PORTLAND – Ali Ali is only a sophomore, but the University of Akron Zips forward had his name mentioned in the same breath with Kevin Durant Wednesday.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, whose fourth-seeded Bruins (25-7) take on 13th-seeded UA (24-9) at 9:50 pm Thursday in a first-round NCAA East Regional game at the Moda Center, said Ali jumps out on film.
“They’ve got a go-to forward that can make shots over people, he makes real shots. He’s playing unbelievably well, ”Cronin said of Ali.
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“You don’t see a lot of guys on film that can create their own shot in college basketball,” Cronin said. “It’s been 20 years since I’ve been an assistant, but I used to tell coach [Bob] Huggins and coach [Rick] Pitino all the time, it’s a rare time when you’re going to give a scouting report that a guy can make shots where he’s guarded. Most guys need an angle to score. Shooters need to get freed up to make a shot.
“He doesn’t need any of that. He makes some Kevin Durant shots. At 6-8, bang-bang, create a little space and shoot it over you. He’s really, really good. “
UCLA coach Mick Cronin: ‘Ali Ali may be the next NBA player out of the MAC’
Ali may have been a second-team All-Mid-American Conference selection and a member of the league’s all-tournament team, but Cronin predicted greatness.
“Ali Ali may be the next NBA player out of the MAC,” Cronin said.
A graduate of La Salle High School in Cincinnati, Cronin knows a good player when he sees one. Working under Huggins at Cincinnati, Cronin recruited NBA draft picks Steve Logan (Golden State), DerMarr Johnson (Atlanta), Pete Mickeal (Dallas), Kenny Satterfield (Dallas) and Jason Maxiell (Detroit). A graduate of Cincinnati La Salle High School, Mick Cronin followed around his dad, Harold “Hep” Cronin, a high school coach who posted over 400 career victories. Mick Cronin also spent two years under Pitino at Louisville before taking the top job at Murray State.
Consequently, Cronin won’t led the Bruins, who reached the Final Four a year ago, take the Zips for granted. Besides Ali, he mentioned junior guard Xavier Castaneda, sophomore forward Enrique Freeman, and guard Bryan Trimble Jr., given a leave of absence.
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“They’re just a rock-solid team,” Cronin said. “Castaneda is a great guard. Ali Ali, he can make guarded baskets, Freeman does a lot of things. They’re not as big as some Pac-12 teams, but I only look at who they are now. They went through some attrition. Since they had the last guy that was off the team, they’re 8-0.
“They’ve done everything well. They’ve got a go-to, they’ve got a great guard who can make tough shots. I always look at a team’s stats in they’re last five, last 10, [and] they’re shooting over 41% from 3 in that group of games. “
Cronin on Akron Zips basketball head coach John Groce, MAC conference
Cronin also knows UA coach John Groce, who has reached the NCAA Tournament as a head coach with his third different team after two trips with Ohio University and one with Illinois. Groce also went twice as an Ohio State assistant under coach Thad Matta.
“John’s always been a great coach,” Cronin said. “They play tremendous defense, they don’t have any liabilities in terms of guys that can’t guard the ball. They had to beat probably the three best teams at the end of the year besides them – Buffalo, Toledo and Kent State. They’ve got our full attention.
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“Happy for John. I know a couple guys on the staff. Good for them. Being from where I’m from, I’ve explained to our team, ‘Look up NBA players from the MAC Conference.’ It’s really a hard league to win. There’s really good players, it’s a well-balanced league, it’s like a mini-Big Ten. Great coaching. It’s historically been some great players.
“I’m well aware of the quality play in that league.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Zips at www.beaconjournal.com/zips. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.