Zips Basketball- Looking Back to 22-23/Looking Forward to 23-24

[clarkwgriswold]

Well, here we are, a week or more earlier that we had hoped but pretty much where many of us had predicted in the pre-season early predictions/projections thread.

 

This team suffered from very early on from a lack of depth and talent beyond X and Enrique.  It had two elite MAC top 5 players and otherwise no one above an average MAC talent.  On the positive side, this team had character and heart.  The kids were very likable, always played hard and you never got the sense that criminal charges were on the verge of ruining the season.  I'd take one Greg Tribble over ten Nick Harneys.  Dawson's injury and Bandaogo's departure put this team behind the eight ball early on.  Dawson is not likely to lead the team in any major statistical category but he has an edge/fire no one else on the team possesses.  You need a guy or two like Tyler Cheese and Channel Banks that have a little of that streetfighter edge to them down the stretch.

 

As long as Groce is here the Zips will be competitive.  This team had holes.  Part of that's attributable to bad luck (e.g. Dawson, Bandaogo) some of it is attributable to a lack of success on the recruiting trail.  I'll address individual players in a future post, but I would say in advance that none of the players suffered from a lack of effort.  Inattention occasionally, poor judgment at times, but I never saw anyone dogging it.

 

May the recruiting and transfer gods be with us.

[LZIp]

In my opinion, the transfers of Ali and Aziz robbed this program from potentially taking a step forward. Dawson's injury also hurt as well. obviously. Hunter and Hankerson maybe didn't quite live up to expectations, but were solid overall. Not busts by any means like some others in the past.  Hunter came along as the season went on, so hopeful for him in his senior season, but don't expect him to suddenly turn into a game changer . Though the goal is to win the MAC every year, I think we met reasonable expectations on the season. Kent and Toledo were clearly the favorites ahead of us considering what they had coming back.  Thanks to X and Hank and best of luck moving forward.

 

On to next year, I see us losing X and Hank and I'm worried. Continued development of Nate/getting Dawson back should fill the Hankerson void, but there is nothing close to replacing X's productivity unless Tavari can return to his form from the beginning of this season, quick. Frankly those expectations on a true sophomore are pretty unfair.  There's also the elephant in the room as to what Freeman will do. If he moves on, it doesn't look pretty. We have a few guards who generally play good defense and find other ways to impact the game, but are straight liabilities on offense. I'm not sure having two of those type of players on the roster, let alone on the court at the same time is ideal. I'd also like to have faith in our redshirts this year, and while I'm probably missing something, being redshirted in the transfer portal era on a team with holes where the staff spends the majority of the season throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks doesn't look promising. We also have Darrion Baker coming in who looks impressive, he'll be a true freshman so it isn't fair to expect him to be anything other than a solid role player.

 

To be a MAC contender next season (with Freeman), I feel we need to bring in a 7 footer for more size. A Deng Riak type is preferred so you can put them on the floor with Freeman, but beggars can't be choosers. We need more size however we can get it. Also going to need to bring in a scorer. Of course without Freeman..I fear we're a middle of the road MAC team (4-7 seed) next season unless Groce strikes gold in the portal. I'm just not seeing a promising season next year just rolling with returning what we are supposed to. I'd like think the staff thinks the same with only bringing in 2 HS recruits to replace our seniors. I'd expect a few other roster spots to open up, the staff needs to make the most of them.

[GJGood]

So, has it been officially stated that the Zips will not participate in any postseason tournament?

I have heard John Groce many times talk about how fortunate the Akron program is that they let the team go out and play people, yet that doesn’t seem to apply to March for some reason?

[clarkwgriswold]

Just now, GJGood said:

So, has it been officially stated that the Zips will not participate in any postseason tournament?

I have heard John Groce many times talk about how fortunate the Akron program is that they let the team go out and play people, yet that doesn’t seem to apply to March for some reason?

 

I'd like to get the kids some floor time, but they're not getting the NIT and I don't see them spending $27,500 to play in some half-@$$ed tourney like the CBI.

[Reslife4Life]

A core four of Enrique, Sammy, Dawson, and Greg will be a solid group for next year so hoping none of them transfer out. Hoping Nate and Prather/Prince will improve over the summer. I feel like Groce has the ability to attract a good guard transfer once again. I still believe we will be a top 4 team in the mac solely based on us being a Groce program. 
 

