Zips Basketball- Looking Back to 21-22/Looking Forward to 22-23

[kreed5120]

It's not really poaching if he already had 2 feet out the door.

[NWAkron]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Greg Tribble also retweeted Ali's announcement. So our guys are sticking with him which is nice to see.  They must understand the strictly business side of this better than I do.  I think I'd be miffed (like I am) that we had such a potentially strong, young nucleus ready to return & Ali blew it up.  Wouldn't you be upset at that if you were on the team?

You are reading a lot int a re-tweet.  I guess he should re-tweeted and added, "effing $&*#!!"

[Illini Zip]

I am leaning towards Ali maybe wanting to be closer to home in Indiana. And I bet, Groce sold Ali on Matta and Matta on Ali. I think it could be a great fit for Ali. Best of luck to him. Now hit the gym and the protein shakes young man.

[clarkwgriswold]

Thad Matta just got himself an 8 to 10 ppg Big East player.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Are we at a safe point of not losing anyone else at this point? 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[NWAkron]

On 4/8/2022 at 6:37 PM, zippy5 said:

I'd trade all our current basketball players, personnel, administrators and possibly body parts to see us in the elite eight

the guard with the mustache transferred to Bryant, not a step up.  

[clarkwgriswold]

11 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Are we at a safe point of not losing anyone else at this point? 

In today's day and age I don't think you're ever safe (e.g. Walton and Trimble).

[1981 grad]

Does anyone remember a time when after the season this board went pretty much silent and we did not have to worry about players transferring in, players transferring out, and where they were going?

[Blue & Gold]

With the commitment of Sammy Hunter, our roster is already looking good, but we still need one more legit wing to try & fill some of Ali's big shoes.

 

PG: X..................Clarke......... Tavari Johnson

G:   Tribble.........Kobe

G:   Dawson.......Nate

W:   Wynn..........

P:    Freeman.....Hunter

 

Point Guard: X is set in stone as the starter & may be a preseason All-MAC selection.  Clarke was coming on at the end of the year getting big (and productive) minutes in big games.  I think Tavari Johnson will redshirt (a minority opinion on the board - I think he'll need a year in the weight room).

 

G: I think Kobe will be a starter come MAC play.  He'll likely be our #1 shooter from the jump next season and he's had a year to acclimate to the intensity of D1 ball.  Tribble's lack of an outside shot still worries me.  I think that come MAC play Tribble will be bringing great energy and leadership off the bench.

 

G:  I like Dawson in the starting lineup. He's a junkyard dog and has a nice outside shot.  I think he'll hold the starting spot over Nate... for at least this year. (I think Nate will be our best player and face of the team after X & Freeman graduate.)

 

W:  Gaping hole here.  We need a strong wing who can come in and start from Day One.  

 

P:  Hunter is the Stretch 4 we were looking for.  He and Freeman could see a lot of time on the court together as he'll compliment Freeman much better than Aziz did.  If we could run 3 guards with Freeman & Hunter on the court together it'd be great.  But we still need a true 6'6"-ish wing, IMHO.

 

EDIT: I forgot to include incoming freshman Ryan Prather.  He's a 6-5 guard. At 6-5 could he add to our depth at wing?

Edited April 13, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

With the commitment of Sammy Hunter, our roster is already looking good, but we still need one more legit wing to try & fill some of Ali's big shoes.

 

PG: X..................Clarke......... Tavari Johnson

G:   Tribble.........Kobe

G:   Dawson.......Nate

W:   Wynn..........

P:    Freeman.....Hunter

 

Point Guard: X is set in stone as the starter & may be a preseason All-MAC selection.  Clarke was coming on at the end of the year getting big (and productive) minutes in big games.  I think Tavari Johnson will redshirt (a minority opinion on the board - I think he'll need a year in the weight room).

 

G: I think Kobe will be a starter come MAC play.  He'll likely be our #1 shooter from the jump next season and he's had a year to acclimate to the intensity of D1 ball.  Tribble's lack of an outside shot still worries me.  I think that come MAC play Tribble will be bringing great energy and leadership off the bench.

 

G:  I like Dawson in the starting lineup. He's a junkyard dog and has a nice outside shot.  I think he'll hold the starting spot over Nate... for at least this year. (I think Nate will be our best player and face of the team after X & Freeman graduate.)

 

W:  Gaping hole here.  We need a strong wing who can come in and start from Day One.  

 

P:  Hunter is the Stretch 4 we were looking for.  He and Freeman could see a lot of time on the court together as he'll compliment Freeman much better than Aziz did.  If we could run 3 guards with Freeman & Hunter on the court together it'd be great.  But we still need a true 6'6"-ish wing, IMHO.

 

EDIT: I forgot to include incoming freshman Ryan Prather.  He's a 6-5 guard. At 6-5 could he add to our depth at wing?

