PCCC- 1/14/22

[LZIp]

Echoing many thoughts but...

 

X is the only player that carried their weight on offense. Freeman also to an extent. I don't see X as a bad defender by any means, but really thought Groce would have stuck Tribble on Carry, as I perceive him to be our best guard defender. If he isn't what is he really out there for?

 

Horrible shooting all around, Trimble sticks out the most. Like another poster, I was also watching at the half and noticed how NOBODY on the team could make a 3 warming up. Hopefully it was just one of those nights and not a recurring theme.

 

I also wasn't pleased with the defense for the first time all year. A lot of that probably started with Carry breaking down the D of the dribble. Too many open shots - down low and at the 3 and too many offensive rebounds.

 

Someone mentioned before this Kent team doesn't have a "Justin Hall" type of player you love to hate. Insincere Carry is that guy. Was taunting us all night (while owning us).

 

This team has a lot of balance, but we need to have a go to guy. Throughout the season thus far, Ali appears to be the only guard/wing that can create on his own and score at an efficient rate. Someone insinuated he had COVID, so the hope is thats the excuse for his performance the past 2 games, because prior to that he was playing pretty damn good. Simply put, balance is nice, but you need a go to guy if you want to make a run in Cleveland or make any noise in a post season tournament. Hope Ali can continue to develop there because I think he's our only hope. Sure would be nice to have Walton when nobody else can throw a rock in the ocean though....

[Reslife4Life]

33 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Some major recruiting fails.  AD Guthrie isn't going to accept average or just making it to the first round in Cleveland.  Like other years, it appears the other teams are figuring out the Zips.  Freeman hasn't had a good game in a while and it's 50/50 whether Trimble can make a shot.  If they shut down Freeman, and Trimble is cold...game over.  Zips got lucky with that Buffalo game.  Buffalo was missing Mballa and refs were calling tons of fouls.  I don't expect anything at this point but fortunately we have an AD who DOES have expectations.  

I wouldn’t say Enrique had a bad game, yes he got out worked on the boards, but that was all of the Zips. His 13 points was about the norm on offense for him. 
With Trimble, I’ve noticed a trend where it takes him a few games to get “warmed up” at the start of the year he didn’t have it, then got his shot down. Then he got covid and didn’t play for over a month. I would bet that by WMU he will get back to his normal self

[LZIp]

Also, I thought the turnout from the Rowdies last night was tremendous @Reslife4Life

[clarkwgriswold]

Things I would like to see going forward:

1. Consistency in individual performances.  So far the only consistent player has been Freeman.

2. More aggressive offensive play from Castaneda.

3. Somebody to step up as a team leader.

4. More under control play by Ali.  He's really grown as a player but he just occasionally appears to want to put everything on his shoulders and gets out of control.

5. Tribble to use his athleticism to become a lock down defender.

6. Continued growth from Aziz.

7. Trimble to look to score from mid-range and drive when pressed off of the 3 point line.

8. Clarke to stop going backwards and build on last year.

9. More mixing up of defenses

10.  More movement on offense and use of the big man in the pick and roll.  The big man NEVER gets the ball in the pick and roll.

11.  Michael Wynn to show us something...Just something.

 

[1981 grad]

I wondered how the game got away from Akron last night in the second half.  We shot 1 of 11 from 3 point land.  It is so difficult to watch Trimble shoot a step back three and miss and then have Kent score on the other end.  Kent dominated the boards because everyone on their team attacked the basket.  I also noticed that Ali got pushed around a few times under the boards.  We seemed to do better last night with Freeman and Aziz both on the floor.  I also thought that Dawson and Trimble were getting beat on defense.  I also thought Tribble Freeman and Castanada showed toughness last night and had good games.  Ali made some tough baskets the 2nd half that kept us in the game.  Is it me or does a loss to Kent in B Ball by double digits seem like losing 5 games in a row. 

[NWAkron]

29 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

  Is it me or does a loss to Kent in B Ball by double digits seem like losing 5 games in a row. 

Yes.  That's why I went to the women's game today.   Needed to see a win.  Fortunately, I saw one.

[jupitertoo]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:41 PM, Hilltopper said:

 

 

On 1/14/2022 at 10:14 PM, LoyalZIP said:

Same ol’ trip to Brimfield. Senderoff is awful, Groce out coached him in every way. He just had the best player tonight. 
 

Maybe more thoughts later. On to the next one. 

 

Truly bizarre take.  You clearly believe the Zips are the better team and yet they lost. So please explain how Groce outcoached Senderoff "in every way."  

