Armchair coaching: Why this team struggles

[1981 grad]

Before yesterdays game, many on this board thought we would lose yesterday.  Rather than give up on this team, it made me think about the weaknesses of this team compared to previous Zips teams.  No right or wrong answers, just your opinion on the teams weaknesses and what the coach can do about it.  Here are 3 points that I see:

 

Need more quickness on this team:  First, the big difference in Groce teams and KD teams is athleticism.  Groce has always recruited athletic quick guys.  I do not see any of our current team being particularly athletic except for Freeman based on his size.  (not a Groce recruit).  Freeman is very quick to the ball for his size and that is why he such a great rebounder and shot blocker.   I do not believe there is anyone in the MAC that compares to him.  However, our guards are not particularly quick or athletic.  LCJ was quick and was able to score with that floater.  Tribble is probably the most athletic of the group and is a great leaper but struggles to penetrate.  X does not consistently penetrate to the basket.  For this team to succeed I believe X is the one player who could carry this team because he has shown the ability to penetrate, shoot and get to the foul line.  If he struggles, we struggle.   Tribble can penetrate but has not shown any ability to hit a consistent shot.  Clark has the worst shooting percentage on the team.  Because we are lacking in team speed we rarely score on the fast break.  Fast breaks lead to easy points on layups.  Tyler Cheese was the best on the break.   Although we are long, we are not a relatively quick team.

 

Need to do a better job on opposing guards:  Which leads to my second point, the Zips weakness has been opposing guards scoring points.  With Kent it was Carrey and yesterday it was Farrakahn, a frosh who scored 21 points.  Our defense simply has difficulty keeping these guys from scoring.  Clark needs to learn to move his feet on defense.  I watch Farrakahn blow past him numerous times.  Our lack of team quickness hurts this teams staying with quicker guards that can shoot, especially from the three.  Countless time I see Azziz coming out to defend a guard and he gets burnt on a three.  Groce has tried to double the guards which is great.  However, I have also seen our players collapse to the middle from the weak side and leave their man.  If you are getting killed by guards, stay with him all the time.  We have rim protectors with Azziz and Freeman.  This team needs to do a better job staying with quicker guards.  

 

Hit the boards, especially the offensive boards:  Finally, I like the effort of this team except on rebounding, especially offensive rebounding.  Rebounding should be a team effort.  There are a lot of offensive boards that are long rebounds and our players stand and watch when a shot goes up.  That is why Wynn and Dawson can be effective.  I would like to see everyone hit the boards.  Many times Freeman is the only one to hit the offensive boards.  Needs to be a team effort.  

Edited February 20, 2022 by 1981 grad

[clarkwgriswold]

I think this team is hamstrung by the lack of a real scorer.  Freeman is a fine player but he's not the guy you give the ball to when you need a basket in the clutch.  They don't have a player in the MAC's top 15 scorers.  They have a bunch of nice players, but nobody that's any better than a slightly above average MAC starter (other than Freeman).  That collective talent will win you 2/3rd's of MAC games.

 

Their offense seems slow and deliberate.  I suspect some of that may be intentional due to the lack of depth occasioned by Walton's departure, Wynn's whatever and now Trimble's absence.  I would though like to see them occasionally push the ball.   I also can't remember the last time they got the ball to a big man on a pick and roll.

 

On defense, their perimeter defense has been very susceptible to screens and skip passes.  They are 8th in the MAC in opponent 3 point FG percentage.  I'd also like to see them take some chances on getting into passing lanes for steals.  They're 11th in steals in the MAC.  With Freeman and Aziz in there they can take some chances as they can clean things up at the basket.

 

clarkwgriswold disclaimer- John Groce has more basketball knowledge in his little finger than I do in my entire body.

[NWAkron]

I know a little bit more about basketball than I do football (which is nothing).  So here goes:

 

(just kidding)

Edited February 21, 2022 by NWAkron

[Let'sGoZips94]

Lack of: PG, PG, PG, perimeter shooting threat(s), and... PG.

 

Simple as that. 

[GP1]

I love armchair coaching because it allows me to make judgements about coaches who know vastly more about their jobs than I do from the comfort of my house. I'm guessing the reason they are losing is because the other teams are scoring more point than them.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Who on this year's Zips team would start ahead of Xerius Williams, Christian-Jackson, Cheese and Banks? No one. Freeman would start over Riak.

 

Record-wise, this Zips team is right where it should be considering its talent level.

 

It's a good team. Not a great one.

[Blue & Gold]

Groce has been coaching his butt off this season.  But... it's his fault he's had to coach so hard this season because of some lackluster recruiting over the past few years.  The best teams don't require a ton of coaching.

 

Busts who transferred down:

Tre Edwards

Jermaine Marshall

Taylor Currie

 

Quite flawed players on current roster:

Tribble - can't shoot a lick

Clarke - can't shoot a lick

Trimble - usually can't shoot a lick

Wynn - apparently a head case? Idk.