Transfer out guesses: Kobe, Tavari

[LoyalZIP]

The roster is of course a much more fluid situation than it was in past years. If you go back and read last year’s tournament thread (from the Zips’ 75-55 victory over Kent State in the MAC Championship), a lot of folks were fawning over the fact that the team had no seniors and everyone would be back. I think at this point now people should understand that it means nothing. Nobody is safe. Ever. 
 

I have stated theories as to why the roster shaped out the way it did. I am fine with how everything shaped out. In MAC play, Akron is 2nd in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency. Yes, X and Freeman were much better than the rest of the roster, but they are far better than average. 
 

With that said, I don’t think Groce wanted to have to rely on guys like Tavari and Nate as much as he had to for a lot of the season. My theory all along has been that Tavari was going to get an RS until a couple guys left, then he scrambled to get Mosengo and he wasn’t ready so Tavari got the roster spot. Clarke was okay this year considering the injury, but he has not lived up to expectations. Now, this team’s deficiencies aren’t to be aimed at one guy, but other than a nice big rim protector for some depth, a better scoring option at guard would have been big. Something that Groce will take into account this off-season. 
 

I was very impressed with what the program accomplished this year. I think they left quite a bit on the table with games like last night and I always circle back to the Nevada game too. The coaching staff got a ton out of this group. It was great to see Sammy come in later in the year, as he seemed to come to Akron on a bus from “Bust City” for most of the season. Perhaps if he finds his game earlier this year, we would be having a different discussion. 
 

Repeating is hard. I was at many times expecting to be let down in the middle of the season. But these guys had a damn good season. After 5 weeks, they were alone in first place. Then they took some blows and never quite answered the way we had hoped. Buffalo is the only team to repeat in the last 20 years, with 4 wins in 5 seasons from 2015-2019. I felt all year long that we were a lot like that 2016 Buffalo team. At no point were they ever the favorite to win it all after they were an afterthought for turning over most of their 2015 title roster. But they hung around long enough and we found out the hard way. The Zips had a similar situation, but couldn’t seal the deal. Damn. 

[GJGood]

8 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

I'd like to get the kids some floor time, but they're not getting the NIT and I don't see them spending $27,500 to play in some half-@$$ed tourney like the CBI.

I get that. Akron did play in the CBI once before and schools like Ohio and our archrival have before. This year’s team just seems like it could use it with the development of some younger guys and they would likely be playing more than one game.

What would make the CBI a more valuable or viable tournament to accept an invitation to?... Since it is now all in one venue and the whole event last a grand total of four days, would making its format like a holiday tournament (multiple game guarantee, 3rd place, 5th place games, etc..) help get teams to commit? What if it came with a future season scheduling component like the old Bracketbusters did?

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

Courtesy of our favorite Illinois import, @Illini Zip. 

 

Personally, I think one or both of Kobe Mitchell and Garvin Clarke are transfer candidates. Prather, Tavari, Nate, Dawson, and Tribble are a formidable backcourt. I would expect Groce to find another veteran PG to bring in via the Portal, should a spot open up. 

 

As it currently stands, this is our front court (*AS LONG AS FREEMAN RETURNS*)...

 

Enrique Freeman - 6'7" SR (one of the best Forwards in the country)

Sammy Hunter - 6'9" JR (stretch 4)

Amani Lyles - 6'7" SO (raw but showed promise; plays bigger than 6'7")

Prince Mosengo - 6'8" RFR (I think a stretch-style forward?)

Darrion Baker - 6'7" FR (McDonalds All American nominee; from the highlights, can do a little bit of everything)

Marvin Musiime-Kamali - 6'6" (I think a stretch-style forward?)

 

 

Our front court is quite deep and versatile looking at the above. I wouldn't put it past Sammy to develop into a better complimentary piece to Freeman in the post (stronger, better rebounder, etc.). Same with Amani Lyles. I'm not entirely sure a 7 footer is needed. I watch what Groce and his staff have done with Freeman's development, and it's fascinating. They've taken an undersized big, and equipped him with an arsenal of quick moves in the paint to get around bigs. It's a total mismatch against 99% of the bigs we face. The same thing can be done with the rest of the front court. 

