Monday, March 05, 2001
Miami not thrilled to see Akron again
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Akron would not have been Charlie Coles' first choice for an opponent in the Mid-American Conference tournament. The Zips, in fact, might have been the 12th choice out of the other 12 MAC teams.
“We tried to run away from them,” Coles said. “But we couldn't get away.”
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AKRON at MIAMI
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• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Millett Hall (9,200) • Records: Miami (14-15, 10-8 in the Mid-American Conference), Akron (12-15, 9-9)
• TV: None
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450)
AKRON
Player-Ht-Yr-Avg
Rashon Brown-6-1-Jr.-13.0
Emmanuel Smith-6-2>So.<10.6
Bruce Weinkein-6-11 Nate Schindewolf-6-5-Sr.-14.5
Byron Thompson-6-6-Fr.-3.7
Coach: Dan Hipsher (75-86, sixth year; 201-131, 12th overall)
MIAMI
Player-Ht-Yr-Avg
Doug Davis-6-3-Jr.-9.1
J. Grunkemeyer-6-5-Sr.-11.2
Alex Shorts-6-8-Jr.-15.5
Mike Ensminger-6-6-Sr.-5.9
Juby Johnson-6-5-Fr.-6.4
Coach: Charlie Coles (fifth year 91-59; 183-143, 11th overall)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 9: Years since Miami lost in the first round of the MAC Tournament
• 0-3: Akron's record in the MAC tourney since rejoining the league
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The reason? Akron beat Miami twice this season — 58-55 on Feb. 17 in Akron and 56-46 on Jan. 24 in Oxford.
The two teams meet again at 7 p.m. today at Millett Hall.
“I hope the old adage is true: You can't beat a team three times in a year,” Coles said.
Coles says the reason Akron gives Miami fits is the Zip guards. Rashon Brown, a 6-foot-1 junior, and Emmanuel Smith, a 6-2 sophomore, are quick and penetrate a lot.
“Their guards control the action,” Coles said. “The way they play gives us trouble.”
Miami is traditionally a very good MAC tourney team. The RedHawks have reached the finals in each of Coles' previous four seasons as Miami head coach. Miami has not lost a first-round MAC game since 1991.
But this Miami team is very up-and-down and did not finish the regular season strong. The RedHawks lost three of their last four games. When the skid started, they were in the race for one of three first-round byes. They ended up the eighth seed.
Part of the problem is both of Miami's senior starters are struggling. Neither Jason Grunkemeyer nor Mike Ensminger scored in Saturday's 67-51 loss at Bowling Green.
Each has an excuse. Grunkemeyer is playing on a bad ankle; Ensminger is playing with a sore back.
“They're really hurting,” Coles said. “But we need them. I told them they're going to have to squeeze it a little harder.”
Ensminger played only 19 minutes Saturday. Coles held him out to save him for tonight.
Grunkemeyer has struggled against Akron. He's a combined 2-for-16 from the field against the Zips this year. Leading scorer Alex Shorts hasn't been much better. He's 7-for-26 from the field against Akron.
When the RedHawks play well, they're as good as any team in the MAC. To wit: They are 3-1 this season against the top three seeds in the MAC.
But that doesn't help tonight.
“This year, the MAC is about matchups,” Coles said. “We could play Bowling Green 10 times and lose nine. Akron is similar to Bowling Green.”
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