Lipscomb

[kreed5120]

Akron had a lot of good looks both around the rim and from 3 that they failed to capitalize off of. They need to stay alert more defensively and not give those easy back door cuts to the hoop.

[clarkwgriswold]

That was ugly. I love the 11-2 record, but that Lipscomb team was awful and we let them stay in the game. They'd better wake the h--- up, it only gets tougher from here.

I like it when we run the offense through the post, but we're falling into passing the ball inside then having 4 players just standing watching.

[ace]

Well it may have been ugly, but now that non-conference play is finished I have to say that I am definitely pleased with where we are right now. 11-2 is about as good as we could have hoped when looking at the schedule before the season. I did a little bit of research to compare this non-conference slate with past years, and Akron has never had as good of a record to end the non-conference as we did this year with 11-2. Here are the last five years:

2015-16: 11-2

2014-15: 9-4

2013-14: 8-5

2012-13: 9-4

2011-12: 8-6

And, Akron's current rank of 51 in Kenpom is higher than we have ever finished a season, with the exception of 2006-07. Even the 2012-13 team (which I consider to be the best Zips squad ever, slightly better than 06-07) was ranked down at 64.

All of which just shows me that this season has the potential to be very special and that this could be one of the best Zips teams ever, regardless of a lot of the pessimism and whining that seems to be flowing through this forum lately.

[phil]

After watching this game there is a lot to be pessimistic about. Robotham on defense is difficult to watch. He simply gets beat off the dribble and forces Big Dog to cover for him. Tonight they kept on running back doors and getting layups. Antino is better on defense but his shooting tonight was bad. I think he was playing better at the end of last season than he is playing now. He likes to shoot without running any offense. KD yells at him and he says "I know" and then does the same thing. Kwan is very inconstant on offense and his inside game often is missing. Took a three tonight without running any offense. Did not hit iron.

Big Dog once again saved us from defeat because he just dominated the paint. The only good thing about missing Pat and Kretzer is that we got to see more Jimond and Aron Jackson. They each contributed but they did not shoot well.

Everybody talks about cupcakes but this was a hard fought victory just like South Carolina State. Our offense is based upon great post play in the middle and outside shooting. Looking forward to the season but hope the team plays better than it did tonight. I think we only do as well as our guards and that means playing good defense.

[Sportsjunkie330]

Well it may have been ugly, but now that non-conference play is finished I have to say that I am definitely pleased with where we are right now. 11-2 is about as good as we could have hoped when looking at the schedule before the season. I did a little bit of research to compare this non-conference slate with past years, and Akron has never had as good of a record to end the non-conference as we did this year with 11-2. Here are the last five years:

2015-16: 11-2

2014-15: 9-4

2013-14: 8-5

2012-13: 9-4

2011-12: 8-6

And, Akron's current rank of 51 in Kenpom is higher than we have ever finished a season, with the exception of 2006-07. Even the 2012-13 team (which I consider to be the best Zips squad ever, slightly better than 06-07) was ranked down at 64.

All of which just shows me that this season has the potential to be very special and that this could be one of the best Zips teams ever, regardless of a lot of the pessimism and whining that seems to be flowing through this forum lately.

Please get out of the "what if" world of the Kenpom rankings. Those rankings mean absolutely nothing.

And, NO WAY is the 2012 - 2013 team better than the 06 - 07 team...no way. How about the '86 team?

Where is DIG when you need him?!

Edited January 3, 2016 by Sportsjunkie330

[ZachTheZip]

We dropped to 113 in the RPI after beating them. But we're protected to finish with an RPI of 50, which would be great.

In fact, the MAC is projected to be a top ten conference, with no team in the bottom third. This may be the MAC's best year in decades, and Akron should be at the very top.

[ace]

Please get out of the "what if" world of the Kenpom rankings. Those rankings mean absolutely nothing.

And, NO WAY is the 2012 - 2013 team better than the 06 - 07 team...no way. How about the '86 team?

