 2nd half. It seemed like we wore down Toledo with our deep bench and fast play. Finally, as people on this board have noticed. Scott has really elevated his game with several nice finishes at the basket. The players from last year, Lyles, Scott, Tevari and Johnson really showed how they have elevated their games from last year. I am hoping that is a trend that continues the rest of the year.

I was curious about the ref that called a quick t on Scott and then on Groce. Groce commented post game he did not believe Scott deserved the T and did not think he should have gotten one for his comment. I never saw the ref before so I was curious and looked him up, Kevin Brill, and he usually works PAC 10 games and did the NCAA tourney games last year so not a novice ref. However, he has made enemies in the PAC 10, especially from Utah State fans https://www.usufans.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=65945 I think Toledo had 20 more foul shots then we did. Not the best job by the refs tonight but we won so hopefully the whistles will go our way on Friday.

Thanks for sharing. Great article. I like his approach about coming off the bench. I think his presence has helped to elevate Tevari's game. Too early to think about frosh of the year in the MAC? I know we have had this discussion in the past, but when is the last time an Akron player won that award?