 

And the thing I can't keep from grinding my gears is that our best player wasn't even recruited.  Have mercy, what would this team be right now without Freeman?  Is Freeman saving Groce's job?

 

Groce & Co. have to do a better job of recruiting.  Hopefully this next class of G's can right the ship.

[kreed5120]

When you factor in how bad the MAC is this year, this might be Akron's worst team in the last 20 years (excluding Groce year 0 rebuild). Outside of Freeman I don't see anyone fighting all that hard for rebounds or loose balls on a consistent basis. Ali is probably the only elite 3 point shooter on the team for an offense that heavily relies on the 3 and even then he's only putting up 3 attempts per game. Akron was playing some really great defense earlier in the season, but that has appeared to regress quite considerably. 

 

This team is just too flawed and doesn't have that one player who can put the team on his back to mask those flaws.

[zippy5]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Who on this year's Zips team would start ahead of Xerius Williams, Christian-Jackson, Cheese and Banks? No one. Freeman would start over Riak.

 

Record-wise, this Zips team is right where it should be considering its talent level.

 

It's a good team. Not a great one.

Yep, we just don't have the talent right now. It's simple. Different story if we had Carry and Walton on the floor. Still not as good as the 2020 team, but good enough to compete in the 2022 MAC

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Groce has been coaching his butt off this season.  But... it's his fault he's had to coach so hard this season because of some lackluster recruiting over the past few years.  The best teams don't require a ton of coaching.

 

Busts who transferred down:

Tre Edwards

Jermaine Marshall

Taylor Currie

 

Quite flawed players on current roster:

Tribble - can't shoot a lick

Clarke - can't shoot a lick

Trimble - usually can't shoot a lick

Wynn - apparently a head case? Idk.

 

And the thing I can't keep from grinding my gears is that our best player wasn't even recruited.  Have mercy, what would this team be right now without Freeman?  Is Freeman saving Groce's job?

 

Groce & Co. have to do a better job of recruiting.  Hopefully this next class of G's can right the ship.

I saw a practice once a few years ago and Maishe Daily and Mykal Dawson were sinking 3s from all over the place.  But during the game they routinely would/still miss wide open shots.   This team could possibly grind their way to one win in the tournament but that's about it.    It all comes back to the coaching staff:  looks like now two starters (Walton and Trimble) were head cases and are now gone.  They are literally arriving at the "my team is on the floor" moment.

[kreed5120]

6 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Yep, we just don't have the talent right now. It's simple. Different story if we had Carry and Walton on the floor. Still not as good as the 2020 team, but good enough to compete in the 2022 MAC

Did you see how bad we looked in Florida with Walton? I think we would even be worse with him. Teams would be able to freely double team Freeman anytime he received a pass in the low post and would be able to pack the paint to cutoff any dribble penetration. Walton makes Tribble look like an elite 3 point shooter. 

 

Someone like Carry who could help space the floor and create offense for others certainly would have helped.

[Blue & Gold]

19 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Someone like Carry who could help space the floor and create offense for others certainly would have helped.

Freeman and Carry on the floor together would have been unstoppable

[zippy5]

25 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Did you see how bad we looked in Florida with Walton? I think we would even be worse with him. Teams would be able to freely double team Freeman anytime he received a pass in the low post and would be able to pack the paint to cutoff any dribble penetration. Walton makes Tribble look like an elite 3 point shooter. 

 

Someone like Carry who could help space the floor and create offense for others certainly would have helped

On the flip side, we looked pretty good with him at OSU. Maybe he was just checked out at that point. 

[LoyalZIP]

The team is flawed and is certainly missing a few key pieces to make it a truly great team. Right now, it's a good team playing okay. They played a pretty good game against Kent, two of their worst performances of the year, and then one of their most impressive defensive performances in a TCB win. Akron's roster right now is made up of some of the best role players in the league plus the best big in the league. But there's no floor general to bring it all together, so a good team is all this really is. It's been frustrating to watch, but I still feel just as good about the program moving forward as I have for years now. You don't need to be a top 2-3 seed in the tournament every year to do something, and clinging on every win or loss for at-large talk or the NIT bid is tiring to me as an Akron fan. I haven't been thrilled with how this season has played out, but if any other team in the league loses their most talented and experienced player after three games and then gets a no-show from their lone sharpshooter for nearly the whole season, I don't know that they would be so fortunate to be in this same position.

 

To make a long story short, this team is a ball-dominant playmaking slasher PG guy away from being really really good, and if you throw in a 3-and-D guy like Banks, they would probably be the favorite in Cleveland. Assuming players continue to progress as they do in this program and the dead weight leaves and the new crop of guys is as good as it should be, UA will be in the championship race once again in 2023. But for now? Just beat BG.