2020-2021 Zips Postmortem

[clarkwgriswold]

The Zips once promising season came to an end Friday night with a MAC Tournament loss to Buffalo.  The Zips ended at 15-8.  

 

The Zips had an impressive 10-1 run in the middle of the season but fell apart late dropping their last three regular season games.  

 

LCJ was obviously the bright spot, but the team became way too dependent upon him as no one stepped up consistently to help.  He gets a banner in the rafters. Freeman was obviously impactful in rebounding and shot blocking and Trimble occasionally hit a shooting hot streak.  We all hoped the new guys could fill holes left by guys like Cheese, Banks and Riak, but it never materialized.  Dailey went from being a promising replacement for X to an occasional contributor to losing his starting role to non-existent.  Trimble had his occasional hot streaks but once the other MAC teams figured him out and guarded him on the perimeter the magic was lost.  Wynn had to sit early then never really got it going.  Currie was a complete no show and I suspect he is on his way to the transfer portal.  Tribble developed into a top notch defender but really needs to work on his shot to become impactful on offense.  Ali showed he can contribute but never did it consistently. Reece is exactly the same player he was when he showed up two years ago, other than he was not as nearly foul prone. Garvin Clarke, Dawson and Marshall all showed promise but didn't play enough to be regular contributors.

 

In this weird damn year, I don't have a problem with the coaching.  I imagine with the non-existent off season, limited practices, starts and stops, Covid crises, weird schedules and empty arenas, it was tough to get any team into a rhythm.  Just ask Calipari and Coach K.  

 

Have at it guys.

[Blue & Gold]

In essence I think you really hit the nail on the head in noting that we simply became much too reliant on LCJ.  We were not a well-rounded team.

 

I still can't believe how off I was in my enthusiasm concerning Maishe Dailey.  What a gorgeous athlete, ideally built for basketball. And in remembering his impressive skill set from high school, I thought Groce's style would be perfectly in his wheelhouse and that he'd become a 2nd Team All-MAC-caliber player.  When that didn't materialize we were never the team I was envisioning preseason.

 

Additionally, boy was I wrong about Currie.  At 6'8"-6'9" I thought he'd be our staring center from day one.  When he failed to earn any PT we suddenly became a very small team; our two true post players each coming in at 6'7".  (And neither 6'7" guy was a stretch post player, like 6'9" X was, and like 6'8" Currie was touted to be.)  So that also threw me a knuckleball from what I was anticipating preseason.

 

We simply lost too much when we lost three leaders, tenacious defenders, rebounders, and 3-point threats in Cheese (6'5"), Banks (6'4"), and Williams (6'9").  Never were we able to begin to even slightly fill those shoes this season.

[The Hip Zip]

Yeah, all of that is right on.  I will say that what pleased me the most was that the back end of the bench developed dramatically in the last few games. We have a lot of guys that can really play the game and  they really stepped up when needed the most. Looking forward to see these guys get after it next season.

[LoyalZIP]

Can't disagree with anything you guys have said. Spot on. 

 

To get a little deeper into the root of the issues that plagued this team all year, I think Maishe Dailey being the bust he was isn't something Groce was able to patch up at the end of the day. Aside from Tribble, Dailey was the only other options behind LCJ with the skillset to attack the basket and win matchups at the rim. Great teams these days must shoot the three well, but the teams that take it to the next level have at least 2-3 guys they can rely on to get to the rim and put up a high percentage shot or get fouled and make free throws (see Cheese, X). Perhaps Groce could have done something different or planned better to avoid that happening, but that's above my head. He trusted a 6'7 athletic and gifted P5 transfer senior to step up into a role that he was most certainly capable of filling. The Toledo game made me hopeful, but a whole lot of nothing came from that. Groce missed on that one, that's all there is to it. As the season went on, Mike Wynn became one of the more reliable transfers with Trimble being so streaky. I will feel very good about those guys after another offseason. 

 

I contend that with a normal offseason and normal season in general (and it should go without saying that there are no excuses, I'm just making an observation),  Akron, Ohio, Buffalo, Kent, Ball State, and Toledo would have made for one of the best and most competitive seasons of MAC basketball we've seen. As good as most of these teams were, they all could have been a good bit better. I could be wrong, but all of these teams had so many great pieces that got robbed of the consistency that makes teams perform their best, whether that be a proper preseason/nonconference, a regular Tuesday, Fri/Sat game schedule, pauses and stoppages, players being unavailable because of an airborne virus, etc. Nobody really got into much of a groove besides Toledo and Akron for a few weeks and now Buffalo as of late. That's a shame for the fans.

