Akron men's basketball coach John Groce wisely doubles down on trusting players | Ulrich
CLEVELAND — Travis Steele knew the “lunatic” who coaches the University of Akron men's basketball team would have his players ready for tournament time.
The coach of the Miami RedHawks, Steele has a better scouting report on Zips coach John Groce than anyone else.
After all, they're half brothers.
It's why Steele is allowed to affectionately call Groce a “lunatic” while detailing the latter's passion for the game.
It's also why Steele fully expected Akron to bounce back after the Zips fumbled away the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship with upset losses to Eastern Michigan on March 5 and Western Michigan on March 8.
In an effort to get Akron back on track in time for the MAC Tournament, Groce wisely doubled down on trusting his players.
Second-seeded UA responded Thursday evening with a 75-63 victory over No. 7 Miami in a MAC tourney quarterfinal at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Akron (22-10) advances to face No. 3 Ohio (20-12) in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The victor will meet the winner of No. 8 Kent State and No. 5 Bowling Green in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be at stake.
Steele had hoped to defeat Groce for the second time this season — Miami edged visiting Akron 70-68 on Jan. 27 — but now Steele will be cheering for the Zips to win the MAC tournament and enter March Madness like they did in 2022.
“Listen, it starts with my brother [and Akron senior forward] Enrique Freeman,” Steele said. “They've won this championship before, so you know they're going to be ready.
“All those [Zips seniors] came back for a common purpose, and that was to get back to the NCAA Tournament. So we knew they were going to be focused.”
UA was locked in, enabling it to shake off the nine-point deficit it encountered when Miami (15-17) went ahead 24-15 roughly midway through the first half. Akron captured a 37-35 halftime lead and never trailed again, finishing with a rebounding advantage of 44-28 and outscoring Miami 52-30 in the paint.
MAC Player of the Year Freeman posted his 29th double-double this season, compiling game highs in points (30) and rebounds (12).
Freeman explained the Zips have been carrying a chip on their collective shoulders since the regular season ended with a thud, leaving UA's players to “accept the truth” through self-reflection.
Groce believed Freeman and other locker-room leaders would hold each other accountable. He gave them the freedom to do so. He thought the Zips prepared well mentally, physically and emotionally for three days preceding the tournament. His faith was rewarded again when Akron resisted panicking despite Miami punching the Zips in the mouth during the first half.
“Player-led teams are much more powerful than coach-led teams,” Groce said.
The truth is Groce plays a pivotal role in setting the tone for UA. At the same time, he's been coaching long enough to realize the value in empowering players. All nine Zips who appeared in the game logged at least 10 minutes, a key to UA consistently pressuring the ball and ultimately winning the turnover battle 14-11.
“His passion — I think his team feeds off that,” Steele said. “They feed off that [with] how hard they play. They're tough.
“John's got a great motor, and it serves him really, really well.”
Akron Zips advance in MAC Tournament: UA men's basketball wins quarterfinal vs. Miami. Details can be found here
In other words, Groce is a “lunatic” in a way conducive to successful coaching. There is a method to his madness in terms of how he handles his team.
“There's going to be ups. There's downs. There's going to be curveballs and change-ups, and you've just got to be able to deal with it,” Groce said. “When you do have an experienced group, it certainly helps. And these guys, they care about each other, first and foremost. I mean, they love each other, so I knew that they would respond.”
Now Groce hopes his team possesses more momentum and confidence than it did when the regular season wrapped up in puzzling fashion last week. He's also smart to point out none of it guarantees anything against Ohio in the semifinal round.
More 2024 MAC Tournament news: Scores, schedule, bracket, TV and livestream info can be found here
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: John Groce trusted Akron men's basketball to respond in MAC Tournament
