Jump to content

Coppin State @ Akron


MaxZIP

Recommended Posts

What...no game thread for this exciting Saturday bout?

The Coppin State Eagles soar into the JAR riding a 1-13 record. Their resounding 103-50 victory over Goldey-Beacom the lone bright spot on what has been a dismal 2014 run. The Eagles have lost the majority of their games by greater than 20 points and are projected to be in the MEAC cellar. Enjoy the game with about 1,500 fellow season ticket holders and youth basketball group attendees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No.

Correction: BJ did play the first 6 minutes of the second half against Marshall. Not sure why BJ went to the locker room tonight and then returned but didn't play after that. He looked more confident and under control in his 5 minutes tonight before leaving the floor. Coach is bringing him along slowly. If BJ keeps progressing he may get more minutes later in games. Same with Aaron who's starting to get more minutes and playing more under control and with more confidence.

But the confidence award tonight has to go to Big Dog, who matched his career high with 13 points. He played more like he was at the end of last season. It's just one game, so we'll have to see if this gives him the boost he needs to start performing like this on a more regular basis.

It seemed as if the Zips had way too many turnovers, but it turns out they only had 10 while Coppin had 22. Coppin just plays a wild mayhem game that makes it appear that everything is out of control.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was amused by the comment in the Beacon article that Big Dog's poor conditioning was due to his off-season wrist injury. Apparently, one can't ride a bike or exercise with a broken wrist. Glad to see him get back in the swing tonight. 10 to 12 quality minutes from him every night could go a long way.

All in all, despite the point difference, I thought it was an ugly night for the Zips.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Zips are shooting a higher percentage of 3s because they lost their leading 2-point scorer (Tree) and the player who's picked up most of Tree's minutes (Kwan) is a better 3-point shooter than inside scorer. They could use a little better balance of inside vs. outside scoring, and that will require other players stepping up their inside games.

But the results are not as bad as they might seem. So far this season the Zips have hit 45.9% of their 2-point attempts and 35.3% of their 3-point attempts. That means for every 2-point attempt they're scoring .918 points vs. 1.059 points for every 3-point attempt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a big part of the issue with all the 3 point shooting last night was the fact that Pat was in foul trouble almost from the opening tip. I'll give Johnson credit, he played a nice game, but Pat has been our catalyst inside all year long. With him out it is only natural for us to become a little more reliant on the perimeter game.

BJ going down early didn't help either. He had been coming on as a bit of a slasher presence lately that we don't otherwise have on this team.

Overall I thought the Zips played reasonably well. Johnson easily had his best game of the season, wearing a path to the FT line all night. The Jackson's also showed up big when we really needed them. Aaron in particular brought some energy off the bench that we haven't seen from him yet.

Noah's injury was scary. I was actually somewhat surprised to see KD put him back in in the second half. My guess is he has a nice welt on his leg this morning.

Speaking of Noah, even before the injury he wasn't having his best game. 11 for Coppin State turned him over repeatedly. As I mentioned on here a few weeks ago, Noah has a tendency to over-dribble at times. He especially got himself in trouble dribbling with his back to the basket out beyond the 3 point line. Needs to learn from this one. The MAC has quite a few talented lead guards that will make him pay for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looked like Robotham was badly hurt. It was good to see him come back, though he had a rough night all around.

I had been thinking all long that his open court ball handling skills were, by far, his greatest asset to us right now. I was shocked to see him repeatedly get his pocket picked out beyond the top of the key.

I was really confused by the injury. I hope we learn more. I saw them waive for the Doctor, who was sitting behind me in the stands, as they were carrying him to the locker room (they wouldn't do that for a simple sprain or cramp). I was really concerned at that point, then see him riding the exercise bike next to the bench a few minutes later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little insight on Big Dog from the ABJ:

The “Big Dog” just might be rounding into form at the exact right time for the University of Akron men’s basketball team.

Isaiah Johnson, affectionately known by his nickname, put together his best performance of the season Saturday night to lead the host Zips to a 79-62 win over Coppin State. ...

... He made 3-of-3 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws, and cited increased confidence as a key reason for his play as he recovers from a broken wrist during the summer.

“I have been doing a lot more work during practice and after practice to get in better shape and try and bounce back from this wrist injury,” Johnson said.

“I feel I am finally starting to play like myself again.”

The 13 points matches a collegiate career-high and his 22 minutes are a season high.

“I am glad for him because he has been miserable,” UA coach Keith Dambrot said. “He knows he hasn’t played very well. He has struggled. He has got good ability. He just has to learn what it takes to be successful. We can use the injury as an excuse, but it goes beyond that. He is a better player than he has played here. ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much coverage do you think the Zips merit?

Can't pinpoint it, but more than exactly none from the local beat writer for sure. But it was a legitimate question rather than a gripe. Beaven wrote the article on Johnson rather than GT, which is why I was curious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had been thinking all long that his open court ball handling skills were, by far, his greatest asset to us right now. I was shocked to see him repeatedly get his pocket picked out beyond the top of the key.

I was really confused by the injury. I hope we learn more. I saw them waive for the Doctor, who was sitting behind me in the stands, as they were carrying him to the locker room (they wouldn't do that for a simple sprain or cramp). I was really concerned at that point, then see him riding the exercise bike next to the bench a few minutes later.

That little guard from Coppin really tormented him. I was very pleased to see Antino play well, and Malcolm Walters was a pleasant surprise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also do not like the obsession with the 3 point shot.

Like it or not, it is our meal ticket in post-Tree 2015.

McAdams is a 3-point specialist. As is Kretzer. As is Ibitayo. As is Evans. And Robotham, Jackson and Cheatham shoot it at a good clip too.

If we are going to make any noise in 2015, we need to take, and hit our open 3's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...