Game 22- PCCC

[HoopsFan03]

I will add my thoughts from last night.

 

Tavari is awesome. Played 38 minutes.

Chabi played well. I see his minutes increasing, especially against bigger teams. 

Kent sucks. Gillespie is a beast and that's all they have. 

Enrique's mom was sitting courtside. Pretty cool for her to see all the 25 jerseys. 

 

Key to the season is keeping Lyles out of foul trouble. 

[GP1]

That was a thorough beat down. It's been a while since the talent disparity between the two teams, in either direction, was as wide as what I saw. 

[Westie]

OK I haven’t seen it brought up and it doesn’t bother me but the woman next to me last night was clearly troubled by the Jesus Won warmup shirts. Again no issue here but it did seem odd.

 

Great win. Rock fight as Groce called it. Was glad there was no stress down the stretch. I’d still prefer to see them only twice and not three times. 

 

 

[csims0917]

This Kent team had us in their heads and you could tell. Some crazy head scratching decisions. The Mahaffeys are the biggest game wreckers. They were causing problems all night. Getting Whaley back will help Kent but I feel like we didn’t shoot well overall. Let’s see if they can score 80 against us @ Kent if we’re back to normal. Barre being back was awesome. I feel like he could’ve been the difference against Miami 

[kreed5120]

29 minutes ago, ZIPS96 said:

Agree with this except the starters. Since the change for the most part we have started off very well in games, with more defensive intensity. Zack on the opening tip last night is a prime example. Our best 5 usually get the most minutes and play at crunch time, but I like our starting lineup.

 

This is kind of where I'm at. I think it's important to set the tone early defensively. Halligan diving on the floor for the opening tip off are the kind of plays that energize a team early.

 

I do agree with @Zippy87 that Halligan playing 25 minutes isn't ideal. Lyles and Eric both battling foul trouble likely played a role in that.

[Illini Zip]

I thought when Barre could get set on defense against Gillespie he was quite effective slowing him down. Dropping the shoulder and bulldozing might work against Lyles, but not Barre. Barre will definitely help keep Lyles out of foul trouble. Not only is it an additional body to throw at teams, but Barre helps where Lyles struggles and that’s much bigger players. At the same time their game is different enough that we should see them on the court together at times. 

[NWAkron]

The refs ignored this rule near the end of the game: (although I don't think the back bencher Kent player meant it as a taunt)

 

In NCAA college basketball, removing a jersey (shirt) within the visual confines of the playing area during the game (including celebration) is prohibited and will result in a technical foul. 

Key Rules Regarding Jerseys and Technical Fouls:

Removal of Jersey: Players cannot remove their jersey while in the visual confines of the playing area. If done, it is treated as an unsporting, non-sporting act or a taunt.

[Illini Zip]

Tavari was funny in the post-game interview messing around with Hardman and Lyles. Not a side you see too much from Tavari. Worth a watch.
 

At the time we debated what the loss of Tavari to the portal would have meant to this year’s team. The fact that Young has hit a wall with his offensive growth answers that clearly for me. Tavari has been exceptional all around. One of my biggest issues with Tavari in the past besides not holding his own defensively was he was always a shoot first point guard. This year he is actually looking to distribute and because of that he is far more dynamic and effective. Good on him. 👍

[MDZip]

 

50 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

Tavari was funny in the post-game interview messing around with Hardman and Lyles. Not a side you see too much from Tavari. Worth a watch.

The post-game @Illini Zip was referring to. 

[MDZip]

1 hour ago, Westie said:

Rock fight as Groce called it. Was glad there was no stress down the stretch. I’d still prefer to see them only twice and not three times. 

 

 

And the one @Westie mentioned 

[clarkwgriswold]

Zack getting on the floor with a broken nose and fighting for a ball 2 seconds into the game is a perfect snapshot of John Groce basketball.

 

Evan, Amani and Chabi did a good job on Gillespie and on offense the Zips got him in some disadvantageous switches drawing some of his fouls.

 

On to EMU with the knowledge we'll see a different team in Brimfield in 3 weeks.

[MDZip]

Also did not know Tavari was the leading rebounder for Akron with 9! 