Where is DIG when you need him?!

Like I said, its close, but I personally believe the 12-13 team was better...they were marred by the ugly end to the season but that 19 game win-streak was something unlike any Zips team has done before and that team was the closest we ever really got to actual national relevance, fleeting as it may have been.

And as for the use of statistical rankings, they are about as close as you can get to predicting and measuring something as unpredictable as college basketball. There's nothing "what if" about it, it's simply a tool used to measure and compare, and I believe that it's the best manner of doing so, as imperfect as it may be.

[ace]

We dropped to 113 in the RPI after beating them. But we're protected to finish with an RPI of 50, which would be great.

In fact, the MAC is projected to be a top ten conference, with no team in the bottom third. This may be the MAC's best year in decades, and Akron should be at the very top.

I feel like the MAC doesn't really have the top-tier, elite teams that it may have had in other years, but the distance between the top and bottom of the league is very narrow. Not many awful or great teams, but a whole lot of decent, solid ones.

[LoyalZIP]

If not for the Abreu thing the 12-13 Zips would have finished 15-1 in MAC play and gone to the tournament with a 27-6 record. Heck, throw in the Coastal game and Okie State games that Harney and Tree missed because of the clerical error and that team could have very well ended up with 29-30 wins and a 10-11 seed.

None of that matters but beating a sweet 16 participant that returns it's whole team 3 times (twice by 14+) in a season tops anything that the 06-07 team did.

NOW DO SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE SINCE THE LINHART DAYS AND WIN AT BUFFALO

[The Hip Zip]

Jimond Ivey = Ronnie Steward, Humpty Hitchens, Dakotah Euton and Josh Egner.

Kwan Cheatam = Chris McKnight

That is total BS.... Humpty and Chris could both play the game and to attempt to discredit Ivey after just a handful of games is simply a low blow, Crawl back under your rock and stay there.

[wadszip]

I think it has to be mentioned what a beast Big Dog has become. I think we are beginning to witness something special with him. He is playing smart and confident basketball, and with his size and intangibles, that makes him unstoppable at this level.

It's a bit premature, but if he continues to play with this type of confidence, no doubt in my mind can he find a spot on an NBA roster. Guys his size who aren't black holes offensively once they get the ball in the post are very rare.

Actually, we have two guys like that. While I'm not sure if Pat gets an NBA shot, he will carve out a nice pro career. Let's hope he can get healthy, because we saw what that combo Big Dog/Pat can be in the UCSB game.

[ZachTheZip]

Big Dog stepped up when we needed him most. But I don't think he's at the point where he can sustain that level for more than a few games. Not this year, at least.

[wadszip]

Big Dog stepped up when we needed him most. But I don't think he's at the point where he can sustain that level for more than a few games. Not this year, at least.

We'll see. Sometimes it just takes that opportunity for the light to click. It's clicking for him right now. He was also playing well (outside of FT shooting) with Pat playing. So this isn't out of nowhere. Obviously he isn't going to average 20 a game when Pat gets back, but I can see him giving a consistent 12-14 (he was basically already doing that if he was hitting his FTs earlier this year).

[breezy123]

That is total BS.... Humpty and Chris could both play the game and to attempt to discredit Ivey after just a handful of games is simply a low blow, Crawl back under your rock and stay there.

Chris McKnight played the game like his motor skills were a tad bit behind.

[ace]

I think the closest comparison for jimond right now is deji. Not much shooting (dejis came on later in his career), plays above the rim, quick enough to get to the rack and beat the defender, and very raw. If his career trajectory ends up like deji he will be very special in a few years.

As for kwan, i don't know if i can recall ever having a big man who consistently relied on their perimeter game as much as he does.

[clarkwgriswold]

I think the closest comparison for jimond right now is deji. Not much shooting (dejis came on later in his career), plays above the rim, quick enough to get to the rack and beat the defender, and very raw. If his career trajectory ends up like deji he will be very special in a few years.

