clarkwgriswold Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 So, let's have a little contest as to where Enrique will be picked, by the number of the pick. The closest wins a Matthew Wilson bobblehead. I'm going with 47, though he deserves higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 I will say the 30th pick. The last pick of the first round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 5 hours ago, ZipsBurgh said: Richaun Holmes was drafted early 2nd round and is going into his 10th NBA season. Do we think that’s had any effect on Bowling Green? BG wasn't good in the first place. Having an NBA player isn't going to turn a mediocre program around. But it can certainly give a boost to an already-successful program that is right on the brink of getting to the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueandgold Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 I'll go with pick #29 to the Utah Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 Are we playing price is rights rules? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 21 hours ago, 1981 grad said: That being said, our best opportunity to win an NCAA game was against UCLA when Freeman was a 2nd year student. Considering Freeman's talent, Groce failed to build a better team around him his senior year. He had three big misses in Prather, Thornton and Scott. He just needed a point guard that could drive and shoot. Tribble was a 2 guard playing the point and Ali was a wing playing the two. This team never hit the next gear that we were all expecting at the beginning of the season. I really hope to see Freeman in the NBA!! prather was a redshirt freshman, he was never going to be that impactful on a team with 5 seniors. Scott and Thornton weren’t put on the team to be stars, they were there to help the stars, Enrique, Tribble, and Ali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 38 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: Are we playing price is rights rules? If so, I just got squeezed. Ha!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipsrule Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 I'll go with 41 to Philly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 35 to the Spurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandZip Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 #20 to the Cavs. Partially because I don’t want that bobblehead and partially because I’m doing my part to hype him up and would love to see him stay home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozips19 Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 35 SAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 7 hours ago, kreed5120 said: Are we playing price is rights rules? Nope, whoever is closest with ties determined by who bribes Clarky the most. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 I'm going #51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 (edited) On 6/20/2024 at 4:02 PM, NWAkron said: "Failed" isn't a word I would use to describe "John Groce." We will have to agree to disagree. This team shot 32.2% from three which ranked 262 of 351 teams. Freeman shot .370 so we would probably drop another 10 spots without his 3 point shooting. Thornton shot 32% from three and Scott was 30%. We needed shooters to compliment Freeman's inside game. As I have stated many times, Groce is a great coach but even great coaches fail on occasion. Considering Freeman's talent that is now being noticed nationwide, I would deem success to have been winning our first NCAA game or at least coming as close to a win as we did against UCLA. Edited June 22 by 1981 grad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 3 hours ago, 1981 grad said: We will have to agree to disagree. This team shot 32.2% from three which ranked 262 of 351 teams. Freeman shot .370 so we would probably drop another 10 spots without his 3 point shooting. Thornton shot 32% from three and Scott was 30%. We needed shooters to compliment Freeman's inside game. As I have stated many times, Groce is a great coach but even great coaches fail on occasion. Considering Freeman's talent that is now being noticed nationwide, I would deem success to have been winning our first NCAA game or at least coming as close to a win as we did against UCLA. This team just didn't have that dynamic guard player that you've seen on Groce best teams (Cooper, LCJ, Castaneda). Even when you have a player as good as Freeman, it's hard to win at the collegiate level without elite guard play. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 (edited) 6 hours ago, 1981 grad said: We will have to agree to disagree. This team shot 32.2% from three which ranked 262 of 351 teams. Freeman shot .370 so we would probably drop another 10 spots without his 3 point shooting. Thornton shot 32% from three and Scott was 30%. We needed shooters to compliment Freeman's inside game. As I have stated many times, Groce is a great coach but even great coaches fail on occasion. Considering Freeman's talent that is now being noticed nationwide, I would deem success to have been winning our first NCAA game or at least coming as close to a win as we did against UCLA. I put more on the players than Groce. None of the guys brought in to be perimeter players stepped up even though Groce's offense got them all kinds of open looks. Thornton, Scott, Dawson, Tavari were all disappointments from deep even though they got open shots every game (usually wide open). Prather was not expected to contribute and only got minutes because the rest of the aforementioned players were so inconsistent that Groce was trying any lineup he could find to generate some offense outside of the main core. Edited June 23 by Zip JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 21 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: This team just didn't have that dynamic guard player that you've seen on Groce best teams (Cooper, LCJ, Castaneda). Even when you have a player as good as Freeman, it's hard to win at the collegiate level without elite guard play. Agreed. None of our guards took advantage of all the double and sometimes triple teams that were thrown at Freeman. He was hardly a black hole. Freeman would kick it back out in a heartbeat when guys were open. LCJ would have been in heaven playing with Freeman this past season. