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1981 grad

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Everything posted by 1981 grad

  1. No Kretzer and no Pat at the end of the game. First time in crunch time for Aron Jackson. He had a nice three. Could have used the 2nd free throw. KD decided to go small with no center and it almost worked. It is obvious we are going to struggle on the road no matter what. Did not think NIU played that well. We did not shoot the ball well and live and die by the three. We had a difficult time against the zone and Pat and Big Dog had a difficult time scoring in the paint. Ibitayo did not have a good finish to the game and it hurt us. Missed a couple of free throws and a 3 at the end of the game.
  2. I think that the young guys always seem to struggle on the road: Aron Jackson, no defense on the pick and roll, standing still instead of going for a rebound, and then an air ball for a three. Antino Jackson, Not much except a three without running the offense. With Big Dog and Pat in at the same time, Pat will struggle. Pat turns into Big Dogs defender. When Pat has the ball Big Dog needs to get out of the paint. I agree, would like to see more Deji. I like Reggie's hustle attacking the offensive boards and some nice passes inside. As bad as we played in the first half, only 7 down. It could be a lot worse. Hopefully we can pull things together in the second half.
  3. Reggie has recently been a non factor until his break out game on Saturday. He hit the offensive boards, went inside to score four baskets being 4 of 4 from inside the three line, and was 6 of 9 from the 3 line. There is no way he will keep shooting that high percentage from the 3 line but he can keep scoring. I am hoping to see him hit double figures tonight. The Zips need another consistent scorer and Reggie would fit the bill. We need to win on the road and that is always difficult with a young team. I wonder if KD will shorten the bench to get this victory playing the guys that have experience on the team.
  4. Since he is not on the permanent roster, gives a new meaning to "Rent-A-Center"
  5. It is weird looking at Ohio University being winless in the MAC when only 3 years ago they went to the sweet 16 and were a jump shot away from defeating No. 1 ranked North Carolina. (And we were a Brien Walsh jump shot from beating OU in the MAC finals) Since then John Groce moved on to the fighting Illinois, Jim Christian then takes over and stays for 2 years and moves to Boston College. Ohio University is on their 3rd coach in 4 years. Not a recipe for success. Makes me appreciate the stability we have in our program with KD. He certainly has done a great job this year with all the turmoil in our program with Harney, Tree and Alex.
  6. I noticed last game that Reggie was hitting the offensive boards. It is great how competition for minutes can get a player to elevate his game. Reggie has basically been a sub this year and lately averaging 15 minutes a game as Aaron Jackson and BJ Gladden have been getting more minutes. I think it is amazing that a 15 minute player scored 31 points. He was perfect from 2 point land making 4 of 4 and 6 of 9 from 3 point land. I really like the fact that he is taking shots inside the arc and going to the offensive boards. He played 23 minutes tonight and Gladden and Jackson only combined for 11 minutes. I wonder if this will carry over to the next game. If Reggie can turn into a consistent double digit scorer this will really help the team. Although this team almost choked up this game, you must give credit to Evans for hitting the big 3 and Biji for making foul shots at the end of the game. The crowd was really into the game and I thought it was great with the Reggie chant when he hit 31.
  7. It was a great game to watch. I think that at this point in the season Deji and Pat are huge surprises on how well they are playing. Last year they did not even start and on many nights were hardly in the game. Now they are leading this team. Deji had a tremendous layup and got fouled. Pat was once again perfect from the field. I have been very critical of this team because I believe they take to many 3 point shots. I noticed tonight the Robotham was getting closer to the basket when taking his jump shot and he was drilling them. I wish that the others would understand that every jump shot does not have to be a 3 pointer. This year shooting threes is not our strength. The bald headed ref called the worst travelling call of the year. Our guard was standing still and got called for travelling. I wish I knew what the ref saw but it was weird. Looking forward to Saturdays game.
