Game 2—UT Martin Skyhawks

[akronzips71]

So what happened to K-lac? Want to see what the big man can do.

[zipsrule]

Utomi with 26!

[NWAkron]

Almost had it closed out.  I'm stating obvious...no inside presence.   

[Spin]

On 11/14/2017 at 11:49 AM, Hilltopper said:

My niece went to Toccoa Falls college. It is a tiny Christian school in Georgia. I am surprised they even have a team.

Sounds like along the lines of the Wayne College Warriors.

[akzipper]

11 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

Utomi with 26!

 

A sophomore with a 20+ and 30+ game to start the season. When has that ever happened for the Zips!?

[zipsrule]

Utomi finished with 32!  Wow!

[Let'sGoZips94]

That was a very fun game and an impressive performance. 

 

Observations...

 

- Utomi. Wow.

- Patton and Parrish are just plain smooth. They are incredibly solid, especially for freshmen. 

- Sayles' presence continues to be felt. The guy commands the paint.

- Free Throws were key AGAIN. It's fun when the fundamentals are covered.

- Solid D complimented with a refreshingly low number of fouls.

- Up until the middle of the second half, Akron destroyed their press, which was surprising. They struggled when UT Martin made some adjustments, but then figured it out again.

 

This is fun basketball to watch. 

Edited November 19, 2017 by lilroodude

[zipsrule]

 A solid game for Akron.  Still need some work on the inside, but they shot the ball well, and looked very athletic.

[RowdyZip]

Zips we're favored by 6, won by 17. 

[The Hip Zip]

 No real negatives to speak of other than giving up a few offensive boards for easy put backs. I'm very pleased with tonight's performance though, a much, much better effort than we saw against CSU.

[NWAkron]

Lead from start to finish.  Groce only allows team stats on the side boards.  Which is rather cool...didn't know Utomi was at 26 points until I read it on here.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 minute ago, NWAkron said:

Lead from start to finish.  Groce only allows team stats on the side boards.  Which is rather cool...didn't know Utomi was at 26 points until I read it on here.

 

Is that true? Player stats pop up every once in a while. 

[clarkwgriswold]

Some basic observations:

*  Utomi will be one of the MAC leaders in scoring, in part out of necessity and in part because he is just so talented on the offensive end;

*  I love the free throw shooting;

*  Some of the guys are still finding their way, but that's to be expected from a young team;

*  The team will go just as far as Utomi, Duvivier and Ivey can take it;

*  In time, I would not be surprised to see Sayles and Parish in the starting lineup;

*  I love Poke's energy, but he's a bench player with high energy in spurts;

*  Much better defense against dribble penetration;

*  Too many points given up by back door cuts and running off of picks;

*  I like the interaction of the coaching staff with the players.

 

All in all, I was very happy with what I saw.  I wasn't able to get to the CSU game, so this was my first exposure.  Strange with all of the new faces, but I think this will be a team that will grow on us.  I expect a little pain, but these kids will be easy to root for.  

[NWAkron]

22 minutes ago, lilroodude said:

 

Is that true? Player stats pop up every once in a while. 

I've been there for two games.  I never saw individual stats.  Maybe they went up at halftime, but I never saw them during the game.  So, yes, I think it's true.  Someone told me this during the game tonight for whatever that is worth.  But makes sense.

[1981 grad]

I was a little frustrated when I kept looking to my left to see how many Utomi was scoring and there was no scoreboard. (scoreboard behind band is gone) I did not know that was a coaches call not to show the players individual stats.  If it helps the team I guess I can live with it but it is weird not knowing how many fouls or points each player has during the game.

 

Our team shot about 50% from the 3 land and Utomi was 8 of 11.  I heard the post game where he indicated that Groce wanted him to reduce his body weight to 10% and he did it.  He also indicated he shot 2000 shots a week during the summer.  It is great to have a player that dedicated on our team.  Also, KD always had the philosophy of taking the quick 3 if you were open.  How many times would we see Akron players take the ball down the floor and shoot a 3 early.  It was great when it went in but if it was miss it was a quick possession with nothing to show for it.  This Akron team does not take quick threes.  They always run the offense.

 

This team is so much quicker than last year's team and that equates into better team defense.   I also thought they played with composure against the zone and did not force many shots unless they were at the end of the clock.  I would still like to see more points from the paint.  Poke had one open layup and rushed it.  It is so weird not seeing any post play from this team after having Big Dog, Pat and Zeke the last few years.  

 

Really enjoyed hearing from the coach on the post game interview.  He summarized some weak points on the team.  It will be interesting how they do next week against Dayton. 

 

Go Zips! 

 

 

 

 

[ewbrooman1]

1 hour ago, NWAkron said:

I've been there for two games.  I never saw individual stats.  Maybe they went up at halftime, but I never saw them during the game.  So, yes, I think it's true.  Someone told me this during the game tonight for whatever that is worth.  But makes sense.