 

This team was missing shooters more so than a big man IMO. I also look at Groce's OU teams, and I think the tallest player was 6'9". The difference: they had Cooper, Kellogg, Keely, etc. - legitimate threats from the perimeter and basically anywhere on the floor. We needed that. Hankerson, being advertised as a 3 & D guy, often lacked the 3 part. Dawson never played because of the injury. Tribble just is what he is offensively (he's an awesome Zip, and one of the heartbeats of the squad). The rest of our guards were liabilities this year. If we had one more shooter, we win last Friday, we win last night, and we'd be playing tonight.  

 

Interested to see if we accept an invite to a postseason tournament to get the young nucleus on this team some more experience, and X some more tape for the pros (overseas; pro tip, X, file your taxes correctly). 

 

It is only appropriate to finish this post with a prayer. Let us pray...

 

Dear Basketball Gods,

 

May the winds blow in the direction of Freeman staying and playing one more year in the Akron Blue & Gold. May the offseason bring us a cold-blooded shooter, and may this team be blessed with health and strength development. 

 

And to avoid sounding greedy, I will not ask for Tribble to develop a jump shot.

 

Amen.

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Let'sGoZips94

[zippy5]

I'm not worried about Hankerson leaving. Dawson will step in and be at that level at worst imo if not an improvement. I'm worried about filling Castenada's shoes because we don't have any sort of playmaking guard on the roster. Johnson showed some flashes but counting on that is a huge risk. 

 

Then of course Enrique. Please stay.

[LoyalZIP]

Each of the last 4 season’s we’ve seen a fairly significant amount of turnover to the roster. At no point have we gone into the next season in “run it back” mode. To me, I see it as a sign of hope that the program is strong and can re-load and re-tool at a pretty high level. Each team has looked different in many spots and I think the staff has done a nice job of 1. Reloading with adequate talent and 2. Finding a style that is successful. In 2020, we were loaded with a great scoring guard. Not much post scoring and didn’t rely on the 3 very much. 21 was guard heavy with a decent post option. But that was HEAVY usage by LCJ to give us a good shot. 22 was a hot mess until Trimble was axed. Then, it was half court throw it into the post and work from there. 23 more of the same, but with ball-dominant guard mixed in, and an inside-out 3 point shooting team. I’m very curious to see what direction 24 takes us. I really like that about this staff, they are a great mix of stubborn and flexible. 

[Zippy87]

Some thoughts:

 

1) The re-recruitment of Freeman starts today. UA Athletics needs to do everythi g within reason to retain him. If he leaves, we're immediately in a "retool" year.

 

2) They need to be aggressive in the transfer portal to bring in an experienced point guard who can score and create. X didn't play well last night, but he did over the course of the season and has big shoes to fill. It should be an attractive role for an outside player - starting PG for a top mid-major with an elite big to partner with. 

 

3) To open that spot, someone will need to go. Kobe Johnson is the most obvious candidate. Tavari Johnson and Garvin Clarke are other possibilities. 

 

4) To be successful in college basketball today, you have to do well in the transfer portal. Looking back over the Groce era, there's some big hits and some big misses. 

 

Xavier Castaneda

Loren Cristian Jackson

Xeyrius Williams

Tyler Cheese

Channel Banks

Trendon Hankerson

Sammy Hunter

Bryan Trimble

Michael Wynn

KJ Walton

Maishe Dailey

Deng Riak

Eric Hester

Malcolm Duvivier

 

5) We'll be entering Year 7 of the Groce era next season. We've had two really good teams (2019-20, 2021-22), two OK MAC teams (2020-21, 2022-23), and two mediocre one's (2017-18, 2018-19). Covid knocked out a potentially special March run and we almost got the job done vs UCLA last year, but one thing Zips fans have learned is "close" doesn't count for much. To continue to move this program upward we'll need consistent portal success, HS recruits who can impact the team by Year 2, and a strong investment from UA and its stakeholders. 

