LoyalZIP

Nice read on the Zips and X. X looks a lot different from last year. He started to come into form a couple of weeks before the tournament, and he's really built on that. While his usage + volume have increased and his efficiency may have taken a dip, the increase in reliability and leadership outweighs that. His performance on Saturday was much like LCJ's at Buffalo in 2020 when Cheese was out and the Zips couldn't do much. X just kept firing away, taking smart shots and running the offense, and pulled out the win when it seemed like the Zips didn't really deserve it. I wish I could buy an X jersey, he is the identity of this team.

Nevada is really damn good. Just beat #25 New Mexico in 2OT. They’re rated a spot ahead of Kent in KenPom. If there were a signature nonconference win the Zips could’ve had, that would’ve been it. Damn.

The Zips are tough to beat when they hit their shots, that cannot be argued 🤪

In 21 minutes as a starter yesterday in a 30-point loss at UConn, Ali was 0-1 from the floor, turned it over once, and committed 2 fouls. No other stats for playing more than half the game. An all-time head scratcher.

Just analytics! Everyone’s favorite word in sports 😂

Pretty much. The worst shot in basketball is the long 2. A midranger is close behind that. Say you shoot 3-10 from three in a segment of a game. that's 9 points in 10 attempts. Zips average 32% collectively. Freeman takes probably 95%+ of his shots inside 8 feet using post moves, not jump shots. He shoots 58% from the floor. In ten trips, he would have to make 5-10 to equal and overcome the scoring output Akron would have during a 10 possession run of only 3s. Asking Sammy, Hank, Tavari, Nate, etc. to shoot 50% on shots they do not have in their arsenal is not realistic. Dan D'Antoni explained it well after they lost a game to Pitt a couple years back something like 112-106. A reporter was grilling him about not getting it inside and he said that an open corner three averages 1.2 points per attempt where as a contested layup or back to the basket post play averages 0.78. I don't know what those numbers look like for the 2023 Akron Zips. Over the last couple of years, they are certainly better than average with Freeman's usually smart and skillful play down there that had him leading the country in FG% a couple of years. This team has one guy that can make a midranger with regularity. While they can probably get better finishing at the rim from Tribble, smarter shots from Freeman, or the obvious higher % of wide open 3s made, I don't really see the offensive strategy being an issue, moreso the execution.

Taking a closer look at the numbers, and Sammy's improvement (so far) during MAC play jumps off the page. In week 1 (NIU, @BSU) he didn't attempt any 2-pointers and shot 2-7 from three that week. Since then, he is 7-8 on 2s with most if not all of them being layups. Overall in MAC play, he's 13-30 from three, 11-23 in the last four games. His total eFG% (accounts for the value of the 3-ball) is 69.7%. X, while carrying the team at times, has shot it just 27% from three in MAC play. His usage rate is higher than last year so it's not surprising to see that number take a dip, but I fully expect a progression back to the mean of 31-34% for X in the last 12 games of MAC play. Hopefully Sammy doesn't regress too far back toward his mean. Hankerson has the most room for shooting improvement--by far. He can certainly get trigger happy at times, but even on wide open shots, he's overtaken Hunter in that department. He's 28% from three in MAC games, and just 30% inside the arc. Tribble is having his best year as a Zip, and while it can be hard to see from the eye test at times, you can see him contributing on offense much more as of late. In MAC play, he's putting up 7 shot attempts per game, making 50% of them. The kicker, though, is that he gets to the foul line 4 times per game and is shooting 79% at the line. If you take a look at niche skills in this league, his ability late in games to get to the line, and hopefully continue converting has been huge and will continue to be huge. Freeman's FG% is down 8 points from last year's MAC numbers, but he's shooting and making wayyy more FTs. Gotta keep that up, but I have trouble believing he can shoot >80% at the foul line over a large sample.

I don't really have much of a problem with the offense. We've got shooters (whether they make them or not) in X, Hank, Sammy, and Tavari. They've got the green lights. Kobe has a decent green light too, but has limited minutes and hasn't made them consistently. Nate Johnson is an underrated shooter, he keeps his attempts in check, takes good ones, and hits 40%. Tribble is a straight up slasher who's still pretty good at getting inside and getting to the basket, though I feel he should have a higher success rate when he does get it inside. Watching the WMU game in particular, you can see the high basketball IQ of this roster when they truly run the inside-out. Freeman gets the ball and goes to work, or tries to. And the shooters on the perimeter move to get into position, inching away from defenders to create wide open looks. And Saturday, they were WIDE. OPEN. For example, this roster has put together a pretty underwhelming % overall from three, and they underperformed that by 10% on Saturday. If we're going to lose games because of missing wide open looks, so be it. At times over the past couple years, Groce would draw up plays for Trimble to get open mid-rangers and he hit them very consistently. In hindsight, they probably should've done that more often. X has a nice stroke off the dribble in the mid-range, and he creates some of that action. Sammy and Hank do not have that touch. Nate Johnson has shown he can hit a little post fadeaway here and there. Tavari can shoot a floater in the lane better than anyone on the roster, he's just been surprisingly unable to get his own scoring opportunities in league play. However, he's had a handful of games where he gets 4 or more assists, and he doesn't have a very high usage rate. The Zips haven't had a distributor like that too often over the years, and he could be really great. He's got 12 more opportunities here to step up his game a bit, if he can take some of the onus off X, the Zips will be in great shape for March. As it sits right now though, he will be in for a very brutal awakening on 2/3.

