Miami- 2/4/22 and 2/6/22

[zippy5]

Finally figured out my Freeman player comp. Anyone that watched Pitt hoops in the early 2000s might remember Chevon Troutman. 6'7" forward.. shot about 70% from the field which was outrageous but sure enough Enrique is at 65% this year. Fun to watch guys that just do the fundamentals right.

[zipsrule]

1 hour ago, NWAkron said:

OT:  Example of what can go wrong for a top seed in the tournament:  Ball State is 9 of 14 from beyond the arc with 9 minutes to go in first half and up on Toledo by 18.  It's a Whitford team so I assume they will collapse as this goes on.

 

Edit:  And on cue, Ball State cooling off really fast.

 

 

And the Rockets flame out.  They lose 93-83.

[Z.I.P.]

2 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

I sit behind the visitors bench and I agree that this was an awful T.  This was the most positive coach in the MAC.  He did not yell at his team or the refs.  Whenever a player came out he patted him on the back.  He just reacted to what he thought was a bad call.  I think he may have crossed over half court by an inch and that may have been the T.  It clearly was not anything he said.

Hold on!  TV I THOUGHT showed the tech on the Miami post player for bending over before Freeman fell over him -- was it on the COACH???  And X-Cast took just one FT, right? 🤔🤷‍♂️

[Z.I.P.]

31 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

And the Rockets flame out.  They lose 93-83.

Now Akron wahine team has gotta deliver the Double KO to UT on Saturday!

[LoyalZIP]

3 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

Hold on!  TV I THOUGHT showed the tech on the Miami post player for bending over before Freeman fell over him -- was it on the COACH???  And X-Cast took just one FT, right? 🤔🤷‍♂️

It was the coach jumping up and down that did it. The referee that called it was the one who called the foul underneath. There was another ref trying to calm down the coach, and the young one (Mike Kitts Jr.) whacked him. I agree, a weak T but justified for the jumping and whatnot, I can’t fault him for calling it. And yes, X missed the pair. 

[Illini Zip]

Here is some more useless trivia if anyone cares.

 

The Miami point guard, Isaiah Coleman-Lands is another brother to a former Illinois player under Groce, Jalen Coleman-Lands. Groce recruited Jalen out of La Lumiere prep school in LaPorte, Indiana. Isaiah is a couple of years younger than Jalen, but they did play together. Jalen was the starting shooting guard and I believe Isaiah was the back-up point guard. Their head coach at La Lumiere, Shane Heirman is now the Associate Head Coach at Central Michigan. Small world right?!

 

https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/shane-heirman/694

 

So the last I knew of Jalen Coleman-Lands he had left Illinois after his sophomore year when Coach Groce got fired. He wanted to make sure he controlled his own destiny. He chose DePaul University because the aforementioned Shane Heirman had just been hired there (2017) as an assistant coach. Jalen is a sharp shooter from deep (40%) when healthy. He had injuries both at Illinois and at DePaul which extended his career. Anyway, I figured his college career was over by now and I was curious if he is playing pro-ball somewhere. Nope, not in the Era of Covid. He is now a Super-Duper Senior playing his 6th and final season of eligibility over 7 years. He's on the K.J. Walton plan. Ha!! There was a mass exodus of players at DePaul for some reason and he was one of them. He then landed at Iowa State. After a year there he lost another head coach to the chopping block so he entered the transfer portal one last time. He is now coming off the bench at 10th ranked Kansas. I’m sure this is not what he envisioned, but he seems to have made the most of his extended opportunity. 

 

Another quality young man and family. Godspeed.

 

https://kuathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/season/2021-22/player/jalen-coleman-lands/

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Illini Zip

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Blue & Gold]

From Brad Bournival's article:

Freeman is one of only 13 players in the NCAA to average a double-double (12.9 points, 10.9 rebounds). He ranks in the top 20 in five categories and is second overall in offensive rebounds per game (3.6).

Edited February 5, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[Let'sGoZips94]

Good for the Beacon for highlighting Freeman's season-long dominance. 

[ziptrumpet87]

41 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

From GT's article:

Freeman is one of only 13 players in the NCAA to average a double-double (12.9 points, 10.9 rebounds). He ranks in the top 20 in five categories and is second overall in offensive rebounds per game (3.6).

Actually I believe Brad Bournival wrote that one?

[Blue & Gold]

17 minutes ago, ziptrumpet87 said:

Actually I believe Brad Bournival wrote that one?

You are correct!  I'll edit my post.

[1981 grad]

When you look at the stats, the one stat that jumped out at me is that we got 17 bench points and that includes Dawson shot 0 for 4 from the 3 line.  If we can play 9 with quality minutes from the bench, this team could hit a new ceiling.  The bench players had 15 rebounds with Dawson getting 5.  The offensive rebound off the missed foul shot was important.  This team shot 30% from 3 ball and 50% from the field and had 38 points in the paint.  I like the fact we got the ball inside to score instead of relying on the 3 ball.  We often start a game with consecutive 3 ball shots that miss and we end up behind and play catch up the rest of the game.

