Game 25- Ohio

[LoyalZIP]

If we don’t beat EMU by 30 I’m going to donate my MAC tournament tickets to a children’s charity. I mean, Groce is losing this team. Out of control. 

[1981 grad]

Groce went with Nate Johnson instead of Hunter and I know he had one nice drive and dish in the second half but he is very hesitant on offense and needs to learn to go for the ball and rebound.  I cannot remember him pulling down a rebound tonight and he probably played 30 minutes.  He is a frosh but I just don't understand when you get a chance to shine you do not play with more aggressiveness. 

[bigjim]

Everyone needs to take a chill pill.  All teams have a bad road conference game when the other team is hot.  The Zips will be ready to go the rest of the season and in the MAC tournament.  

[LoyalZIP]

Groce went nuclear the 2nd time to draw the T because the refs refused to look at the play where Enrique got hammered in the face. Lol. I feel bad for the teams on the Zips’ schedule moving forward. 

[Blue & Gold]

40 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

Groce went with Nate Johnson instead of Hunter and I know he had one nice drive and dish in the second half but he is very hesitant on offense and needs to learn to go for the ball and rebound.  I cannot remember him pulling down a rebound tonight and he probably played 30 minutes.  He is a frosh but I just don't understand when you get a chance to shine you do not play with more aggressiveness. 

+1. Nate has the physicality to contribute much more than he is. Lots of empty minutes.

[clarkwgriswold]

9 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

+1. Nate has the physicality to contribute much more than he is. Lots of empty minutes.

That makes for an easy transition from Sammy. 

[clarkwgriswold]

Groce pretty well sums it up in the Beacon article-

 

“We have got to get better on defense,” UA coach John Groce said. “Our defensive numbers have been putrid for about the last five or six games other than the Kent game. We have got to be a lot better on that end of the floor.”

[NWAkron]

32 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Groce pretty well sums it up in the Beacon article-

 

“We have got to get better on defense,” UA coach John Groce said. “Our defensive numbers have been putrid for about the last five or six games other than the Kent game. We have got to be a lot better on that end of the floor.”

their offensive #s were fine.  But even if they made a few more FTs that wasn't going to make the difference.  of course, why do the other teams win with similarly lax defense?

[clarkwgriswold]

2 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

their offensive #s were fine.  But even if they made a few more FTs that wasn't going to make the difference.  of course, why do the other teams win with similarly lax defense?

I think the Zips lax defense is probably still better than about half of the defenses in the MAC.

 

As much as I hate the 2 losses in a row, this team is about what I expected heading into the MAC season and I need to keep that in mind.  This team has two stars and a bunch of otherwise very average talent.   The team just doesn't have the talent of the teams of the last 3 seasons.  Ali, Dawson and Bandaogo would make this a different team. That's not to say the young kids won't develop into something special in time.  What this team has in spades is heart and character and that will pull them through to some gritty wins (like PCCC) but the below prior standards talent can result in what we've seen in the last week.   We'll survive and the kids will play their hearts out.

[LoyalZIP]

If you would have asked me in November, I’d have probably said 9-3 after 12 games would be the best I would expect. Just got to get back on track. 2022 tempered me quite a bit, it’s almost weird how calm I am. 
 

If nothing else, Groce is helping smart bettors get a better price on a MAC title future. Go Zips! Big one for the women today

[Bigzip1]

12 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

If we don’t beat EMU by 30 I’m going to donate my MAC tournament tickets to a children’s charity. I mean, Groce is losing this team. Out of control. 

No way our fan base is this fickle. Couple of losses and he’s losing the team lol

Edited February 11, 2023 by Bigzip1

[LoyalZIP]

19 minutes ago, Bigzip1 said:

No way our fan base is this fickle. Couple of losses and he’s losing the team lol

Oh, we’re just getting started. #FireEverybody

[1981 grad]

12 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

Groce went with Nate Johnson instead of Hunter and I know he had one nice drive and dish in the second half but he is very hesitant on offense and needs to learn to go for the ball and rebound.  I cannot remember him pulling down a rebound tonight and he probably played 30 minutes.  He is a frosh but I just don't understand when you get a chance to shine you do not play with more aggressiveness. 

I just looked at the box score and Nate had 5 rebounds so what game was I watching.  However, I saw at least one play where he did not go for a rebound and it resulted in a Ohio layup and a play where he did not stay in front of his man and gave up an easy layup.  