  8. I thought that after the first half when we shot the 3 ball well and still were losing by three points that we were going to be in trouble. We lost the game on the boards where we were outrebounded, at the foul line where they shot twice as many foul shots, and on defense where they penetrated the middle coming around the screens. I still think that KD needs to do something about this teams love affair with the 3 ball. Now even Pat is shooting the 3 ball. I can't wait to see big dog launch a 3. We are not a good 3 point shooting team and only shot about 30% from the 3 line last night. Although there were complaints about the refs, this team is not going to draw fouls when we settle for the outside shot about half the times we run our offense. The good news is that we only had 10 turnovers and big dog and Pat looked good when we got them the ball. Evans also had a good game. With a young team, any games on the road will be a struggle. Hopefully, we can return to form at home next week.
  9. In response to skip-zip, I am not speaking for KD, but merely repeating what he said during the pregame interview before the Western Michigan game when talking about the large number of 3 point shots taken at the Coppin State game. I agree that every team should strive to score points from the paint. I think this team would be better when we run our offense and try to score from the paint before shooting the 3 ball.
  10. We have lost our only 2 road games this year against Penn State and North Dakota. Toledo is an athletic and talented team. We are very young and inexperienced. I believe that Toledo destroyed us last year at our place. This will be a difficult game. However, we played really well against Western Michigan and got contributions from Big Dog, Aron Jackson and B.J Gladden who were not contributing in the early part of the season. Pat and Big Dog dominated the inside against Western Michigan and if that trend continues I think we can play with any team in the MAC. KD indicated that he prefers to play inside out meaning he prefers to score points from the paint. At the Western Michigan game we were able to score from the paint. Even Reggie and Kretzer scored from the paint! I like the defense Evans has been playing and hopefully he can shut down Juice Brown. I think we need a good start to the game to be competitive and no long scoring droughts that seem to be our Achilles heal.
  11. It was the best I have seen the Zips play both offensively and defensively. Pat had another great game and was perfect from the field. He dominated the middle. Big Dog also played well from the inside. It was great seeing Kretzer make moves to the basket. He had a dunk and a layup. (first time I remember Jake ever dunking the ball) Reggie also had a nice move to the basket. These guys will be great if they realized that there is more to the game than shooting the 3 ball. Kretzer missed his first 4-5 shots. What bothered me is that there was a two on one in the first 5 minutes of the game and instead of going to the basket he went to the 3 line and missed an open 3. We had some great blocks! Aron Jackson played great. I hope we see the same team in Toledo.
  12. As a season ticket holder, I am tired of seeing the same teams over and over again. Who wants to watch the same movie 10 times. As a general rule, if I have no idea where the school is located, it is a cupcake: Bluffton?
  13. You are correct in indicating that 3s do not draw fouls. Reggie has played 233 minutes and has only taken 5 foul shots. Kretzer has played 288 minutes and has taken only 18 foul shots making 17. Deji has played 245 minutes and taken 45 foul shots. That is a good reason to have Deji on the floor at the end of the game. We are ranked 256th in foul shots attempted.
  14. Are we proficient at shooting the 3 ball? I looked up the stats for this season and we rank 140th in 3 point shooting percentage. We do not have one player ranked in the top 100 in shooting the 3 ball. And remember we have played some really weak teams and shot a lot of open 3 pointers. However, we are ranked 27th in taking shots behind the 3 line. Coppin State is ranked 2nd in taking 3 point shots so shooting the 3 frequently is not necessarily a recipe for success. I do not have a problem when we shoot a 3 after we run our offense and a player has a wide open 3 or we move the ball well on transition and we shoot a wide open 3. I like Deji's 3 point selection. He takes his time shooting and only shoots the 3 when he is wide open. However, our team loves the 3 ball no matter what the situation. Last night Antino dribbled down the floor, had room and shot a 3 a couple feet behind the 3 line without running any offense and misses badly. DK yanked him and talked to him. However, Kretzer shoots a 3 four feet behind the 3 line, misses badly and he stays in. McAdams first 3 touches were 3 points shots and misses. Antino is thinking why is it ok for them to shoot the 3 and not me. I think the goal of any offense should be a layup or dunk. I believe players should develop their game and that means learning to attack the basket, learning a pick and roll or slip screen, or working for high percentage shots. I believe players who are 3 point specialist never develop their games and never reach their potential. Have Kretzer and McAdams improved their offensive game since their freshman year? I saw the same lack of development with Nitro several years ago. His senior season was his worst season. I think this team has a lot of potential considering our youth. I think Kwan could be a 15-20 point scorer his senior season if he develops his game. He has length, athleticism, a good first step and a good shot. After Lebron lost the championship in Miami, he went to KD and asked him for advice. KD told him you are relying too much on the 3 ball. Develop your inside game and your post moves. Lebron followed his advice and the rest is history. I think that relying on the 3 ball sends the wrong message to our young players and that we should work on penetration and scoring easy baskets even if it may not be our strength at the present time.
