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Akron Zips basketball's culture set by coach John Groce has UA in good spot again | Ulrich
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- Akron Zips basketball's culture set by coach John Groce has UA in good spot again | Ulrich
Roughly midway through the University of Akron men's basketball season, Zips fans should be looking at each other and saying, "In John Groce we trust."
After Tuesday night's 85-78 comeback win over Mid-American Conference foe Toledo, the Zips are 11-5, including 4-0 in the MAC. By successfully defending Rhodes Arena from the Rockets, the Zips are also 8-0 at home and riding a four-game winning streak with formidable Ohio (10-6, 4-0) set to visit at 6 p.m. Friday.
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In Groce's eighth season as UA coach , he has been forced to adjust more than usual in a college sports landscape dominated by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals. As usual, he's doing a good job.
Akron basketball's win over Toledo: Zips men rally for MAC victory with a huge second half
Akron won the MAC Tournament and advanced to March Madness last year. Its 2023-24 season ended with a 77-60 first-round loss to Creighton and a record of 24-11.
A special six-player senior class headlined by Indiana Pacers rookie forward Enrique Freeman graduated, leaving Groce to lead the charge into a new era of Zips hoops. Reloading isn't unusual for MAC programs . It's the new norm. Still, UA has gone from possessing a tight-knit, veteran-laden roster to having nine new players this season, including five transfers. Seven players returned from last season's team.
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The Zips, new and old, have bought into what their coach is selling. Part of the pitch is "all gas, no brakes." Eleven UA players are averaging at least 10 minutes a game. One of them, junior wing Josiah Harris, is sidelined with an injury. Ten players received double-figure minutes against four-time defending MAC regular-season champion Toledo (9-7, 3-1). Half of those 10 are newcomers at UA.
Akron Zips coach John Groce talks with Seth Wilson during a game against Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.
Groce explained he has never played 10 guys this much in his coaching career. Depth and stylistic changes have allowed the Zips to increase their pace and 3-point shooting. UA is scoring 82.3 points per game and allowing 73.6 for a scoring margin of 8.7. It's shooting 11.4 3-pointers a game and making 35.1%. Last season, Akron averaged 73.6 points and surrendered 66.2 for a scoring margin of 7.4. It shot eight 3-pointers per game and made 32.4%.
In the first half Tuesday, the Zips lacked adequate energy and execution on defense. They trailed 42-30 at halftime. In the second half, Akron implemented some tweaks on defense, bolstered its intensity and unleashed its firepower, outscoring Toledo 55-36.
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Junior guard Nate Johnson scored 15 of his game-high 28 points and grabbed six of his nine rebounds in the second half. His point and rebound totals were single-game career bests.
Akron's Nate Johnson, right, steals the ball from Toledo's Sam Lewis on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.
Junior forward Amani Lyles added 16 points, all after halftime. Senior guard Shammah Scott scored 12 points. Senior guard Seth Wilson added nine points, with all of them coming in the second half.
"The biggest thing was just the resiliency, the zero panic, unbelievable poise," Groce said of his team bouncing back after halftime.
Players deserve credit for overcoming obstacles — Johnson carried the Zips by delivering his best game in a UA uniform — but there's also a blueprint in place for them to follow. The culture starts with Groce and his staff, and standout leaders like Freeman have built on the foundation in recent years.
Akron Zips coach John Groce shows his displeasure with an official's possession call during a game against Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.
Groce's love of basketball is hard to miss. The obsession has helped earn a record of 151-86 thus far during his Akron tenure. His players mobbed him recently while congratulating him on a milestone, win No. 150 with UA, a 105-81 triumph Saturday at Eastern Michigan.
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"As much as a player's good and they have that passion, he has that passion as well," Freeman told the Beacon Journal on Sunday after the Pacers won 108-93 at the Cavaliers . "Some days he just doesn't sleep 'cause he's like, 'I need to think about what's happening next,' and it's just his dedication to it, for sure."
A revamped roster could lead to more sleepless nights.
With new faces playing key roles, Groce conceded he's focusing on being "aggressively patient" this season. He volunteered an example related to coaching his big men on defense.
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"We play pick-and-roll coverage, and I have to remind myself sometimes like, 'OK, this guy doesn't maybe have it down yet,'" Groce said. "He's been here since June. Freeman didn't figure it out for a year-plus, and then the last three and a half, he was terrific at it. But the first year and a half, he didn't look like he did the last three and a half in that coverage.
"So why should I not be patient with a guy who's been here since June? He just showed up. He's never played that coverage before."
Indiana Pacers forward Enrique Freeman watches from the bench as the Pacers play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 12, 2025, in Cleveland.
The program's transition from Freeman and Co. hasn't been smooth every step of the way. When the MAC portion of the schedule arrived two weeks ago, Akron had lost three of its previous four games. The last of those setbacks occurred as the Zips ended a monthlong stretch away from home.
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"That really, I think, kind of galvanized us a little bit," Groce said.
More Akron Zips: Seth Wilson enjoys return to Northeast Ohio with UA men's basketball team
Akron needed to stick together Tuesday after a bizarre sequence resulted in Toledo taking six foul shots with 19.4 seconds left in the first half.
Toledo sophomore guard Sonny Wilson stole the ball and drew a foul from Scott on a fast break. Then Scott and Groce each received a technical foul ostensibly for expressing their disagreement with an official. Junior guard Seth Hubbard made the four free throws granted because of the technicals, and Wilson made one of his two attempts stemming from Scott's shooting foul. What had essentially turned into a five-point play put Akron in a 12-point hole at halftime.
An Akron Zips fan disagrees with a first-half technical foul called on UA coach John Groce during a game against Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.
Please excuse Groce while he gets philosophical about it.
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"The struggle's real," he said. "Everybody has struggles. Everybody's dealing with something. It's not perfect. I've got a daughter who's 9. You look at social media, and sometimes she thinks that's how you're supposed to look and act and everything's perfect. I hope she doesn't think, 'What's wrong with me?' Because she's screwed up like the rest of us. We're all screwed up.
"We've all got problems and issues and struggles. So we try to normalize it like, 'Hey, we just didn't play very good. Missed some shots. Had some turnovers. Had a couple technical fouls. They shot more free throws than we did.' There were a lot of things not going our way. But in this deal, it's how you respond to it."
Akron Zips coach John Groce calls in a play during a game against Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.
Groce pondering societal issues because the Zips went off the rails late in the first half is part of the reason he's such an effective coach. He reminds players there is more to life than basketball, and opening up to them builds trust. It also gets their attention.
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"It kind of gave us a spark, honestly," Scott said of the adversity UA encountered late in the first half. "Seeing Coach get fired up like that — then the crowd brought a lot of energy — we just played through that, and we just carried that over to the next half."
The Zips don't look the same as they did last season in terms of personnel or playing style, yet familiar levels of camaraderie and success may be attainable. Groce is continuing to adapt, and his players are following suit.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron basketball beats Toledo, John Groce's Zips stay unbeaten in MAC