As for kwan, i don't know if i can recall ever having a big man who consistently relied on their perimeter game as much as he does.

It's nice to have that weapon at his height, but he relies on it too much at times.

[clarkwgriswold]

Looking at last night's MAC scores, it could be worse. Miami lost to SC State and at least we didn't play Oberlin.

[LZIp]

I think the closest comparison for jimond right now is deji. Not much shooting (dejis came on later in his career), plays above the rim, quick enough to get to the rack and beat the defender, and very raw. If his career trajectory ends up like deji he will be very special in a few years.

As for kwan, i don't know if i can recall ever having a big man who consistently relied on their perimeter game as much as he does.

Not to write Ivey off, but I would expect more for as much as he was talked up on here.

[Valpo Zip]

Jimond is another victim of the system at Akron. Our offense is structured in a way that we need exclusively three point shooters and post players.

We don't drive up to the basket or have any type of plays for mid range shooters. Therefore, a guard, wing, small forward who cannot shoot the three (no matter how good at every other aspect of the game) is considered bad at Akron. Examples are Jimond, Ronnie Stewart, Deji (first 3 years), Melo, etc...

[LoyalZIP]

Jimond is another victim of the system at Akron. Our offense is structured in a way that we need exclusively three point shooters and post players.

We don't drive up to the basket or have any type of plays for mid range shooters. Therefore, a guard, wing, small forward who cannot shoot the three (no matter how good at every other aspect of the game) is considered bad at Akron. Examples are Jimond, Ronnie Stewart, Deji (first 3 years), Melo, etc...

Tell me what aspects Jimond is good at right now. His thing is attacking the basket and he's not doing that with much success right now. If you can't drive, shoot, or defend well, it doesn't matter where you play or what system you play in.

[zipnetter51]

Clarkg posted that Lipscomb was awful-we must be watching different games-on offense they were quick,disciplined,and could shoot the 3-if not Big Dog,we get beat. Aaron J had a nice game and is improving. In fact, we were better with him in and Kwan out. I know I have mentioned it previously,but Kwan has not improved-if anything, he has regressed. He plays soft,gets muscled out by smaller players and is turnover prone. I watched in pre game warmups and he was just practicing shooting3s-we have plenty of 3 pt shooters-he needs work on tip-ins and layups and quit trying to be so fancy. Boy do we ever miss Jake's grit and rebounding-hope he will be ready for Buffalo. I too see some Deji in Ivey,but I believe he will develop faster.

[clarkwgriswold]

Clarkg posted that Lipscomb was awful-we must be watching different games-on offense they were quick,disciplined,and could shoot the 3-if not Big Dog,we get beat. Aaron J had a nice game and is improving. In fact, we were better with him in and Kwan out. I know I have mentioned it previously,but Kwan has not improved-if anything, he has regressed. He plays soft,gets muscled out by smaller players and is turnover prone. I watched in pre game warmups and he was just practicing shooting3s-we have plenty of 3 pt shooters-he needs work on tip-ins and layups and quit trying to be so fancy. Boy do we ever miss Jake's grit and rebounding-hope he will be ready for Buffalo. I too see some Deji in Ivey,but I believe he will develop faster.

They are 4-13. I'll stick with awful.

[Sportsjunkie330]

And as for the use of statistical rankings, they are about as close as you can get to predicting and measuring something as unpredictable as college basketball. There's nothing "what if" about it, it's simply a tool used to measure and compare, and I believe that it's the best manner of doing so, as imperfect as it may be.

The Kenpom rankings are based 100% on what if.

[akronzips71]

The biggest takeaway from the "pre-season" is that indeed Big Dawg can play.

In fact, he appears to be out scoring Zeke at a similar point in his career.

With Pat back in, they will be tough to defend in the Mac. I like the new BD and his more aggressive play.

[kreed5120]

I like Big Dog, but comparing him to Zeke is unfair. Zeke contributed offensively, but where he truly shined was defensively and in particular shot blocking.