[LoyalZIP]

1 hour ago, jupitertoo said:

 

 

Truly bizarre take.  You clearly believe the Zips are the better team and yet they lost. So please explain how Groce outcoached Senderoff "in every way."  

Not a single Akron player had what I would call a great performance, especially in the second half. Akron was dominated in every single statistical category the entire game. For 35 minutes the game was within 3-5 points in another game that Akron has no business being in at all considering how they were playing. When they kept getting out-rebounded, he put in a big lineup that fixed those issues. Aziz lost the ball going up for a dunk in a crucial moment and that along with a Trimble wide open missed three when it got to the final few minutes just about sealed the deal. 
 

What exactly did Senderoff do? Have a 30% 3pt. shooter take 10 of them and hit 6 of them? Even horrid shooters for them were knocking them down. Anyone who’s watched an Akron-Kent game over the last decade has seen that game quite a few times. He has a great player that hides the rest of the stink of mediocrity that program reeks of. Sometimes it results in beating good teams like Akron and Toledo, and it just as often results in home losses to CMU and NIU. 
 

Isn’t it mind-blowing that the best team isn’t always the one that wins? I’ve never seen that happen in sports in my life, especially in rivalries that have a .500 record after 150 games!

[jupitertoo]

You are arguing against yourself. No one said the best team always wins. But I do agree that Akron has more talent than Kent.  Any coach of average ability would know that the key to beating Kent is stopping (or slowing) their premier scorer.  Sincere Carry is a truly premier scorer.  Somehow John Groce and his brain trust were unable to come up with the right right game plan to accomplish that. 

 

The team that wins is almost always the best prepared team with the right players in the right roles, backed by the best in-game coaching. John Groce did not outcoach Senderoff "in every way."  If he had, given the talent differential, Zips fans would be celebrating a win.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by jupitertoo

[kreed5120]

4 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

You are arguing against yourself. No one said the best team always wins. But I do agree that Akron has more talent than Kent.  Any coach of average ability would know that the key to beating Kent is stopping (or slowing) their premier scorer.  Sincere Carry is a truly premier scorer.  Somehow John Groce and his brain trust were unable to come up with the right right game plan to accomplish that. 

 

The team that wins is almost always the best prepared team with the right players in the right roles, backed by the best in-game coaching. John Groce did not outcoach Senderoff "in every way."  If he had, given the talent differential, Zips fans would be celebrating a win.

 

I feel it came down a lot to effort. Given the size Akron has there is no way they should have been dominated on the glass like they were. Kent seemed to just want the game a lot more than us by fighting (and winning) to get every 50/50 ball. 

 

While I do think this Akron roster is better than Kent, I don't think it's significantly better. This Akron team still has a ton to improve. As bad as it is to lose a rivalry game hopefully it serves as a wake up call.

[clarkwgriswold]

The MAC coaches saw UA and PCCC as the 5th and 4th best teams in the MAC coming into the season.  Most of us saw the two teams as being in the second pack of the MAC coming into the season.  The teams are very close in talent and they have the most talented scorer on either team in Insincere.  They were beat by the better and harder working team on Friday night.  The better and harder description may not apply later in the season but it was on full display Friday night.

 

I was most disappointed in how the defense let Insincere run roughshod and the coaches did not appear to take any steps to adjust and slow it down as he scored 19 points in the final 9:14 when PCCC pulled away.  As such, I am not buying that Groce outcoached Mr. Pinky.  Also, as @kreed5120 referenced, they got killed on the boards, by 11 total, by a team that averages fewer RPG than the Zips.   That's effort and execution.

[1981 grad]

2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

The MAC coaches saw UA and PCCC as the 5th and 4th best teams in the MAC coming into the season.  Most of us saw the two teams as being in the second pack of the MAC coming into the season.  The teams are very close in talent and they have the most talented scorer on either team in Insincere.  They were beat by the better and harder working team on Friday night.  The better and harder description may not apply later in the season but it was on full display Friday night.

 

I was most disappointed in how the defense let Insincere run roughshod and the coaches did not appear to take any steps to adjust and slow it down as he scored 19 points in the final 9:14 when PCCC pulled away.  As such, I am not buying that Groce outcoached Mr. Pinky.  Also, as @kreed5120 referenced, they got killed on the boards, by 11 total, by a team that averages fewer RPG than the Zips.   That's effort and execution.

I watched Trimble have a bad night.  He could not hit the broad side of the barn and his only 3 pointer came when the game was decided.  I also did not see much intensity from him on defense.  When a player is having a bad game, I would have sat him down and gone big with Aziz and Freeman.  I watched Groce put Trimble on Carry and he drove right by him.  I certainly did not think that Groce outcoached Pinky.