 

[clarkwgriswold]

It's imperative that they get some depth at the bigs.  You can't rely on a 6'3" guys to be your primary backup big.  I don't even mean starting highly impactful starting bigs but somebody who can step up behind Enrique and provide minutes and fouls.  As an example, a guy like PCCC's Payton.  I don't see a traditional big being successful as a starter as Enrique for all of his talents cannot play away from the basket and two guys like that would jam up the offense.  Ideally, we'd get a backup big or two and add a stretch 4 (ala Xeyrius) that can stretch the floor and rebound.   

 

As for this year:

Castaneda-  I realize he dropped off somewhat towards the end of the season but I think that had more to do with teams watching two years of video, coaches figuring out effective defenses against him and having no offensive help outside.  This is a .500 at best without him.  Grade: A.

 

Freeman- best big man in the conference forced to play with little or no help down low.  He not only performed this year but continued to expand in his role as a team leader.  Grade: A.

 

Hankerson- there have been many negative comments about him on here but the reality is that he was thrust into a role that no one anticipated.  He is clearly best as a solid role player not as a primary scorer.  Dawson's injury and Hunter's frequent disappearance made him the #3 guy on a team where he should have never been considered more than the 4th or 5th best player.  I think we'd be content with his numbers as the 4th or 5th guy on the stat sheet.  Grade: B-.

 

Hunter-  Sammy, Sammy, Sammy...   I think we all hoped he would be Xeyrius 2.0, a stretch 4 with a great shot who could also have an inside presence.  The comment from the Marshall color guy about him not being able to perform when you can smell popcorn was both hilarious and very insightful.  He showed promise in games late in the season but his season was a disappointment overall.  Grade: C-.

 

Tribble-  the most tenacious player on the team and maybe the team's smartest player.  Unfortunately, his shooting technique is obviously so engrained that it's become unfixable.  Opponents have figured it out and have sagged off of him all season.  Fortunately, he makes up for it with is versatility and defense.  I'd love his intensity off of the bench.  Grade: B.

 

Clarke-  showed his promise after coming off of injury.  He's never going to be an All-MAC guard but when he makes good decisions he is solid and serviceable.  Grade: C.

 

Nate Johnson-  maybe the most talented all around player in the team.  However, he has maddening mental lapses and sometimes just disappears on the floor.  Hopefully, these go away with age and experience.  Plays much bigger than 6'3".  If he can avoid the mental lapses and his on the court judgment improves, there's no reason he can't develop into an All-MAC player as a Zip.  Grade: B-.

 

Tavari Johnson-  shows great promise but I fear he may be on his way to the transfer portal.  I believe he could really flourish in a John Groce offense as he matures.  However, I fear his inconsistent use may lead him to look for what he believes are greener pastures.  Grade- B-.

 

Lyles-  did well when called upon, but he needs to develop the ability to move out on the floor if he's going to develop further.  Also suffered from the occasional mental lapse.  If Bandaogo was here I suspect he may have had a redshirt year.  Grade: C+.

 

Mitchell-  another candidate for the portal.  I think we all anticipated a breakout at some point that never came.  He was just a R-Freshman so there's still time, I'm just get a feeling it won't be here.  Grade-  Incomplete.

 

Mayfield- who knows what we have here.  He needs some supplements and the weight room for now. Grade: Incomplete.

 

Wilson- this kid knows his role.  Best towel waiver and cheerleader on the team.  Grade: A+. 

 

Wish list-  a good stretch 4, a decent sized guard who can score and one or two decent backup bigs.

[zippy5]

I'm hopeful for Baker next year

[LoyalZIP]

Great stuff as always  @clarkwgriswold

 

Hankerson has caught a lot of strays and I have been fighting back on that all year. Should he have taken more initiative to be a scoring threat all over the floor? Perhaps. But I think Sammy was the guy the staff was banking on being that 3rd go-to guy. Talk to anyone who saw practices in the summer and throughout the season, and that’s the consensus. Hankerson was a stud as a 3&D guy. Put up similar numbers to Banks. Sammy was billed as sort of an X Williams. He showed flashes this year, and it’s big that we get him back. 
 

I think there’s a chance Tavari transfers. I also would caution him in that I see him getting the keys to the Cadillac very soon. Groce has turned 3 guards from Chicago into phenomenal MAC players that have made a lot of money playing professionally and have won a lot of titles at Akron and Ohio. In the transfer age, it was good to get him on the floor this year, even in a limited role with a lot of struggles along the way. 