[clarkwgriswold]

Just now, 1981 grad said:

I just looked at the box score and Nate had 5 rebounds so what game was I watching.  However, I saw at least one play where he did not go for a rebound and it resulted in a Ohio layup and a play where he did not stay in front of his man and gave up an easy layup.  

 

He has stretches where he looks like one of the best players on the floor and stretches when you wouldn't even know he's on the floor.  That's part of being 18 or 19 years old in your first real season of D1 basketball.  The thing I find most concerning is that he's already pressing Sammy for time, which is not a good comment on Sammy's contributions. 

[NWAkron]

14 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

Oh, we’re just getting started. #FireEverybody

#SaveMelissa.  #FireGroce.  #LostTheTeam. #Toledo'sB&%*$H

[Blue & Gold]

4 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

He has stretches where he looks like one of the best players on the floor and stretches when you wouldn't even know he's on the floor.  That's part of being 18 or 19 years old in your first real season of D1 basketball.  The thing I find most concerning is that he's already pressing Sammy for time, which is not a good comment on Sammy's contributions. 

Following one of our early games, after watching how Nate moves, and his explosiveness, and how he can pass the ball with either hand, I wrote something along the lines of, “We have 3 future pros in X, Enrique, and Nate.” I still think he’s got an amazing upside, but his lack of aggressiveness is frustrating. I have more confidence in Nate than he does in himself.

 

*By “future pros.” I’m not saying NBA.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Blue & Gold

[clarkwgriswold]

Just now, Blue & Gold said:

Following one of our early games, after watching how Nate moves, and his explosiveness, and how he can pass the ball with either hand, I wrote something along the lines of, “We have 3 future pros in X, Enrique, and Nate.” I still think he’s got an amazing upside, but his lack of aggressiveness is frustrating. I have more confidence in Nate than he does in himself.

 

I'd be more concerned if he was 2 or 3 years in and lacking that assertiveness/confidence, but he still has time to develop it.

[LoyalZIP]

Nate is Great. At relatively low volume, he’s a pretty reliable shooter. Has some versatility offensively. 44% 3pt shooter and has shown the ability to hit a nice turnaround fadeaway jumper with consistency. He plays really good defense and is getting more aggressive actually driving the ball, still with a lack of finishing skills. If he’s our 4-5 best option, we’re in pretty good shape. With that said, we will need Sammy to wake up again at some point. I can live with him going 2-11 in a game as long as he’s defending and rebounding, but he’s become an illegal screen machine and plays defense like a newborn giraffe. He was the only soul on the left side of the floor on his only 3pt attempt last night and left it way short. 

[clarkwgriswold]

Nate also plays much bigger than his 6'3" height and that's very much helped in the absence of reserve bigs.

[Let'sGoZips94]

I keep having to remind myself we are without our 3rd best player - Dawson. 

 

Keep Calm and Groce in March.

[Rufus]

That was one of the best all around games Ohio has played this year. I didn't have high hopes they could sustain the effort when Wilson got into early foul trouble, because that's usually doom for us. Castaneda is a stud, so much fun to watch that guy shoot the basketball, even as an opponent. Tribble's poster dunk was one of the better ones I have seen in the Convo in a while. The play that got Groce his T unfolded in front of us but I didn't see clearly what happened to Freeman when it happened. Groce clearly defended the heck out of his guy, to the point I really thought he was going to be ejected.

 

Great game, great atmosphere. Maybe we'll run into each other again in Cleveland. Until then, best of luck. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Rufus

[The Hip Zip]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:41 PM, LoyalZIP said:

If we don’t beat EMU by 30 I’m going to donate my MAC tournament tickets to a children’s charity. I mean, Groce is losing this team. Out of control. 

The Hurons have been playing everybody tough since they left town. I think they have covered every spread in the last 3 weeks or so. This one won't be the breeze the first tilt was. I'm guessing your post was sarcastic in nature but I think this will be a tough one.

Edited February 13, 2023 by The Hip Zip

[Captain Kangaroo]

On 2/13/2023 at 2:47 PM, The Hip Zip said:

The Hurons have been playing everybody tough since they left town. I think they have covered every spread in the last 3 weeks or so. This one won't be the breeze the first tilt was. I'm guessing your post was sarcastic in nature but I think this will be a tough one.

Evan Wilson circles the EMU games on his calendar for a reason.