Youngstown State Exhibition

[Reslife4Life]

Through one exhibition game we have found the better Akron Zip named Tahj

[Let'sGoZips94]

4 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

Is YSU comparable to any MAC team? And are they a good barometer for our current abilities?

 

Based on the ebbs & flows of the game, they feel like a Balls/Directional Michigan level opponent. Not an end of season threat but can be competitive. 

[kreed5120]

Oriol just made a circus shot finish at the rim

Edited Wednesday at 12:46 AM by kreed5120

[Reslife4Life]

Wilson in the game

[clarkwgriswold]

Exavier Wilson in.

[kreed5120]

90-74, Akron clearing the bench

[clarkwgriswold]

RJ Jones and Christian now.

[Reslife4Life]

Something I have never seen before. Buddy hammer doing a close out with his arms up, clapped as the ball was shot. That seems really smart when you have no chance of tipping the ball

 

[Reslife4Life]

9 hours ago, csims0917 said:

Friendly reminder to not panic if we lose or look messy tonight! Especially with a new coach and core it's much expected. We've looked rough in some of these exhibitions in the past during the Groce era and turned out fine!

ZIPS TO THE FINAL FOUR

[clarkwgriswold]

Lots to like from what we saw tonight.  There are certainly things to clean and tighten up but there's a lot of talent on this roster, especially if Evan and Oriol make it through the NCAA minefield.  They are obviously bigger but due to their athleticism and depth they play at a pace equal to last year's team without as much of a reliance on the three.

[csims0917]

We definitely didn’t looked polished. Some really good individual efforts just not piecing all together yet but we somehow dropped 93 still
 

3 point shot has obviously regressed but the shot selection and creation overall still looked great

 

Overall it was about what I expected. Very excited for this team to get some games under them 

[NWAkron]

Seemless transition from Groce to Ford.  Exhibition so the refs were having some fun with it as well.  First time I've ever heard "Win for Akron" at a basketball game.

[Let'sGoZips94]

7 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

We definitely didn’t looked polished. Some really good individual efforts just not piecing all together yet but we somehow dropped 93 still
 

3 point shot has obviously regressed but the shot selection and creation overall still looked great

 

Overall it was about what I expected. Very excited for this team to get some games under them 

 

We shot 37.5% from 3P tonight. Last year's team finished the season at 37.9%. 

[csims0917]

That’s fair. It did pick up the last 10 minutes 

[kreed5120]

14 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

We definitely didn’t looked polished. Some really good individual efforts just not piecing all together yet but we somehow dropped 93 still
 

3 point shot has obviously regressed but the shot selection and creation overall still looked great

 

Overall it was about what I expected. Very excited for this team to get some games under them 

 

It definitely felt like a lot more defense leading to offense and second chance points from offensive rebounds. 

 

Tahj isn't going to drop 28 a night, but there is improvement opportunities elsewhere. I feel Pence will become a bigger part of the offense as the season progresses.

[csims0917]

https://www.reddit.com/r/YoungstownState/s/yPQfawxVuZ

[Illini Zip]

Tahj had 28 points in 26 minutes. 4 for 8 from  the arch. Pretty efficient night for him. 

[Zippy87]

My way-too-early take on what I saw tonight is that I think we can be special if Evan and Kamrin stay eligible, and may be behind Miami if they do not. 

 

- Staveskie is the real deal. He has a smooth offensive game and played good defense, too (5 steals tonight!). He plays with a ton of energy and was active on the bench. An excellent find for Ford.

- So was Oriol. He and Staveskie already have some great on-court chemistry, too. They could be the best backcourt in the conference. 

- Mahaffey looked like he made some improvements over the summer offensively to go with his always-elite defense. He's such a great leader - I hope he stays eligible. 

- Barre will likely be a work-in-progress, especially early on. The coaching staff seemed frustrated at his decisions around the rim (passing up shots or not going up strong), but he has the athleticism to be a difference-maker. 

- Pence seems like an elite athlete. Couldn't get his shot to fall tonight, but he will be OK.

- Hammer Jr. will be a fan-favorite. Tough kid who hustles his tail off. Led the team in rebounding tonight and was often matched up against bigger players. 

- MMK was doing MMK things - defending, battling in the point, making hustle plays. And he made a 3! 

- White probably made the least impact on the new guys IMO. He looked a bit slow on both ends to me. Only one game, though. 

- Perkins looked much better than what I expected from him so early on. You can tell there's a ton of potential offensively and what he lacks in size on defense he was making up for on effort. 

- I was surprised Wilson didn't play more.

- Burton, Halligan, Head, and Henderson were all inactive. I know an injury was mentioned for Burton, but unsure on the others. 

 

Edited Wednesday at 04:19 AM by Zippy87

[ZipsFan31]

Oriol played much better in the 2nd half 

 

does anyone know where was Henderson? 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Blue & Gold]

@ the 8:20 mark of the video Beaven asks about Josh Henderson. Coach said he's got a lower body injury & is going to be out a while 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Blue & Gold]

8 hours ago, NWAkron said:

First time I've ever heard "Win for Akron" at a basketball game.

I noticed that as well! 😅

[Blue & Gold]

@ the 1:20 mark of the players' interview I think Mahaffey says neither he nor Oriol played in the first two scrimmages.

[Blue & Gold]

Tahj's game was the best 'first game' I've ever seen from a Zip. Even X Castenada had a rough outing his first go at the JAR & it took him a number of games to find his comfort level in the blue & gold.

 

Tahj's game reminds me of X + a little trickier w/ the ball.