  15. I also do not like the obsession with the 3 point shot. I watched the team warm up before the second half. The entire team practiced 3 point shooting. Not one of them stepped inside the 3 point arc. The only exception was big dog who practiced his hook shot. The second half started with 6 straight 3 point shots. We went 0 for 6. None of the shots even hit the inside of the rim. The only good thing was that the bricks led to long rebounds that we were able to snag on a couple of occasions. Kretzer took one 3 pointer 6 feet behind the 3 point arc. It wasn't even close. When KD was asked about the first 6 shots he indicated that they were good shots. Further, since we are hitting about 35% of our 3 point shots, that the percentages will indicate that they will go in. Kretzer and McAdams are getting a lot of minutes and that is their game, shooting the 3 ball. As long as KD thinks this is good, this team will live or die with the 3 point shot. I think it is one thing to shoot a wide open 3 after several passes or in transition when you are wide open but a lot of our 3 pointers are off the dribble when we really haven't attempted to run any offense or try to get a good shot. Considering the Big Dog was finally playing well, I would like to see more of an inside game. I also like how Gladden and Jackson can penetrate. I hope they get more minutes. KD indicated that Gladden got hurt and that is why he did not play more tonight.
  16. I agree with you 100%. I am also a season ticket holder and I am amazed that there is no half time entertainment. At the Marshall game, there were 3000 people in attendance and only one concession stand open. The line was 20 deep at half time. You complained about the giveaways. Does this mean you did not like the Proenza bobblehead?
  17. I do not know how this team will do in the MAC. This is a very inexperienced team and many of these guys did not play big minutes last year. I believe this could be our worst year in the MAC. If Pat does not have a good game, Big Dog has not been much help off the bench. Kwan also has not been shooting the ball well the last 3 games against division 1 competition. I believe he needs to attack the basket more and stop settling for a 3 ball. He has the length and athleticism to be real good going to the hoop. The good thing is his defense and rebounding have improved the last few games. I would like to see Kretzer do more on offense. He has not produced offensively this year and I am surprised to see him on the floor at the end of the game. I like Evans and his defense. I would rather have him in at the end of the game rather than Kretzer.
  18. After watching the first 10 minutes, it was hard to believe this was a division one game. We had only 2 baskets the first 8 minutes. That has happened more than once this season. Gladden really looked good with his start. Nice to see somebody breaking towards the basket and getting some nice rebounds. He has really improved since the tournament. McAdams shot really well from the 3 point line. Kretzer had another poor scoring game. He missed an easy layup. I am really impressed with Evans this year. Playing tough defense and just seems to always be in the right place. Ibi had a great block from behind. When opening I thought we would win if the big guys played well. Pat was a beast on the boards. Made some great shots in a crowd. We looked more aggressive than the Heard and outrebounded them by 10. Stupid coaching decision. Marshall: When we shot foul shots had 2 players all the way down at the other end of the court. Late in the second half Ibi got an offensive rebound because they did not have anyone behind him. No idea what their coach was thinking. Cost them 2 points. Akron: Putting Jackson in the corner. We pass it to him and he gets trapped in the corner. He is not big enough to play the wing and not experience enough to get rid of the ball quickly. Post game. Second post game in the row where could not hear KD. Only in Akron.
  19. Marshall arrives tomorrow. Will this be 3 losses in a row for the Zips and back to back home losses? (I do not count Bluffton as a win since they are division 3). When is the last time we had back to back home losses against division one opponents? Marshall lost to both South Carolina and Penn State. However, they played West Virginia tough and only lost by a few points. They are 4-7 but have played better competition. I believe we can win but everyone must play well. When I looked at the box score at North Dakota I noticed that they only had seven players and only played 5 the majority of the game. However, we still got beat. Not a good sign. We need a big game from our big guys, Pat, Big Dog, and Kwan. If we do not score from the paint I believe things could get ugly. Our outside shooting has been streaky at best. I wonder if B.J. will get a start. Hopefully, we can get a win to prepare us for the MAC that starts next week.