 

I want a replacement for Ali Ali, and I think we'll find one, but I'm not sure we need one. We are going from a guard-light team, that allowed Ali Ali to take 477 shots last year, to a guard-heavy team that has 4 new guards (good size, too) to consume 477 shots.

 

Those 477 shots were second on the team (X took more) and only led to less than 14 ppg. Can those 4 guards slot in and average more than 14 ppg in total with 477 shots? A modest 6 ppg per player (around Tribble/Dawson production) would equal 10 more ppg. That would be 78 ppg (subtracting Aziz's ppg), with zero increase in production from the returning guys. 

 

Moneyball.

Edited April 14, 2022 by Let'sGoZips94

[zipsrule]

19 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

I want a replacement for Ali Ali, and I think we'll find one, but I'm not sure we need one. We are going from a guard-light team, that allowed Ali Ali to take 477 shots last year, to a guard-heavy team that has 4 new guards (good size, too) to consume 477 shots.

 

Those 477 shots were second on the team (X took more) and only led to less than 14 ppg. Can those 4 guards slot in and average more than 14 ppg in total with 477 shots? A modest 6 ppg per player (around Tribble/Dawson production) would equal 10 more ppg. That would be 78 ppg (subtracting Aziz's ppg), with zero increase in production from the returning guys. 

 

Moneyball.

Don't forget there are two sides to the coin.  Ali averaged 14 ppg, but also played good defense.  Even if the guards can pick up the offensive slack, we still need an athletic wing player to play defense.

[LZIp]

1 hour ago, zipsrule said:

Don't forget there are two sides to the coin.  Ali averaged 14 ppg, but also played good defense.  Even if the guards can pick up the offensive slack, we still need an athletic wing player to play defense.

Ali was by no means an inefficient scorer either.

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 hours ago, zipsrule said:

Don't forget there are two sides to the coin.  Ali averaged 14 ppg, but also played good defense.  Even if the guards can pick up the offensive slack, we still need an athletic wing player to play defense.

 

You're correct. But I would imagine at this point any guys coming here understand what Akron & Groce's system are about - Z-Fence.

[Blue & Gold]

10 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Z-Fence.

💯💪

 

*Disclaimer: The "Z" is a registered trademark of The University of Akron Athletics Department and should not be construed as an endorsement the Russian war effort against Ukraine. 🤪

[kreed5120]

None of those guards are going to be able to replace Ali's minutes as Ali played the 4 and all of Clarke, Castaneda, and Tavari are too short to play the 4. You might be able to get a few minutes out of Dawson at the 4 per game (under 5 minutes), but he can't play there for extended minutes. Any way you slice it we need another 6'6+ wing.

[72 Roo]

8 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

💯💪

 

*Disclaimer: The "Z" is a registered trademark of The University of Akron Athletics Department and should not be construed as an endorsement the Russian war effort against Ukraine. 🤪

Thank God you clarified that B & G. Up until now I thought that UA was orchestrating the invasion of Ukraine. 

[clarkwgriswold]

There's no perfect spot for this, but our old friend Dru Joyce is moving on from CSU.  He interviewed for the head job and was offered a spot on the new staff but apparently has been offered an assistant job with a bigger program.

[LZIp]

40 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

There's no perfect spot for this, but our old friend Dru Joyce is moving on from CSU.  He interviewed for the head job and was offered a spot on the new staff but apparently has been offered an assistant job with a bigger program.

surprised Gates didn't take him.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

There's no perfect spot for this, but our old friend Dru Joyce is moving on from CSU.  He interviewed for the head job and was offered a spot on the new staff but apparently has been offered an assistant job with a bigger program.

 

I thought he would've been a great hire for CSU. Great NEO name with LeBron connections for a Cleveland program. Any idea who the bigger program is?

[clarkwgriswold]

12 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

I thought he would've been a great hire for CSU. Great NEO name with LeBron connections for a Cleveland program. Any idea who the bigger program is?

 

No, I just read it in a Cleveland.com/ Terry Pluto article.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2022/04/cleveland-state-basketball-scribbles-5-players-staying-dru-joyce-iii-leaving-terry-pluto.html

[jupitertoo]

And now it gets even more weird.  CSU President Harland Sands was fired today.

[Hilltopper]

18 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

And now it gets even more weird.  CSU President Harland Sands was fired today.

Not surprising considering all the shady hires he made during his tenure. Also the new baskeball coach might find it more difficult keeping his players academically eligible depending on who they hire to replace him.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/03/disgraced-ex-cuyahoga-county-official-promoted-to-head-of-csus-human-resources-department.html

[ZIPS96]

Akron F Michael Wynn has entered the transfer portal. verbalcommits.com/players/michae…

[Let'sGoZips94]

12 minutes ago, ZIPS96 said:

Akron F Michael Wynn has entered the transfer portal. verbalcommits.com/players/michae…

 

Another scholly opens up for a player that can be a bit more productive in our system. I very much appreciated how Michael responded to the adversity throughout the year, and made a huge push to contribute by the end of the season. However, he was a liability on offense. We need offense.