Game 2- Ohio State

[blueandgold]

10 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

These are the kenpom rankings, which are computer rankings. They factor in last year and preseason rankings until like early January. They can't really do it any other way as there isn't really a large enough sample size. Heck quite a few teams haven't even played yet. Once you get into the end of December these rankings start to paint a better picture.

I get that. I'm just saying that based on the team since Groce has been the coach, this team has consistently been one of if not the top MAC team.

[LZIp]

Btw, who was saying Walton wouldn’t start the season?

[Hilltopper]

4 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Still a little surprised we've not seen Michael Wynn.

He's a nice kid but until he makes a commitment to defense.....

[TheZipCat]

7 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

Hopefully this game vaults us into the top 125 😐

 

 

Currently sitting at #103. 

[Blue & Gold]

3 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

He's a nice kid but until he makes a commitment to defense.....

Good. Enjoy the bench. 
 

I love the heart and hustle we showed on defense last night. Bryan Trimble looks like he’s REALLY improved his defensive intensity. Love to see it! 

[Let'sGoZips94]

I apologize in advance if this has already been said, and if it has, consider this an emphasis.

 

How important was that WVU exhibition game?

 

This team really busted their asses to iron out the kinks we saw in that exhibition. And what a game plan from Groce to be aggressive and consistently go inside. If we play like this the majority of the year, look out MAC & NCAA. 

[Blue & Gold]

26 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

I apologize in advance if this has already been said, and if it has, consider this an emphasis.

 

How important was that WVU exhibition game?

 

This team really busted their asses to iron out the kinks we saw in that exhibition. And what a game plan from Groce to be aggressive and consistently go inside. If we play like this the majority of the year, look out MAC & NCAA. 

Definitely!  Even during the WVU scrimmage I posted something like "Thank you, Huggy Bear for showing us how it's done!"  WVU didn't hold back one iota & we looked so much more focussed offensively and sold-out defensively than we did for the scrimmage.  Perfect preseason scrimmage.  Thank you Huggins!  

[clarkwgriswold]

11 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Good. Enjoy the bench. 
 

I love the heart and hustle we showed on defense last night. Bryan Trimble looks like he’s REALLY improved his defensive intensity. Love to see it! 

Good call on Trimble.

 

The entire team has a defensive intensity we haven't seen before.  We've had individual strong defenders like Banks and Tribble but this team is far more solid from a team defense perspective and its fun to see.  The depth will also help keep that intensity up through an entire game.  We can expect to see a lot more full court pressure and trapping in the half court.   

[LoyalZIP]

If you added a 3 & D guy like Banks to this roster, Akron would win 25+ games. I'm liking the way Trimble is trending, he just becomes much more of a liability when the misses add up. If he keeps up the hard D, he will earn himself good looks on offense and he will eventually knock them down. Basketball to him seems like such a mental game, hopefully a more normal season helps him out greatly.

[kreed5120]

People are talking about Trimble defensive improvement, but what about Ali on the offensive end? I remember when he started as a freshmen he was almost afraid to put up a shot. Now he might end up being our #2 or #3 scoring option.

Edited November 11, 2021 by kreed5120

[NWAkron]

42 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

If you added a 3 & D guy like Banks to this roster, Akron would win 25+ games. I'm liking the way Trimble is trending, he just becomes much more of a liability when the misses add up. If he keeps up the hard D, he will earn himself good looks on offense and he will eventually knock them down. Basketball to him seems like such a mental game, hopefully a more normal season helps him out greatly.

He clearly has the green light to shoot.  He missed a few and then hit won that bounced around the rim 5x before it fell in the other night.

[LoyalZIP]

20 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

People are talking about Trimble defensive improvement, but what about Ali on the offensive end? I remember when he started as a freshmen he was almost afraid to put up a shot. Now he might end up being out #2 or #3 scoring option.

He seemed to hesitate early on Tuesday evening and then I think built up his confidence once he saw a few more shots fall. His outside shot has come a long way since he got here. He’s such a tough kid that flies under the radar, his explosion at Ball State last year was amazing and took a ton of people in the league by surprise. Not Zips fans. He’s a cool story and we’re lucky to have him here. 

Edited November 11, 2021 by LoyalZIP

[Blue & Gold]

20 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

People are talking about Trimble defensive improvement, but what about Ali on the offensive end? I remember when he started as a freshmen he was almost afraid to put up a shot. Now he might end up being out #2 or #3 scoring option.

Ali waved Trimble off for the go ahead 3 w/ 6 seconds left in the game.  That was a great shot & I was glad to see him have confidence like that.  

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

3 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

He seemed to hesitate early on Tuesday evening and then I think built up his confidence once he saw a few more shots fall. His outside shot has come a long way since he got here. He’s such a tough kid that flies under the radar, his explosion at Ball State last year was amazing and took a ton of people in the league by surprise. Not Zips fans. He’s a cool story and we’re lucky to have him here. 

Yes, when the game started Tuesday night I thought it looked like Ali was doing another disappearing act like against WVU.  But then he finished with 17 points & actually waved Trimble off for the game-tying/go-ahead and-one 3 with 6 seconds left in the game. Loved to see it!

 

I'll be curious to see how he plays Saturday night.  Last year after his explosion at Ball State, I forget who we were playing, but he was really hoisting up (and missing) a lot of shots - so many so that it seemed to hurt the team.  We'll see.

[clarkwgriswold]

I like Ali's developing game but at the same time I would prefer that he avoid the crazy all over the floor dribbling display a couple of possessions before he hit the 3.  That possession and the possession where Freeman got stuck with the ball were painful at an important point in the game.

[LZIp]

Ali is a tremendous talent..just needs to be assertive on a consistent basis. He plays more passive than he should generally. Said the same last year.

[Hilltopper]

8 hours ago, LZIp said:

Ali is a tremendous talent..just needs to be assertive on a consistent basis. He plays more passive than he should generally. Said the same last year.

Ali has the greatest stone face. Never changes. Even after he knocked down the go ahead points not even the smallest smile.

[LoyalZIP]

BG getting destroyed by the Buckeyes. 73-35 with 8:00 to go. It’s been as bad as 40. 

[clarkwgriswold]

19 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

BG getting destroyed by the Buckeyes. 73-35 with 8:00 to go. It’s been as bad as 40. 

Ended up 89-58.  Good Lord, Plowden and Diggs are still playing for BG!

[LoyalZIP]

18 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Ended up 89-58.  Good Lord, Plowden and Diggs are still playing for BG!

 

Apparently Fields and Metheny are still there, just injured at this time

[1981 grad]

On 11/11/2021 at 9:12 PM, Hilltopper said:

Ali has the greatest stone face. Never changes. Even after he knocked down the go ahead points not even the smallest smile.

Ali needs confidence.  I cannot tell you how many times I have watched him make a move and then stop in the lane and look to pass.   At the Ohio State game on his 4 point play he knew exactly what he wanted to do and did it.  He needs to show the same confidence when driving to the hoop.  A coach once told me that if you take the ball to the hoop strong you either get blocked, get a layup or get fouled.  Any time you have a basketball play where 2 out of 3 results are good then that is a good play.  

[akrzips2012]

We should have won against the suckeyes. I think we have a good shot to make it to the big dance this season!!!

[monrowe]

Akron played Ohio State just as tough as Duke did.Akron should be a force come tournament time?

[Blue & Gold]

7 hours ago, monrowe said:

Akron played Ohio State just as tough as Duke did.Akron should be a force come tournament time?

If we can hit a decent percentage of our 3's.

[clarkwgriswold]

Pulling that one out would have looked damn good today!