 

Finally, I thought we did a much better job of starting our offense earlier in the shot clock.  I can't tell you how many times we pass the ball around the perimeter or dribble on the perimeter and start the offense with less than 15 seconds on the shot clock.  We got the ball into Freeman early or Ali went one on one early and they had time to operate. We rarely were at the end of the shot clock last night and we did not see any bad shots or desperation 3 point shots.   I hope we continue to put an emphasis on getting the ball into Freeman's hands the rest of the season.  If this team can shoot 50% from the field we should be able to compete with Toledo Ohio and beat Kent. 

[LoyalZIP]

I too would love to see more inside-out with Freeman and Ali, especially when it is used to exploit matchups like against Miami. There’s a certain team in Portage County we can do that against as well. If you do it properly by rotating the shooters around the big, eventually the defense will try to double the big and you get a back door layup underneath or a decent look on the perimeter. The Zips could be lethal if they could perfect that in the half court and play with a lot of efficiency. 

[Zip4Roos]

We played Aziz and Freeman on the floor at the same time last night for a short window 1st half. Double threat on the block. I like the look against an undersized team without great length. Especially if Aziz improves on defense away from the rim and they keep good spacing on offense. I like the development of the inside game. Grab the rock and hammer that rim.

[kreed5120]

Freeman should have a nice, long career in one of the better European leagues when he leaves Akron. 

[Zip4Roos]

1981 is absolutely right about starting the offense early. The cardinals killed the space cadets last night by playing offense before the toledos young team set up its defense. Strike early when it is there doesn't mean you can't pull it out and reset. It just kills me to see folks standing around on national TV waiting for something to happen. 

[zippy5]

Dawson is really close to being really good imo

[LoyalZIP]

I’m concerned about this one today. Teams like the Zips that are good, yet show signs of vulnerability and inconsistency often leave Millett Hall with a loss. Though Miami lacks skill and size, they can still get it going with Grant and Lairy, so I really want to see the Zips lock down the perimeter in the same way they did in the second half on Friday. By my recollection, I don’t think Miami made a single contested three in the second half. They were run off the line most of the time.
 

Offensively, keep pounding it down low. That’s the obvious thing to do. And unless Jack Owens is the worst coach in the history of the game, I would expect a lot of double teams down there today. Hopefully Trimble is back and he can contribute as he seems to do well in these empty cavernous arenas for whatever reason. If not, I’d like to see Ali be a little more impactful as an outside scorer if not being one that’s playing in the post again like Friday. 
 

Zips need to take care of business against these kinds of teams. A big lead and rest the starters for the final 8-10 minutes would be fantastic, but that seems highly unlikely. Go Zips!

[clarkwgriswold]

If Trimble is out today we need Tribble and Clarke to step up and play strong at the point so that X can play off of the ball and concentrate on his shot to make up for Trimble's loss.

 

On defense, let Precious beat you!

[Zip4Roos]

I looked at the season stats today. Freeman is 13th in the nation in field goal percentage. Look closely and he has attempted 160 field goals. More, he is one of only 4 of the 13 with more than 150 attempts. Most have less than 100 attempts. It is one thing to be a D and dunk guy, but Enrique is becoming a efficient and volume scorer on the block. He is slowly separating himself from the pack.

[LoyalZIP]

42 minutes ago, Zip4Roos said:

I looked at the season stats today. Freeman is 13th in the nation in field goal percentage. Look closely and he has attempted 160 field goals. More, he is one of only 4 of the 13 with more than 150 attempts. Most have less than 100 attempts. It is one thing to be a D and dunk guy, but Enrique is becoming a efficient and volume scorer on the block. He is slowly separating himself from the pack.

After a tough stretch and a rough performance at Kent, he’s begun to play some of the best basketball of his young career. It’s so obvious when you watch him that’s he’s just a flat out smart dude that studies the game and works so hard on technique. His FT% isn’t where it should be, but you can tell he focuses on his shooting form and it looks superb, I think it looks like he’s aiming it too much instead of relying on the motion. But that comes with practice and reps. I hope he can continue to bulk up and develop into one of the most special post players we’ve ever had. A truly amazing story!

[NWAkron]

Not sure how much the seeding matters in Cleveland (you want to Toledo when your fresh in the quarters or tired in the finals?), so I think these games are about building confidence and finding different ways to win

[Blue & Gold]

12 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Not sure how much the seeding matters in Cleveland (you want to Toledo when your fresh in the quarters or tired in the finals?), so I think these games are about building confidence and finding different ways to win

 

Looks like, as of today, the only first round matchup you'd really want to avoid would be the #4-v-#5.  But that'll change before the MAC Tourney. 

[NWAkron]

3 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

 

Looks like, as of today, the only first round matchup you'd really want to avoid would be the #4-v-#5.  But that'll change before the MAC Tourney. 

We've been doing this for too long.  I had the same thought...being a 4th or 5th seed is essentially the same thing and creates no advantage.  I like the 3rd seed.

Edited February 6, 2022 by NWAkron

[Blue & Gold]

In looking at the above seedings (bound to change), I also like the #3 seed.  We'd get an additional easier game.  I suppose I'd rather have  tourney run of

Round 1: Ball State

Round 2: Toledo

Round 3: Ohio

 

than

 

Round 1: Buffalo

Round 2: Ohio

Round 3: Toledo

 

That second option is absolutely brutal.