The running rumor during March last year, I heard it at the tournament, was Ali Ali’s girlfriend Sydney Freeman (Ball State guard) was going to leave BSU after the season and come to Akron. Shortly after the season, she entered the portal and it looked like the rumor was playing out. Then Ali transferred, and Freeman wound up going to Dayton (a bad A-10 team) and Ali to Butler. Both moved to lower positions instead of being the best players for the best MAC teams.

Larry didn’t do much good. But going with the proven Groce instead of the likes of Jim Christian, Rick McFadden, Dru Joyce, or Anthony Stewart (RIP) was both a no-brainer and a life saver post KD.

Obviously a long way to go in the season, but if the tournament started this week, the Zips would get NIU. Yes, that NIU who’s now 3-3 with their best player still injured.

It’s shaping up that way. Even Akron and Toledo have shown at times throughout the year that they may not be quite up to the level as expected. EMU being the worst team is not what I was expecting. I wasn’t quite as bullish on the Emoni Bates situation as a lot of people, but this has been shocking to watch. They’re dreadful. WMU has shown the most promise out of that group, maybe CMU when healthy. Buts it’s slim pickings. Half the league has coaches who’ve been there just 1-2 years. It’s as top heavy as we’ve seen in a long time.

From what I watched, the Zips looked really good for a lot of the game. Just too many big spurts for Toledo. It’ll be a fun tournament this year, this thing is wide open.

Hell of an effort. Really shouldn’t have been that close, but the Zips avoided another “Nevada.” Great defensive effort on the guards, and smart to put Norman in situations to foul. Greg came up big at the end when the Zips needed layups. Huge. Onto Miami. Go Zips!!!

Lamont Simpson screwing the Zips. A tale as old as time.

Wish I could see the points in the paint statistic. WMU getting tons of open looks inside. And they’re challenging the Zips on everything at the other end. Not feeling great about this one.

I try not to be too pessimistic in moments like these, but the Zips can’t shoot the ball today. Getting all the looks they want and not much inside. But they’re not falling at the rate they need to. If that trend continues, they would be lucky to escape with a win

Hankerson is in NIU mode. Trying to shoot himself out of a funk with bad, early in the shot clock shots. It all starts with D and rebounding, which has all of a sudden become some of the worst we’ve seen from UA all year.

Sammy’s effort on the boards has cost the Zips a couple possessions and points. Freeman struggling offensively, having a lot of shots altered and having trouble finding help. Tribble also not able to get deep inside. Hankerson letting it fly, mostly good shots not falling. Can’t really complain about the defense too much. X phenomenal despite a slow start shooting. Akron was a couple possessions on offense and defense from burying them early, just did not capitalize.

Poor shot-making has made its return. The Zips have manufactured an offense that should have close to 40 points in this game right now. WMU on the brink of taking a lead or close game into the break. So much harder to overcome on the road.

Yes! His jumper still looks a little off. Has been since he got back from the injury. But he’s creating and making smart plays, and the effort is top notch at always. He’s quickly moving up the ranks of my favorite Zips of all time.

X really letting it fly early. All 4 of them pretty open. Not many Freeman touches yet.

I predict a close game every time out, but I feel that more than usual today. They’ve got a good big and a great guard. Dangerous.

Just recently they’ve had: The embarrassment last year Pippen beating the s*** out of Justin Hamilton in the team hotel during the 2021 tournament Jaylin Walker getting in a bar fight to be suspended for senior night And also last year, an assistant coach’s nephew (Sullinger) got an OVI then played in the MAC title game shortly after And Pinky’s presser after the ass-kicking Groce put on them last year was pathetic. Took ZERO accountability for the incident(s) from last year or any of the prior junk. The inmates run the asylum over there. No matter what happens in 2023, I will forever feel better for what we have than that joke of a successful college basketball program. I’m proud to be an Akron Zip, now more than ever. Beat WMU.

They’re the real deal. And they cruised tonight. It’s going to be insane when they come to the JAR, there’s no doubt about that. They struggle most when teams get under their skin. Man, what a great rivalry!