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2021-2022 Akron Zips Basketball- Looking Forward


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3 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Oof. I'll be "social distancing" from the JAR until OU/KSUcks/Canada/etc., come to town (assuming the Southwest Airlines Variant - or any other BS "variant" - isn't wreaking havoc on the sports world). 

 

#BeatPointPark

I thought I heard of every university or college in the U.S. until I met up with a tennis instructor from Newman University in Kansas.  But Point Park is a new one to me.  Of course, Jodi Kest is now an asst coach at Lynn University (???) in Florida.

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17 hours ago, NWAkron said:

I thought I heard of every university or college in the U.S. until I met up with a tennis instructor from Newman University in Kansas.  But Point Park is a new one to me.  Of course, Jodi Kest is now an asst coach at Lynn University (???) in Florida.

 

You have never heard of the Pioneers!!!!

Their men's basketball team has to be one of the top 10 programs in the Pittsburgh area (and no, not because there are only 10 schools in the area; there are way more than 10).

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8 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

You have never heard of the Pioneers!!!!

Their men's basketball team has to be one of the top 10 programs in the Pittsburgh area (and no, not because there are only 10 schools in the area; there are way more than 10).

Yeah, there are 11. Lucky we got them on the schedule. I have it on good authority that we tried to get Hiram, but had to settle for Point Park.

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On 8/6/2021 at 1:07 PM, Zipmeister said:

 

You have never heard of the Pioneers!!!!

Their men's basketball team has to be one of the top 10 programs in the Pittsburgh area (and no, not because there are only 10 schools in the area; there are way more than 10).

Unfortunately, 4 teams ahead of them are high school teams.

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/14/2021 at 2:06 PM, clarkwgriswold said:

I found the following par of the article a little odd-

 

As for replacing Jackson, it comes down to Garvin Clarke, Bryan Greg Tribble and freshman Nate Johnson.

“Those three, plus Xavier Castaneda,” Groce said, “so we’re still a work in progress.”

 

Strange that GT wouldn't just write all 4 of them into the sentence.

 

I am 100% excited about the Zips upcoming seasons in football and basketball.  90% excited about hoops and 10% about football. - Funny stuff Clark!!

 

I was on the road in the Spring when we picked up Xavier Castaneda so I missed much of the conversation. I just watched his final game as a USF Bull and honestly he strikes me more like a shorter Channel Banks than a pure point guard. And even though I didn't read the mentioned Beacon Journal article (behind a paywall), this post really got me thinking. It will be very interesting to see who emerges as our lead guard this year, if anyone. I could see multiple PGs playing together and roles evolving throughout the season. Maybe PG by committee. Regardless, the LCJ days are sadly over and we are going to experience a much different flow to our offense.

 

If you can stomach commentator, Dan Dakich you might want to watch some of this game. Xavier Castaneda is #1 in green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rb_D_MxQVU

 

 

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3 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

 

I was on the road in the Spring when we picked up Xavier Castaneda so I missed much of the conversation. I just watched his final game as a USF Bull and honestly he strikes me more like a shorter Channel Banks than a pure point guard. And even though I didn't read the mentioned Beacon Journal article (behind a paywall), this post really got me thinking. It will be very interesting to see who emerges as our lead guard this year, if anyone. I could see multiple PGs playing together and roles evolving throughout the season. Maybe PG by committee. Regardless, the LCJ days are sadly over and we are going to experience a much different flow to our offense.

 

If you can stomach commentator, Dan Dakich you might want to watch some of this game. Xavier Castaneda is #1 in green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rb_D_MxQVU

 

 

Maybe it's too much to ask but I would be satisfied if the players merely remained childless for the season.  Am I shooting for the stars here?

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7 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

 

I was on the road in the Spring when we picked up Xavier Castaneda so I missed much of the conversation. I just watched his final game as a USF Bull and honestly he strikes me more like a shorter Channel Banks than a pure point guard. And even though I didn't read the mentioned Beacon Journal article (behind a paywall), this post really got me thinking. It will be very interesting to see who emerges as our lead guard this year, if anyone. I could see multiple PGs playing together and roles evolving throughout the season. Maybe PG by committee. Regardless, the LCJ days are sadly over and we are going to experience a much different flow to our offense.