  20. Anyone that thinks a new arena will bring in more fans only has to look at the football stadium to realize that this is "fools gold". The thought back then was that better facilities, better football players, better record, and more people. After producing a terrible football team for 3 straight years with coach I, the football games are scarcely attended. Add a schedule with Tuesday night games, and it is a ghost town. A new arena will not increase attendance. I would bet the last 5 years the attendance was worse with the new stadium than when we played at the rubber bowl. A couple of years ago the basketball team went up to students and asked them to attend the games. The word of mouth brought more students. KD has had a good basketball team on the floor and we have had good attendance the last 7 years. Having a good team will increase attendance. The winning streak a couple of years ago increased our attendance. The best way to increase our attendance is to put a great product on the floor. When you go to the movies, do you have a great time if the movie stinks but the theatre is brand new with state of the are seating? When our soccer team was great, attendance was great. When we became average, the attendance became average. If the team starts stinking, the attendance will stink even though we have great a great soccer field. My renovation for the JAR would be better scoreboard, better sound system and better seating for general admission.
  21. As big as Big Dog is he could throw a mean pick or screen, especially up high. However we never use him that way. He is always down low on the post. Anyway, most of our players have no idea how to use an off the ball screen anyway. It is rare. We use a double screen as part of our set offense but that is to get the ball to a guard who is moving away from the basket. I think we need to be creative to score points this season.
  22. I only saw the 2nd half but it was interesting to see Big Dog struggle and throw up some wild shots 5 feet from the basket. We need him to get in shape and be good or this is going to be a long season. I heard KD on the post game show and he said that we have to start playing inside out and not the other way. That is a good thing to hear because us playing a perimeter game is not going to work. Gladden was also on the post game show and when asked about his talents he indicated that he likes to get to the basket. He is a big body and we can use somebody with some toughness. He looked terrible during the tournament but hopefully will be a contributor when we get into the MAC. KD also indicated that the guys are not in shape. I do not understand that statement. How can guys not be in shape when we are a quarter into the season? He also indicated that the guys are not playing well in practice. So the poor play in the two losses is easier to understand. We looked better in the tournament than we are playing now. Hopefully, they can turn things around.
  23. How do you argue with success? I have watched Akron basketball for 20 years. The last 10 have been far better than the previous 10. Remember, Akron did not even make the NCAA tournament since Higgins was the coach back in the 80s. I have seen a lot of great basketball at the Q with KD as the coach. This year he should have had 2 or 3 seniors that would have made this team very competitive, Alex?, Tree and Harney. I do not believe it was KD's fault that these 3 players did not finish at Akron. Also, numerous other players have transferred to division 2 programs when it was obvious that they did not have division one talent. I do not believe that is unusual in a competitive division one program. We have benefitted from players transferring from other programs when they did not get playing time. I judge success for a MAC team by making the NCAA tournament or even the NIT. By that standard we have had a successful program under KD. I went to Detroit 2 years ago and realized that for us to win a NCAA game we will need an exceptional athletic team that plays well under pressure. There is always hope for the future based on our young team.
  24. It is difficult to win on the road and we are not a very experienced team. The announcers thought this was a big upset but after watching Saturdays game I did not expect to win tonight. I only saw the second half but that was enough. Big Dog keeps missing easy layups at the end really hurt. One time he used his body to get position on the smaller defender and scored. He should have been doing that all night. Pat had his worst game. Ibi had some nice drives at the end of the game. We need him to drive to the basket the entire game. He is our most athletic player. It was interesting that we made our comeback without Kwan or Pat in the lineup. We also lost at the end without Pat or Kwan. Rebounding at the end of the game was another problem. You cannot let the other team rebound a missed foul shot with less than 2 minutes remaining. This team needs to get better and attack the basket and rebound or it may be a very long season.
  25. KD cannot play big dog and Pat at the same time. Pat needs space to work his shot and Big Dog is taking up that space. Glad to see KD sub right after Pat lost the ball.
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