At the women's game last night, the stats boards almost always had team stats on one board and individual stats on the other on each side. I never saw individual stats tonight during the game. A few people around me were grumbling and/or checking their phones for the info. I also noticed the highlights they showed from last week's game were high def, but tonight's game and crowd video looked lower def again.

[ZipsVoice]

Thanks for all the good stuff y’all are writing.  Watched espn3 and didn’t get as good of a feel from those there.  ‘Preciate it...

[NWAkron]

 I'm now used to the all team stats.  To me it's ultimately more beneficial to see the other teams shooting % and the rebounds and turnovers.   It gives me a better overall sense of the game as it's going on.  

[LZIp]

Utomi has 1st team All MAC and potentially MAC POY written all over him.

[Blue & Gold]

Maybe it's wise not to have individual stats posted... thinking of Jimmond. He's still pressing & had another sub-par game.

Once he settles into his role, alongside Utomi & Duvivier, this is going to be a good team.

 

Love Parrish & Sayles as FRESHMEN!  Sayles is a full-grown man & I keep reminding myself that Parrish is a RS-Freshman, but none-the-less, he plays with the poise of an upperclassman. Wow.  I also see a lot of potential in Patton's game.  He's not as athletic as the others, but he's fundamentally sound, has the proverbial high basketball IQ, and has good size and length.  I really appreciate his rebounding.  Once the game slows down just a bit for him & he starts hitting his outside shot his confidence is going to double-up.

 

I don't appreciate Poke's game.  Not last year; not this year.  He blocks shots but does nothing else... okay... he wins the jump ball. Lol.  Maybe in time we'll develop the team chemistry where, like last year, we can work to get him alley-oops once in a while?  If he ever creates a shot on his own before he graduates I'll be pleasantly surprised.  At least he's not fouling like he did last year.

 

Surprised Kostelac didn't get a single minute last night.  He doesn't look like a stiff, and we need help inside.  Maybe we're planning on redshirting him to help alleviate the "9-sophomores problem" being discussed in the Scholarship Chart thread?

 

I wasn't feeling well so just watched ESPN3 from the couch last night.  As was mentioned earlier, Reghi kept saying UT-M was 3-0.  His color analyst (I'm drawing a blank on her name right now, but I like her) even tried to correct him (twice, I think) but he kept going back to 3-0. 

 

Still can't believe we've got FIVE freshman on this team.  Gotta prepare myself for a bumpy ride this year, but man, is this group gonna be good!

Edited November 19, 2017 by Blue & Gold

[1981 grad]

24 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Maybe it's wise not to have individual stats posted... thinking of Jimmond. He's still pressing & had another sub-par game.

Once he settles into his role, alongside Utomi & Duvivier, this is going to be a good team.

 

Love Parrish & Sayles as FRESHMEN!  Sayles is a full-grown man & I keep reminding myself that Parrish is a RS-Freshman, but none-the-less, he plays with the poise of an upperclassman. Wow.  I also see a lot of potential in Patton's game.  He's not as athletic as the others, but he's fundamentally sound, has the proverbial high basketball IQ, and has good size and length.  I really appreciate his rebounding.  Once the game slows down just a bit for him & he starts hitting his outside shot his confidence is going to double-up.

 

I don't appreciate Poke's game.  Not last year; not this year.  He blocks shots but does nothing else... okay... he wins the jump ball. Lol.  Maybe in time we'll develop the team chemistry where, like last year, we can work to get him alley-oops once in a while?  If he ever creates a shot on his own before he graduates I'll be pleasantly surprised.  At least he's not fouling like he did last year.

 

Surprised Kostelac didn't get a single minute last night.  He doesn't look like a stiff, and we need help inside.  Maybe we're planning on redshirting him to help alleviate the "9-sophomores problem" being discussed in the Scholarship Chart thread?

 

I wasn't feeling well so just watched ESPN3 from the couch last night.  As was mentioned earlier, Reghi kept saying UT-M was 3-0.  His color analyst (I'm drawing a blank on her name right now, but I like her) even tried to correct him (twice, I think) but he kept going back to 3-0. 

 

Still can't believe we've got FIVE freshman on this team.  Gotta prepare myself for a bumpy ride this year, but man, is this group gonna be good!

I think it is way to early to judge Poke's game.  They played a zone last night that really packed the middle.  Both Poke and Sayles only took one shot because they were giving us the outside 3 and we shot the 3 really well.  Both Sayles and Poke will have more offenseive opportunities when there is a man defense.  Ivey also struggled against the zone and had 2 offensive fouls trying to drive into the zone.  Right now Poke is a good shot blocker like Zeke.  He had 3 offensive boards but still needs to learn to use his body to block out and become a better defensive rebounder.  The coach starts him over Sayles so it will be  interesting to see if that changes as the season progresses. 