 

Going forward, I would be shocked if any of Akron's seniors return. Ditto Pippen at Kent, most likely the case at Toledo and BG as well if I had to guess. Ohio and Buffalo are loaded even if they have seniors that leave. The Zips have a lot of experienced and quality pieces, and there is a lot of evidence of strong player development on this staff, so I'm feeling good going into next year. I'm curious to see what those freshman do and which of them play immediately too. It could be a rocky start as I'm sure they'll need every one of those nonconference games to tune up, but I have no doubt that Groce can bring back yet another championship contender.

[clarkwgriswold]

Any time a MAC level team can draw a P5 transfer there's cause for high expectations. 

 

Currie got recruited by Michigan and ended up at Wisconsin before heading off to a good juco program where he was an NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball First Team All-American and  averaged 24.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.  Like many, I thought he'd be a starter.  He played 16 minutes all season and I suspect he will be on his way.

 

Dailey was a top recruit who committed to Big 10 Rutgers, decommitted, then headed off to Big 10 Iowa.  He wasn't a star there but was a contributor.  A contributor in the Big 10 should be a solid MAC player.  It was easy to attribute his early season play to a year of rust and he seemed at times to hit his stride, but his game then just completely went away, so much so that he started losing minutes and eventually lost his starting job.

 

I didn't expect those kids to be 20 point scorers but I did expect them to be quality starters.

[monrowe]

Maybe the new AD can get Akron into a better conference? Also I think the power 5 transfers were thrown off by the MAC’s long bus rides.

 

[clarkwgriswold]

1 hour ago, monrowe said:

Maybe the new AD can get Akron into a better conference? Also I think the power 5 transfers were thrown off by the MAC’s long bus rides.

 

I'd  love to see it, but what conference?

 

I'd also like to see them consider dumping the Michigan directionals and NIU and bringing in some better programs.  That's probably more likely if the administration decides to downgrade football.

 

[bigzipguy]

You mean go to a conference that may not have men's soccer???????????????????? UH  -NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[clarkwgriswold]

9 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

Going forward, I would be shocked if any of Akron's seniors return. Ditto Pippen at Kent, most likely the case at Toledo and BG as well if I had to guess. 

 

Given the way his season ended, I doubt Mr. Pinky, even with his obviously low standards, would want Pippen and his angry fourth grader attitude back.

[clarkwgriswold]

1 minute ago, bigzipguy said:

You mean go to a conference that may not have men's soccer???????????????????? UH  -NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

Oh no, I am for rewarding the successful programs.

[Blue & Gold]

12 hours ago, monrowe said:

Maybe the new AD can get Akron into a better conference? Also I think the power 5 transfers were thrown off by the MAC’s long bus rides.

 

Which conference(s) do you have in mind?

 

I like the MAC. Or, I guess I should say I enjoy a handful of rivalries we have within the MAC.  Ohio, Toledo, Buffalo, and Kent.  How many schools even in the Big Ten can say they have sincere rivalries with 4 of their conference members?  

 

10 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I'd also like to see them consider dumping the Michigan directionals and NIU

 

None of those 4 do it for me either, but I can't see a conference dropping a school, let alone 4.

 

10 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

...bringing in some better programs.

 

I do wish we could bring Marshall back.  I miss that rivalry.  (Just ear to the ground, but I think Herd fans do too.)

James Madison is not a happy camper in their current conference (again, just ear to the ground).  But JMU would have to upgrade their football program to FBS.

 

10 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

...bringing in some better programs.  That's probably more likely if the administration decides to downgrade football.

 

What do you mean by that, Clark?  Drop football down a division & campaign to join the A-10?

[clarkwgriswold]

GT's article in the Beacon this morning states that the Zips' 15-8 record "borders on being a miracle."

[Blue & Gold]

1 minute ago, clarkwgriswold said:

GT's article in the Beacon this morning states that the Zips' 15-8 record "borders on being a miracle."

What a goof.

[Blue & Gold]

In the Post Mortem thread I guess i should reiterate my appreciation to Akron and the MAC for the guard play we were graced to enjoy this year.  LCJ, Marreon Jackson, Jason Preston, Justin Turner.  Good grief, that is some top shelf talent!

[LZIp]

The A-10 really doesn't do it for me, and that isn't even considering what it would mean for the football program. Like B&G, I get genuinely excited about playing Portage Community College, OU, Buffalo, and Toledo no matter the sport. Those are good, regional rivalries we would lose by moving. I also agree the directional MIchigans and NIU bring little to the conference.