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 4 hours ago, 1981 grad said: We will have to agree to disagree. do we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 5 hours ago, Zip JD said: I put more on the players than Groce. None of the guys brought in to be perimeter players stepped up even though Groce's offense got them all kinds of open looks. Thornton, Scott, Dawson, Tavari were all disappointments from deep even though they got open shots every game (usually wide open). Prather was not expected to contribute and only got minutes because the rest of the aforementioned players were so inconsistent that Groce was trying any lineup he could find to generate some offense outside of the main core. He picked the players, though. Your job as a coach is to find players who will work well in your system. I certainly think saying he failed is far too strong, but I don't think his staff is without blame for so many misses in the backcourt. It also isn't lost on me how different the last few years could've been in a young Enrique Freeman never walked into the open tryout. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 8 hours ago, Zippy87 said: He picked the players, though. Your job as a coach is to find players who will work well in your system. I certainly think saying he failed is far too strong, but I don't think his staff is without blame for so many misses in the backcourt. It also isn't lost on me how different the last few years could've been in a young Enrique Freeman never walked into the open tryout. I just don't know how people can say he failed when even with all the shooting issues he won the MACC again. Fair point on all the recent backcourt misses but Groce is the one that gave Freeman a shot and developed him. He also got the maximum out of Tribble who could barely hit a layup when he arrived. Think back to Ali Ali's first year and see how much he developed as well. Look at Ali's dismal time in Butler and see what he got out of him. Groce brought in Hunter who turned out to be our best 3 pt shooter. Nate looks like he will be a force as well. I just think that Groce shouldn't take all the blame for underperforming players without getting some of the credit for all the ones that hit. No disagreement that Groce is ultimately the one who has the responsibility for the wins and loses but if Thornton, Scott, Dawson and/or Tavari could have hit shots with any consistency it would have made a huge difference. They all have talent, but it never showed for more than brief moments. Groce got those guys all kinds of wide-open shots all year but unfortunately, he can't shoot it for them. Last question, what would a run of the mill MAC coach have done with this team? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 We're expecting a pretty high "batting average" from a guy that's had the best basketball program in the MAC since he settled in at Akron. Not very recruiting class brings an LCJ or X. In a couple of years we'll be back to lamenting the absence of a big like Enrique. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipsFan31 Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 I got him going 39 to Memphis grizzlies so excited to see what he can do, and hope he gets in a situation where he is given a chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 (edited) On 6/23/2024 at 7:39 AM, Zip JD said: Last question, what would a run of the mill MAC coach have done with this team? I think when evaluating Groce, you have to kind of separate coaching vs recruiting. I don't have many complaints on coaching. I do think there there have been some misses in recruiting. These are all certainly debatable. Hits Loren Cristian Jackson Tyler Cheese Channel Banks Malcolm Duvivier Xeyrius Williams Ali Ali Enrique Freeman (some luck here, though) Mikal Dawson Xavier Castaneda Greg Tribble Aziz Bandaogo Trendon Hankerson Sammy Hunter Neutral Shammah Scott Nate Johnson Tavari Johnson Deng Riak Bryan Trimble Michael Wynn Maishe Dailey Jermaine Marshall (became a solid player elsewhere) Misses Mark Kostelac Cameron Reece Taylor Currie Tre Edwards Garvin Clarke KJ Walton Eric Hester Sekou Kalle Kobe Mitchell Amani Lyles (prove me wrong, Amani!) Kaleb Thornton Ryan Prather Jr. Darrion Baker Khadim Gueye Edited June 24 by Zippy87 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted June 24 Report Share Posted June 24 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted June 24 Report Share Posted June 24 4 hours ago, Zippy87 said: I think when evaluating Groce, you have to kind of separate coaching vs recruiting. I don't have many complaints on coaching. I do think there there have been some misses in recruiting. These are all certainly debatable. Hits Loren Cristian Jackson Tyler Cheese Channel Banks Malcolm Duvivier Xeyrius Williams Ali Ali Enrique Freeman (some luck here, though) Mikal Dawson Xavier Castaneda Greg Tribble Aziz Bandaogo Trendon Hankerson Sammy Hunter Neutral Shammah Scott Nate Johnson Tavari Johnson Deng Riak Bryan Trimble Michael Wynn Maishe Dailey Jermaine Marshall (became a solid player elsewhere) Misses Mark Kostelac Cameron Reece Taylor Currie Tre Edwards Garvin Clarke KJ Walton Eric Hester Sekou Kalle Kobe Mitchell Amani Lyles (prove me wrong, Amani!) Kaleb Thornton Ryan Prather Jr. Darrion Baker Great list!!. I give Groce a pass on Kostelac as that was his first year and he had little options in finding a big man. Also, your misses must include Khadim Gueye, the guy who punched out Kostelac. Also, the book is still out on Tavari, Scott and Nate and they still could be hits or misses. Only time will tell. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.