[zippy5]

Not sure about the Tavari transfer talk. He's in line to be the starting PG if there isn't a transfer in at the moment 

[Let'sGoZips94]

Just now, zippy5 said:

Not sure about the Tavari transfer talk. He's in line to be the starting PG if there isn't a transfer in at the moment 

 

Part of his recruitment was LCJ. I don't see a guy of similar stature leaving when he has seen his build thrive under Groce. 

[Blue & Gold]

3 hours ago, Reslife4Life said:

Transfer out guesses: Kobe, Tavari

Tavari?  Hope not. I think he's going to be a good one.

[LZIp]

re Hankerson vs Hunter expectations. While Hunter was a very intriguing add to the team considering his size, shooting ability, and where he came from, my expectations for him weren't as high as Hankerson as he's younger and has played A LOT less ball. Hankerson was a proven top 1-2 player on his team and in the league. He averaged double digit points his prior two years at NIU having the first or second best defender on him. He was the 3rd guy here and his average dropped more than 2 points compared to his final season at NIU.  Hankerson scored his 1000th collegiate point this season, along with X and Freeman. Hunter will never sniff that much. 

 

Regardless, its too bad any transfer gets 1 year with the program. The only one I recall coming in and lighting it up in year 1 was Xeryius (but even so Xeryius was with the program a year before he played). LCJ didn't look like the LCJ we know in his first year in the program, same with the other "hits"...Cheese, Banks, and even Castenada took a big step forward in his second year in the program.

Edited March 11, 2023 by LZIp

[kreed5120]

57 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Not sure about the Tavari transfer talk. He's in line to be the starting PG if there isn't a transfer in at the moment 

Is he though? It seemed Clarke passed him in the rotation once he returned healthy. Tavari has been a bit careless with the ball. He's a better scorer, but Clarke seems like the better facilitator on offense. The thing with Clarke is you need him surrounded by capable shooters as he's never going to be a guy who can take over the game offensively. He's also a vastly better on ball defender.

 

Edit: I do think Tavari has the higher ceiling, but the game just seems a little fast for him still. He needs to improve his in game decision making.

Edited March 11, 2023 by kreed5120

[zippy5]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

Is he though? It seemed Clarke passed him in the rotation once he returned healthy. Tavari has been a bit careless with the ball. He's a better scorer, but Clarke seems like the better facilitator on offense. The thing with Clarke is you need him surrounded by capable shooters as he's never going to be a guy who can take over the game offensively. He's also a vastly better on ball defender.

Clarke is who he is. He's gonna give decent minutes off the bench and play good defense. He's not gonna be a 30 minute guy at the point next year 

[NWAkron]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

Is he though? It seemed Clarke passed him in the rotation once he returned healthy. Tavari has been a bit careless with the ball. He's a better scorer, but Clarke seems like the better facilitator on offense. The thing with Clarke is you need him surrounded by capable shooters as he's never going to be a guy who can take over the game offensively. He's also a vastly better on ball defender.

 

Edit: I do think Tavari has the higher ceiling, but the game just seems a little fast for him still. He needs to improve his in game decision making.

Very hard to get a good read on Tavari.  I would like him to stay.  Like others have said, LCJ and X took a season to get going but Tavari doesn't seem engaged in the team.

 

As for Clarke: Akron has one guard who can't shoot or make a lay up: Tribble.  Do the Zips need two?

[zippy5]

I like Garvin. Maybe Tavari isn't the guy, but I know Garvin isn't. Imagine sixty combined minutes from him and tribble. They might throw four guys on Enrique 

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

It's imperative that they get some depth at the bigs.  You can't rely on a 6'3" guys to be your primary backup big.  I don't even mean starting highly impactful starting bigs but somebody who can step up behind Enrique and provide minutes and fouls.  As an example, a guy like PCCC's Payton.  I don't see a traditional big being successful as a starter as Enrique for all of his talents cannot play away from the basket and two guys like that would jam up the offense.  Ideally, we'd get a backup big or two and add a stretch 4 (ala Xeyrius) that can stretch the floor and rebound.   

 

As for this year:

Castaneda-  I realize he dropped off somewhat towards the end of the season but I think that had more to do with teams watching two years of video, coaches figuring out effective defenses against him and having no offensive help outside.  This is a .500 at best without him.  Grade: A.