 

I would much prefer the conference find a way to elevate themselves to a two bid league so it all doesn't come down to the tournament. Marshall and/or JMU would both be great additions for football and basketball, but I don't think adding quality programs is going to change national perception. I think it boils down to what the conference does in the OOC and tourney. Meaning make some noise consistently for a few years in a row. Buffalo went to the Sweet 16 a few years ago and hasn't fell off a cliff after losing two coaches to P5, OU took IL down to the wire, PCC took VA to OT this year. Also avoid the losses to the bottom feeders in conference play.  I don't think the conference is too far off, just need to find a way to take that next step. Unfortunately money is the reason likely preventing us from taking it.

Edited March 14, 2021 by LZIp

[clarkwgriswold]

34 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

What a goof.

 

GT apparently isn't aware that every college basketball team had to deal with the Covid crisis.

 

46 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

What do you mean by that, Clark?  Drop football down a division & campaign to join the A-10?

 

No, may point is that the type of mid-majors I would like to see in a conference don't have FBS football programs which makes their addition impossible under the Zips current conference/program situation.

[monrowe]

But what conference? 

Hey Clark, the American Athletic Conference might be a good fit? They have football basketball soccer ect.

 

[zippy5]

Big Ten has those too. Problem is these conferences actually have to want us.

[clarkwgriswold]

49 minutes ago, monrowe said:

But what conference? 

Hey Clark, the American Athletic Conference might be a good fit? They have football basketball soccer ect.

 

 

If they'd want us and if the administration would want to make the financial commitment...

[LZIp]

11 hours ago, LZIp said:

The A-10 really doesn't do it for me, and that isn't even considering what it would mean for the football program. Like B&G, I get genuinely excited about playing Portage Community College, OU, Buffalo, and Toledo no matter the sport. Those are good, regional rivalries we would lose by moving. I also agree the directional MIchigans and NIU bring little to the conference.

 

I would much prefer the conference find a way to elevate themselves to a two bid league so it all doesn't come down to the tournament. Marshall and/or JMU would both be great additions for football and basketball, but I don't think adding quality programs is going to change national perception. I think it boils down to what the conference does in the OOC and tourney. Meaning make some noise consistently for a few years in a row. Buffalo went to the Sweet 16 a few years ago and hasn't fell off a cliff after losing two coaches to P5, OU took IL down to the wire, PCC took VA to OT this year. Also avoid the losses to the bottom feeders in conference play.  I don't think the conference is too far off, just need to find a way to take that next step. Unfortunately money is the reason likely preventing us from taking it.

To piggy back on my opinion of where the MAC is, we get two NIT bids for the first time since 06. Thats also with a shortened field and no auto bid to the regular season champ.

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by LZIp

[monrowe]

8 minutes ago, LZIp said:

To piggy back on my opinion of where the MAC is, we get two NIT bids for the first time in 06. Thats also with a shortened field and no auto bid to the regular season champ.

 

They’re  replacement teams.Some power 5 schools said no thank you to the NIT.

[LZIp]

9 minutes ago, monrowe said:

They’re  replacement teams.Some power 5 schools said no thank you to the NIT.

Some did. There are still 50% less teams than are usually in it.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[kreed5120]

10 hours ago, LZIp said:

Some did. There are still 50% less teams than are usually in it.

But there are also no auto-bids. Auto-bids for conferences like the MEAC usually take up the last 10 seeds of the bracket.

[1981 grad]

I am glad that Buffalo and Toledo got into the NIT but I am also upset that there are 3 teams in the MAC still playing and we are not one of them.  Before the losing streak we were talking about beating  Toledo and getting the number one seed.  What is weird is that in the game against Ball State LCJ had his worst game of the season and everyone else stepped up and played great.  Ali had a career game.  After that game things went into the dumpster.  We could all see the same thing, everyone became dependent on LCJ which led him to shoot more and players standing around.  The offense struggled and in 4 of the last 5 games we shot 25% or worse from the 3 line.  LCJ taking 30 shots in the last game against Buffalo says it all.  

 

The one player I thought had a great inside game that could have helped the team was Reese.  He was very good around the basket but he never got the ball and rarely looked like he wanted the ball.  Both he and Freeman were asteriks on our offense and when we could not shoot from long range it would be nice to get the ball inside for easier shots.  

 

Finally, I think everyone on this board has commented on the obvious, Groce did not bring in impact players that helped this team down the stretch.  Riak, X man, Banks and Cheese were exceptiional transfer players.  It just did not happen this year.    I am hoping that some coach will get Tribble to change his shot.   He has to develop an outside shot to set up his slashing to the basket.  I think the future is bright with Clark, Dawson Freeman, Ali and others and that we will get better.

Edited March 15, 2021 by 1981 grad