LoyalZIP

The “Greg Tribble Criticism” alarm/bat signal went off again

Reminded me quite a bit of this game: https://gozips.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20/north-carolina-central/boxscore/6154

That’s putting it lightly. Growing pains in Ypsi as well.

Gotcha. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing Irons again this year.

According to who? That is definitely not what I heard.

Long way to go for this group. Far from impressed. But it was nice to pick up a win. What amazes me is that the Zips looked elite against SDSU, and very shaky since then. Definitely not the timeline you would expect. I’m a big fan of Hankerson, he’s all over the place at every end, and though he didn’t shoot it great, they will wind up falling and he’s got to keep letting it fly. Hunter? Oooooof. Of course he finally makes a 3 and it’s wiped away by a very inconsistent 3-second call. The dunk was sweet, his handles aren’t great, but he’s very long and can be an effective player inside the perimeter. He could be our key to doing something special. But he’s got to step it up. Nice game for Nate Johnson too, seems to be getting up to speed a bit. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Go Zips!

Jinx! Just started a new thread while you put this one up. Mods please take mine down, thanks! There's a game this week! The Zips are in Buffalo on Saturday at 3:30pm on CBS Sports. Akron has not won in Buffalo since 2005. After winning the first 8 games in the all-time series against the Bulls, Akron has lost 10 of the last 13. Buffalo football has always held a very special place of sadness in my heart, as they closed the Rubber Bowl with a 4OT win over the Zips, and that was the loss that seemed to start the program's downward spiral. The 2022 Buffalo Bulls started off the season looking like a bust. Following losses to Maryland, Holy Cross, and Coastal Carolina, they rattled off 5 straight wins starting with a blowout win at EMU, and concluding with a come-from-behind win over Toledo. However, they then went to OU and got hammered, and didn't survive their trip to CMU last week. The two-headed rushing attack of Ron Cook and Mike Washington has continued the Buffalo tradition of being a dominant running team. Rutgers transfer QB Cole Snyder has run the show well, throwing 14 TDs to 7 INTs. They've also got a tough defense. The Bulls have racked up 16 sacks, picked off 9 passes, recovered 11 fumbles, and have deflected 40 passes. The Zips have their work cut out for them. I'm not sure they'll even have a chance if they can't get the run game going. This is a very opportunistic defense that could feast on Akron's QBs. Buffalo is a 15-point favorite.

Flushes take down Portland at home by 12. Miami gives Georgia a scare behind 34 from Mekhi Lairy.

I’d like to see a healthy amount of Kobe Mitchell, Tavari Johnson, Nate Johnson, and Amani Lyles in this game. A 30-point lead with 10 to go would be great, or throw them out there early and see if they can win it for you. This group has a lot of work to do before a tough trip to the Caymans. I don’t expect that to happen, but I wouldn’t be mad if I did. The top 7-8 have a lot of work to do themselves.

That $60 season ticket has never been so valuable. In addition to UA failing to market its own program, they can now fail to market what is unquestionably the highest quality home schedule they’ve had in a very long time. Any decent basketball fan should be clawing to get into the JAR to see the likes of Toledo, EMU (feels weird to say after so long), Kent, and OU and UB for a great rivalry environment. If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it…

The Zips got into the top 16, taking the final spot. They will host the winner of Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland State on Sunday.

Corcoran on a leave of absence. Not sure when she’ll return. Zips come back to win it in dominating fashion in the 2nd half! 85-69 the final. They held UD scoreless for about an 8 minute stretch from the third quarter into the fourth. Camp looked excellent running the show. Ball State transfer/Ali Ali girlfriend Sydney Freeman now plays for the Flyers. They were picked 10th of 14 in the preseason A10 poll. After a ton of turnovers in the first quarter, the Zips only had a handful the rest of the entire game. Zips finish with 23 assists on 28 made field goals, shooting 53% from the field. More of this please!

