Zips vs. Western Michigan- 1/6/17

[clarkwgriswold]

The Broncos come to the JAR with a 4-9 record.  Tough to tell what to expect here.  They had respectable losses to Villanova (76-65), Washington (92-86) and UCLA (82-68), but got absolutely throttled by CSU (85-62) and OU (89-58).  They've also had a player arrested for murder, which might be a minor distraction in the middle of a season.

 

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/2016/12/12/joeviair-kennedy-murder-western-michigan/95348646/

[Blue & Gold]

I watched the first 15-minutes of the WMU -v- OU game.  OU got out to an early lead & never looked back.  Pretty boring game, really.  

 

WMU has more goofy-looking white guys.  Where's Hawkins keep finding them?

[mivid12]

what does skin color have to do with it?

[K92]

52 minutes ago, mivid12 said:

what does skin color have to do with it?

That's been a running Western joke for years.

[skip-zip]

Remember that one Frankenstein-looking guy played there recently?  And then transferred out to a bigger school?

[MDZip]

5 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

Remember that one Frankenstein-looking guy played there recently?  And then transferred out to a bigger school?

You would likely be referring to Matt Stainbrook who transferred to Xavier (and did OK there). My nephew went to Xavier and said he seemed like an OK guy.

[skip-zip]

5 minutes ago, MDZip said:

You would likely be referring to Matt Stainbrook who transferred to Xavier (and did OK there). My nephew went to Xavier and said he seemed like an OK guy.

 

You're right.

 

 

[K92]

What's white got to do, got to do with it?

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Blue & Gold]

Sophomore guard Dimond Ivey embracing role in starting lineup

[kreed5120]

I feel this Akron team has the ability to be as good, if not better, than any of the Akron teams that I've witnessed. When they're moving the ball around, their offense looks unguardedable unless you have a guy big enough and strong enough to guard Big Dog 1 on 1. In order to reach this potential we need to improve our perimeter defense and need 1, preferably 2, guys to step up to provide us more quality minutes off the bench in the post.

 

Not bad for a team that many deemed the "worst Dambrot team ever" after the YSU game.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Dr Z]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Sophomore guard Dimond Ivey embracing role in starting lineup

 

“Jimond is living off of Dog, they’re going to come off of Jimond because they don’t think he’s a very good shooter, which he’s better than he acts, and then they pay the price because Dog’s a really good passer.” --KD

 

Simple, but a great point. The pass by BD and the dunk by Ivy was my favorite play against BG.

I always hoped for Zeke (and teamates) to be more successful in similar situations. Lets hope BD and Ivey (and others) continue. 

 

 

Channel: 221CBS Sports Network HD tonight - Dave Ryan (PxP) and Steve Wolf (Analyst)

[kreed5120]

16 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

 

The pass by BD and the dunk by Ivy was my favorite play against BG.

 

 

It was a tremendous play and all, but what about that play where Martin pulled the spin move to shed 2 defenders then oop'd it to Poke for the slam?

 

2 highlight reel plays in the same game!!! What happened to the non exciting brand of basketball Akron team? 

[clarkwgriswold]

24 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

 

“Jimond is living off of Dog, they’re going to come off of Jimond because they don’t think he’s a very good shooter, which he’s better than he acts, and then they pay the price because Dog’s a really good passer.” --KD

 

Simple, but a great point. The pass by BD and the dunk by Ivy was my favorite play against BG.

I always hoped for Zeke (and teamates) to be more successful in similar situations. Lets hope BD and Ivey (and others) continue. 

 

 

Channel: 221CBS Sports Network HD tonight - Dave Ryan (PxP) and Steve Wolf (Analyst)

I like it as an alternative to always kicking it out for a three.  Ivey's developed a recognition of when he's being left alone and slashing to the low post when they come to double Big Dog.

[Blue & Gold]

6 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I like it as an alternative to always kicking it out for a three.

Big time.  After a decade of pass-pass-pass-pass-pass-pass-launch-a-three, it's so refreshing to have a little variety.

[ZachTheZip]

This game should be a blowout win. Then again, I thought the same thing about BG. Need to defend better and continue working in Ivey and adding a new dimension to the offense beyond Big Dog and a bunch of three point shots.

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I like it as an alternative to always kicking it out for a three.  Ivey's developed a recognition of when he's being left alone and slashing to the low post when they come to double Big Dog.

 

That's the one offensive element that I was waiting to see develop.   We have a guy like Ivey out there (along with Antino) who can get to the basket quickly.  Utilizing that out of the Big Dog double-team adds another element to our offense.  

 

So, as many of us have mentioned, the key to this conference season may be if anyone has a big man who can handle Big Dog on their own.  

[LZIp]

The success of the team really revolves around Big Dog. Pray that he stays healthy.

[skip-zip]

11 minutes ago, LZIp said:

The success of the team really revolves around Big Dog. Pray that he stays healthy.

 

And avoids getting 2 early fouls the rest of the year.  

[clarkwgriswold]

I just hope they get out in front enough to rest him regularly and keep him healthy.  300 pounds plus wears on a body over a long season and they guy has had ankle problems previously, so I think something is inevitable.  I'm just hoping it's nicks and dings and not something then sees him have to sit out.

[wadszip]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

It was a tremendous play and all, but what about that play where Martin pulled the spin move to shed 2 defenders then oop'd it to Poke for the slam?

 

2 highlight reel plays in the same game!!! What happened to the non exciting brand of basketball Akron team? 

There were five dunks in that game. Two by Ivey, the one by Poke on the oop, Dog and Kwan each had one. In years past, certain Zips teams have seemingly gone an entire season without five dunks. 

[wadszip]

2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I like it as an alternative to always kicking it out for a three.  Ivey's developed a recognition of when he's being left alone and slashing to the low post when they come to double Big Dog.

It was definitely a needed wrinkle in the BG game, though part of it was a horrible coaching job by Kevin Huger. I'm not sure why he kept sending Lillard on the double team time after time when every single instance it came when Ivey was spotted up in the corner, leading to a wide open cut to the basket. I thought for sure after the first dunk, that would be the end of that, but BG kept doing the same exact thing and Akron made them pay for it. 

 

However, all that does is gives defenses something more to think about. Now, they are either going to have a play Dog man-up or send another player on a double, which then leaves one of our 3-point shooters wide open. I really believe Big Dog is the most valuable player I've ever seen at Akron. The mismatches he presents and all the different ways he can beat a defense by running an offense through him is amazing due to his passing ability. 

[Blue & Gold]

22 minutes ago, wadszip said:

There were five dunks in that game. Two by Ivey, the one by Poke on the oop, Dog and Kwan each had one. In years past, certain Zips teams have seemingly gone an entire season without five dunks. 

IMHO, that's what most ppl pay money to see.

[zippy5]

If Ivey can be successful driving to the hoop it's going to open up a lot of things for the offense. I like what I see so far