 

If you can stomach commentator, Dan Dakich you might want to watch some of this game. Xavier Castaneda is #1 in green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rb_D_MxQVU

 

 

 

I suspect Tribble will be more of a combo guard, playing both the 1 and the 2.  I hope Castaneda is like Banks in his defensive intensity but is a little better of a ballhandler.

 

Here's hoping for a drama free pre-season.

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OK people, the season starts in less than a month in Morgantown!  Woohoo!  Not only will it bring back to our beloved Zips cagers but it will give us something to focus on other than awful football.

 

So what do we think we will see as a starting lineup and rotation?  I expected Currie to be a starter last year so I need a little direction!  Looking at the roster this is the deepest the Zips have been in a while but I am not sure they have a standout star. 

Edited by clarkwgriswold
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1 minute ago, Hilltopper said:

Freeman F

Ali W

Castaneda PG

Trimble G

Walton W

That's pretty solid.  It leaves a bench that includes Clarke, Tribble, Wynn and  Dawson who could all be solid MAC starters.  One of Groce's biggest challenges could be keeping kids who think they're not getting enough time out of the transfer portal.

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40 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

That's pretty solid.  It leaves a bench that includes Clarke, Tribble, Wynn and  Dawson who could all be solid MAC starters.  One of Groce's biggest challenges could be keeping kids who think they're not getting enough time out of the transfer portal.

I think that Groce has shown that there will be plenty of opportunities to get playing time if you are a productive player.

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5 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

I think that Groce has shown that there will be plenty of opportunities to get playing time if you are a productive player.

No question, but a kid's idea of opportunity may be different than the staff's.  Fortunately, Groce has been very good at managing that kind of thing.

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1 hour ago, Hilltopper said:

Freeman F

Ali W

Castaneda PG

Trimble G

Walton W

 

I like this. A lot. I'm hoping and expecting for a much more balanced offensive attack, and Castaneda and Walton's additions to the starting lineup should provide that. I also echo the optimism on depth. Once Wynn got his feet wet, he was a big contributor. And as I've said before, Dawson has an amazing physique and he can do a bit of everything. In this program, the sky is the limit for what he can do. I'm curious to see what roles the freshmen fill on this team. And I'm really excited to see what Aziz looks like. Can't wait!!!

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Really have been out of the loop. Just looked at the tournament we're in and I'm pretty disappointed. Those are the type of teams we could be scheduling outside of tournaments. I really prefer tournaments that give us a chance to pick up quality wins on a neutral court. It's really challenging to beat Louisville, OSU, West Virginia's of the world when you have to play them at their home court.

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Assuming players maintain their starting spots, Ali, Freeman and Trimble would appear to have starting spots locked up.  That leaves point guard (Castaneda, Clarke, Tribble) and wing (Dawson, Wynn, Walton) to vie for spots.  Hilltopper's take with Castaneda and Walton makes sense.  We have however seen that Groce will go with the 5 he thinks play the best together as a unit as opposed to the most talented 5, so we'll see.  It's going to be a lot of fun seeing who has the hot hand(s) on any given night. 

 

I think the role of the freshmen this year will be to take over the seats at the end of the bench previously occupied by guys like Scotty Walter and Marquelle McIntyre. 

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18 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

This post is solely for Clark:

 

Who will be the Currie or Dailey of 2021-22?🙄

Good question, so who is a complete and utter disappointment and who's just a regular disappointment.  Everyone this year is a little more of a known entity.  I guess Castaneda is coming to the Zips in a similar situation to Dailey but I think we're so deep at that position that even if he slips it won't hurt as much and he doesn't come with the expectations we had for Dailey.  I don't see us having either this year.

Edited by clarkwgriswold
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