 

Freeman- best big man in the conference forced to play with little or no help down low.  He not only performed this year but continued to expand in his role as a team leader.  Grade: A.

 

Hankerson- there have been many negative comments about him on here but the reality is that he was thrust into a role that no one anticipated.  He is clearly best as a solid role player not as a primary scorer.  Dawson's injury and Hunter's frequent disappearance made him the #3 guy on a team where he should have never been considered more than the 4th or 5th best player.  I think we'd be content with his numbers as the 4th or 5th guy on the stat sheet.  Grade: B-.

 

Hunter-  Sammy, Sammy, Sammy...   I think we all hoped he would be Xeyrius 2.0, a stretch 4 with a great shot who could also have an inside presence.  The comment from the Marshall color guy about him not being able to perform when you can smell popcorn was both hilarious and very insightful.  He showed promise in games late in the season but his season was a disappointment overall.  Grade: C-.

 

Tribble-  the most tenacious player on the team and maybe the team's smartest player.  Unfortunately, his shooting technique is obviously so engrained that it's become unfixable.  Opponents have figured it out and have sagged off of him all season.  Fortunately, he makes up for it with is versatility and defense.  I'd love his intensity off of the bench.  Grade: B.

 

Clarke-  showed his promise after coming off of injury.  He's never going to be an All-MAC guard but when he makes good decisions he is solid and serviceable.  Grade: C.

 

Nate Johnson-  maybe the most talented all around player in the team.  However, he has maddening mental lapses and sometimes just disappears on the floor.  Hopefully, these go away with age and experience.  Plays much bigger than 6'3".  If he can avoid the mental lapses and his on the court judgment improves, there's no reason he can't develop into an All-MAC player as a Zip.  Grade: B-.

 

Tavari Johnson-  shows great promise but I fear he may be on his way to the transfer portal.  I believe he could really flourish in a John Groce offense as he matures.  However, I fear his inconsistent use may lead him to look for what he believes are greener pastures.  Grade- B-.

 

Lyles-  did well when called upon, but he needs to develop the ability to move out on the floor if he's going to develop further.  Also suffered from the occasional mental lapse.  If Bandaogo was here I suspect he may have had a redshirt year.  Grade: C+.

 

Mitchell-  another candidate for the portal.  I think we all anticipated a breakout at some point that never came.  He was just a R-Freshman so there's still time, I'm just get a feeling it won't be here.  Grade-  Incomplete.

 

Mayfield- who knows what we have here.  He needs some supplements and the weight room for now. Grade: Incomplete.

 

Wilson- this kid knows his role.  Best towel waiver and cheerleader on the team.  Grade: A+. 

 

Wish list-  a good stretch 4, a decent sized guard who can score and one or two decent backup bigs.

Anyone who thinks we don't need more bigs clearly forgets the games against Toledo where we asked 6'2 guards to guard 1st Team All-MAC Shumate. Theoretically on paper we have guys with size, but that doesn't matter if they aren't good enough to see the court for meaningful minutes. Dawson should help some as he can play the 3 or 4, but we need to add someone else to the rotation that is >6'5 who can give us ~15 productive minutes a night.

[kreed5120]

Just now, zippy5 said:

I like Garvin. Maybe Tavari isn't the guy, but I know Garvin isn't. Imagine sixty combined minutes from him and tribble. They might throw four guys on Enrique 

The real solution is I think we need to transfer someone in for the position, like we did with Castaneda. Handing the keys to the offense over to someone Groce pretty much benched the second half of the year for his poor decision making would seem like a recipe for disaster.

 

That's not to say Tavari couldn't win the position mid-season. I think he had a really high ceiling. He just seems really raw and I'd prefer him more as a 2 guard at this stage of his career.

[zippy5]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

The real solution is I think we need to transfer someone in for the position, like we did with Castaneda. Handing the keys to the offense over to someone Groce pretty much benched the second half of the year for his poor decision making would seem like a recipe for disaster.

 

That's not to say Tavari couldn't win the position mid-season. I think he had a really high ceiling. He just seems really raw and I'd prefer him more as a 2 guard at this stage of his career.

My comment was Tavari is next in line at the moment. I don't disagree