Pretty much. But they are saying the same thing about Hunter, he (like Trimble) catches fire in practice but it’s not carrying over at all.

I’m as far from a soccer expert as there is on this board. Please keep that in mind. I have left Lee Jackson field disappointed before, but rarely embarrassed like I did today. Last Sunday, I left happy to win the regular season title, but incredibly uneasy about the upcoming match. Though the Zips had some life late, it felt like they were doomed right from the jump. Props to WMU, that is a tough squad who is insanely focused at doing their job at each position. Our emotional coaching staff, all of them, constantly scream at the officials. Not to say a lot of staffs don’t, but you saw today how that made its way onto the pitch. We have possibly gone from fringe top 10 seed in the tournament to now hosting a hungry Santa Clara type opponent without two of our most important offensive players because they played overly emotionally and were stupid. I felt like I was watching the aforementioned Hartwick. To me, that is a huge breakdown of the program’s championship culture, especially if you do drop that first game. I do apologize to the regular Zip soccer die-hards if this is upsetting. I have a lot of respect for Jared and the staff, but I have much, much higher expectations than the crap I saw today.

The thing that worries me about Hunter: He kills it in practice! That’s a verified fact from Groce and those close to the program. It hasn’t even come close to materializing through 2 games. Not time to panic yet, but he must be better. Dailey and Trimble were the same way, which is giving me early season PTSD. I talked to someone in the travel party earlier today (same person who told me before he played that Trimble was the best shooter to ever step foot in the JAR), I straight up asked if Hunter was another Maishe Dailey, and this person said that’s it’s a possibility. He absolutely brings it in practice, but has looked completely broken in games. Too early still, but not looking great.

I’ve got a John’s Next Endeavor thread in the can and ready to go!

Barely D-1 is a wild stretch for Clarke and Tribble. While I agree their games should be further along offensively, they’re both really important and impactful players who’ve done a lot of winning here, including crucial plays during the championship season. Like Groce says, you need to be an NBA All-Star in your role. That will never be 3-pt sharpshooting for them. The 3-pt shooting isn’t something I’m too worried about. X, Hankerson, and supposedly Hunter, and sprinkle in a few other guys and it will figure itself out. I’m concerned about the lack of size and length. I wouldn’t call UA a small team, but they’re certainly below average, and they lack a big rim protector. Sammy Hunter could fit in that role, but I’m quite disappointed in what I’ve seen from him so far. That jumper looks like the same <30% jumper from Ole Miss. And when you’re playing a gigantic team like that, your stretch 4 must make shots. If he, X, and Hank would have each made another one or two in the first half, we may not have been so desperate looking in the second half. It’s a tough and disappointing loss for sure. And when you look down the line in the MAC, this is not going to be an easy feat at all. It’s going to be a battle for the next 4 months for this crown. Groce & Co. have their work cut out for them.

Also, Mike Dawson would’ve been a nice help tonight. Next man up, just gotta find out who that is.

Ouch. I was not expecting that at all. A wake up call for all of Zips nation, and this new look team. If nothing else, a nice reminder that we ain’t won $h** yet. I know it’s a much better opponent, but that felt very Fordham-y. Winnable game, have it pretty close and closer than it should be for a while before just getting blitzkrieged. Gotta use the tune up game with Morgan State to right the ship a bit. We can’t go 0-fer in the Caymans. No reason this team should. Enjoy your weekends folks, Go Zips!

This team has a long way to go. Which is okay. But frustrating to see a group like this who is capable of much, much better.

Yikes.

Hunter is broke. Great defender though, we can work with that.

Today is also the 5 year anniversary of Groce’s opening game as the head coach of Akron against Cleveland State! I’ll never forget Malcolm Duvivier posterizing a CSU defender. That was the start of something special, it was hard to see at times but I always knew we’d get to this point. Go Zips!!!!!!

Will Chicago State join us in the Big East?!?! 😂

Zips wearing the Golds tonight