[1981 grad]

I thought Cian Medley was a good player for Kent, very quick, and played really tough defense on Tavari.  He had full court pressure on Tavari a few times and really made him work to bring up the ball.  I was really suprised that he sat the bench the last 10 minutes of the game.  He averages 10 points a game and we held him to 3.  He did not shoot the ball well but the same could be said for every Kent player.

 

Tavari leading the team in rebounds does not surprise me.  One thing we are doing better is the guards coming back to the hoop looking for long rebounds.  With Kent shooting poorly from long range there were a lot of long rebounds.  Also, when I played street basketball there was a term, "following your shot" which meant after you shot you went toward the basket to get your own rebound.  At least once a game an Akron 3 point shooter would pick up an offensive rebound if he would follow his shot, espcially when shooting from the corners.

 

 

Finally, Kent missed a lot of open 3 point shots and shot 1 for 23.  Maybe we start a new contest at the Jar: "the Kent challenge."  Give somebody 23 three point shots and if they make 2 they win.  

Edited 2 hours ago by 1981 grad

[UAZipster0305]

18 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

Where has this defensive intensity been all year? We'd have 1 loss if we played like this on defense all season.

The defense was good, but the rebounding was awful. If Can't could have knocked down open shots, it would have been much closer.

[Zippy87]

3 hours ago, Westie said:

OK I haven’t seen it brought up and it doesn’t bother me but the woman next to me last night was clearly troubled by the Jesus Won warmup shirts. Again no issue here but it did seem odd.

 

Definitely odd, especially the timing. I'll be curious to see if it was a one-time deal. 

 

2 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

Tavari was funny in the post-game interview messing around with Hardman and Lyles. Not a side you see too much from Tavari. Worth a watch.
 

At the time we debated what the loss of Tavari to the portal would have meant to this year’s team. The fact that Young has hit a wall with his offensive growth answers that clearly for me. Tavari has been exceptional all around. One of my biggest issues with Tavari in the past besides not holding his own defensively was he was always a shoot first point guard. This year he is actually looking to distribute and because of that he is far more dynamic and effective. Good on him. 👍

 

Young just can't seem to get his shots to drop this year. He's playing good defense and is taking care of the ball better. I'm hoping he starts hitting more shots but I trust our player development. He's ahead of where Tavari was as a sophomore IMO, and we see what he has become. 

[NWAkron]

33 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

The defense was good, but the rebounding was awful. If Can't could have knocked down open shots, it would have been much closer.

my uneducated theory was that all those missed 3s led to a bunch of those offensive rebounds.  the buffalo teams back in the day would punish on 2nd chance points.

[Blue & Gold]

Those t-shirts are the same t-shirts worn by the Ohio State football team.  Easy way for young Christian athletes to witness & remind themselves "Jesus won" - that they're just playing a game that's intended to be fun; take the pressure off. Jesus won the greatest victory. Love to see it.

*And people actually wonder how Groce continually recruits such high character kids 😆

 

[Illini Zip]

38 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

Young just can't seem to get his shots to drop this year. He's playing good defense and is taking care of the ball better. I'm hoping he starts hitting more shots but I trust our player development. He's ahead of where Tavari was as a sophomore IMO, and we see what he has become. 

I agree that Young will continue to improve, but as a Sophomore he wasn’t ready to carry the load of starting point guard. That’s my only point. Defensively he’s way ahead of Tavari.

[1981 grad]

Has anyone else noticed that both Scott and Tavari have step back jump shots that are almost impossible to defend.  That is something new to their games this year.  Also, Scott has been much more aggressive in attacking and finishing at the basket this year.  That three point play where he got fouled and put the ball high over the defender was amazing.

[Zippy87]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Those t-shirts are the same t-shirts worn by the Ohio State football team.  Easy way for young Christian athletes to witness & remind themselves "Jesus won" - that they're just playing a game that's intended to be fun; take the pressure off. Jesus won the greatest victory. Love to see it.

*And people actually wonder how Groce continually recruits such high character kids 😆

 

 

I respect all religions and those who don't practice any religion. Personally, I'd prefer they stick to team gear on the bench. We are not a Christian school. But it's also not something I'm going to lose any sleep over.