[clarkwgriswold]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Maybe it's wise not to have individual stats posted... thinking of Jimmond. He's still pressing & had another sub-par game.

Once he settles into his role, alongside Utomi & Duvivier, this is going to be a good team.

 

Love Parrish & Sayles as FRESHMEN!  Sayles is a full-grown man & I keep reminding myself that Parrish is a RS-Freshman, but none-the-less, he plays with the poise of an upperclassman. Wow.  I also see a lot of potential in Patton's game.  He's not as athletic as the others, but he's fundamentally sound, has the proverbial high basketball IQ, and has good size and length.  I really appreciate his rebounding.  Once the game slows down just a bit for him & he starts hitting his outside shot his confidence is going to double-up.

 

I don't appreciate Poke's game.  Not last year; not this year.  He blocks shots but does nothing else... okay... he wins the jump ball. Lol.  Maybe in time we'll develop the team chemistry where, like last year, we can work to get him alley-oops once in a while?  If he ever creates a shot on his own before he graduates I'll be pleasantly surprised.  At least he's not fouling like he did last year.

 

Surprised Kostelac didn't get a single minute last night.  He doesn't look like a stiff, and we need help inside.  Maybe we're planning on redshirting him to help alleviate the "9-sophomores problem" being discussed in the Scholarship Chart thread?

 

I wasn't feeling well so just watched ESPN3 from the couch last night.  As was mentioned earlier, Reghi kept saying UT-M was 3-0.  His color analyst (I'm drawing a blank on her name right now, but I like her) even tried to correct him (twice, I think) but he kept going back to 3-0. 

 

Still can't believe we've got FIVE freshman on this team.  Gotta prepare myself for a bumpy ride this year, but man, is this group gonna be good!

Good stuff B&G.

 

Like I said in my post, I would not be surprised to see Sayles and Parrish in the starting line at some point.  I think Poke has a role on this team, I just see his game as more suited to 10 to 12 minutes a game of high energy play.  I also like Patton, but right now he looks to be finding his way while Parrish looks at home.  I'm encouraged that we're splitting hairs with some talented kids as opposed to cringing when some come on the court.

 

[ZipsVoice]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Maybe it's wise not to have individual stats posted... thinking of Jimmond. He's still pressing & had another sub-par game.

Once he settles into his role, alongside Utomi & Duvivier, this is going to be a good team.

 

Love Parrish & Sayles as FRESHMEN!  Sayles is a full-grown man & I keep reminding myself that Parrish is a RS-Freshman, but none-the-less, he plays with the poise of an upperclassman. Wow.  I also see a lot of potential in Patton's game.  He's not as athletic as the others, but he's fundamentally sound, has the proverbial high basketball IQ, and has good size and length.  I really appreciate his rebounding.  Once the game slows down just a bit for him & he starts hitting his outside shot his confidence is going to double-up.

 

I don't appreciate Poke's game.  Not last year; not this year.  He blocks shots but does nothing else... okay... he wins the jump ball. Lol.  Maybe in time we'll develop the team chemistry where, like last year, we can work to get him alley-oops once in a while?  If he ever creates a shot on his own before he graduates I'll be pleasantly surprised.  At least he's not fouling like he did last year.

 

Surprised Kostelac didn't get a single minute last night.  He doesn't look like a stiff, and we need help inside.  Maybe we're planning on redshirting him to help alleviate the "9-sophomores problem" being discussed in the Scholarship Chart thread?

 

I wasn't feeling well so just watched ESPN3 from the couch last night.  As was mentioned earlier, Reghi kept saying UT-M was 3-0.  His color analyst (I'm drawing a blank on her name right now, but I like her) even tried to correct him (twice, I think) but he kept going back to 3-0. 

 

Still can't believe we've got FIVE freshman on this team.  Gotta prepare myself for a bumpy ride this year, but man, is this group gonna be good!

Knowing...or based on past bodies of work...Reghi, I’d saysomeone wrote Reghi’s script incorrectly!!

[Blue & Gold]

Here's a good game summary from GT!

 

ABJ: Zips shoot their way to 76-59 win over UT Martin

 

Lots of good stats in above article.  Lots to be optimistic about... and a lot to be concerned with.  I think this is going to be a fun, roller coaster of a year.

[NWAkron]

9 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 I'm encouraged that we're splitting hairs with some talented kids as opposed to cringing when some come on the court.

 

I was thinking the same thing last night.  I haven't YET had any of those "Kwan!!!! don't shoot" moments, though last night I did cringe a few times.  I think it was Eubanks who made a sloppy turnover and the Coach yanked him for the game. 

As said before, the entire coaching staff is really involved during the game.  Dustin Ford let out a yell at someone last night that reverberated through the JAR.  I like how during timeouts Groce and his staff first have a short discussion and regroup before they bring in the players.