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Here are some images from this mornings practice. Notes to follow.

Not sure that's a fair statement. The landscape of college basketball and recruiting is changing. Groce has been tasked with stopping the bleeding, and 4 year players don't exactly do that at this level, especially when some of your initial 4 year players aren't locker room fits. Get me a winning product. I don't care if that's 10 4 year players, 10 1 year players, 10 JUCOs, or a concoction of everything. Win.

KD once explained to me the plight of the mid-majors. If you want to field a team that has a chance to make some noise comprimises have to be made when recruiting players. The P5 schools gobble up all the sure bet players. Some of them may never see the floor, but hey they played for Duke, NC, etc... That leaves guys who have talent but also some baggage that scared away the big schools. Guys like Tree(bad temper), BigDog(weight issues), Harney(weed, attitude), etc... For a mid-major coach to be successful he has to juggle all these guys with problems and find enough other role players to put together a winning team. Sometimes those combinations just don't work out. With the advent of the transfer rules it has made it easy for players and coaches to get a divorce.

A couple weeks ago Zips redshirt sophomore receiver Jeremiah Knight was nice enough to answer a few questions from me and Dr. Z after practice. Here's his story - Catching On As always, thanks to Dr. Z for the great supporting photography and layout!

...and his mommy didn't have to pretend he was on the crew team and pay half a mill to get him in!

It was tough to get to my keyboard this weekend. Here are some belated practice notes - As per usual, there were group practice drills, interspersed with a few scrimmage periods. Lots of work in the red zone. We are going to have a lot of red zone options this upcoming season. It will be tough for anyone to cover Dre, Boogie, Nate and Jonah when we go 4-wide. Someone's going to be open. It doesn't seem like there's any doubt that this is Kato's team. In comparison to last season, he seems much more mature and poised. An Achilles heel of his has been letting his emotions get the best of him. Maybe Arth's calm demeanor is rubbing off on Kato a little? Speaking of Arth, he's definitely coaching "harder" in week 4 of the spring. In the first two Saturday practices there weren't very many critical assessments. Everything was positive. Today you heard a little barking at guys that lined up in the wrong spot, or who didn't know the play. Expectations are higher than one month ago. Reggie Corner was on the sidelines. Apparently injured. Ditto Dre Williams. Sampson and Keyondre White also didn't play. If the number of practice reps has anything to do with the QB pecking order, it looks like it's Kato, then Kelley, then TJ Deshields and then Ramart. Deltron is definitely bigger. Hopefully that helps his durability...staying healthy has always been a struggle for him. He had a really nice 35 yard TD run in one of the scrimmage sessions where he made a couple inside juke moves, then broke it outside and outran everyone to the endzone. Jonah Morris looked very good yesterday. Made some nice catches in the endzone. Nate Stewart continues to impress. He's had an excellent spring. There's no way diminutive RB Brandon Lee isn't seeing meaningful snaps on offense this season. He has the height of Franshon Bickley, but the comparisons end there. Tough runner with great speed. Jerry Fitschen got a couple opportunities to kick the ball through the uprights instead of just kicking off, and acquitted himself very well. He hit a 37 yarder to end the practice. Kato hit Dustin Burkhart on a long 50+ yard TD bomb late in the day. It was fun seeing Shawn Featherstone back in action. That's all I've got. It was more drills than scrimmaging today, so there weren't a lot of "sexy" happenings to report on. The biggest positive I walked away thinking about is - A more mature, improved Kato, plus 4 high level WR's in Josh Boogie, Nate and Dre means our offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch next year. We have a nice jab and punch combo in the backfield, where we can go small/fast with Sands and Lee, and power/big with White and Alce. Floyd has looked good too. And, I think Arth will find a way to feature Wolfley. He was underutilized last season.

I'll start some notes, but I know @Captain Kangaroo has more. It's difficult to photograph, and be very attentive while keeping an eye on multiple footballs and players, but here are a few. ◙ The most positive thing I witnessed, in my opinion, is to see our quarterbacks go through progressions. I saw Kato look off receivers and go to his second option multiple times. ◙ Speaking of "options" I like to see the the team practicing red zone offense for good amount of time. Lots of options for the QB in the red zone passing game. ◙ I think it's unfair to judge an offensive line right now. I would have to watch individuals multiple times. As coach mentioned to Joe Dunn yesterday after practice, I think our run game is behind some. But there were multiple good runs by Deltron. I didn't get to speak with him after, if I did, I would have asked if he put on some weight. He looks bigger to me, but maybe thats because he was wearing #41 with a lot of space between the four and the one. ◙ Coach Arth, and staff, are constantly teaching, he will either tell someone what they did right, or what they did wrong after ever snap. He seems to really enjoy it, and every player and parent that I talk to says the same. ◙ Coach Arth held a breakfast with University faculty and staff before practice, going around to each table for a meet and greet. I think the phrase "he just gets it" is overused, but I wouldn't argue with anyone that said that about him. ◙ Referees attended the practice. There were also refs that were in training. Once in awhile they would throw a flag. Kind of interesting to hear some of the teaching, I hesitate to write what I heard. I'll just say it confirms a lot of what I thought about particular calls. The refs also mentioned a few things to the group after practice. ◙ Nate Stewart made a great case for himself seeing the ball often. He fights hard in one on one situations, and was very successful yesterday. If I'm the QB, and he has one on one coverage, he has my attention. ◙ I wish I could give you more detail about the defense, but I'm only coming up with a few things. Dylan Meeks stood out on a few short yardage plays. I noticed Michael Scott with multiple successful stunt blitzes. Alvin was at corner, and playing well. ◙ Lots of area recruits there. Many from Canton McKinley. ◙ I'll be interested to read other valued ZipNation member's notes next week at the spring game. I will be out of town, so please post something, even if it's just one thing you noticed. If you question something you saw, post it, I'll try to get an answer if there is one. I was told there will be no score or stats at the spring game. I think you will be entertained by this team, because they seem to enjoy practicing with this staff. I'm thinking it will translate on the field this fall.

Height helps, but ... So does quickness. So does shooting. So does intelligence. So does desire. So does knowing how to play together. Has anyone seen the lineup that the NIT finalist not coached by Shaka Smart is putting on the floor? (http://www.lipscombsports.com/mbasketball/roster/?view=list) I'd take that team over any MAC team other than UB. Someone else mentioned Texas Tech, which is a great example of how "measurables" aren't necessarily determinative. (Given how well TTU played against Villanova last year and then how they've marched through this year's tournament, UB's loss to them doesn't seem so bad.)

Can someone explain something to me? Texas Tech started a 6'8 center and ran a 8 man rotation. The tallest player they had coming off the bench was 6'5. Based on some comments I've seen on this board, I was under the impression that you can't win meaningful games unless you have multiple 6'11 bigs. How was Texas Tech not only able to beat Buffalo by 20, but also able to make it this far in the tournament with such a small lineup? Is it possible that there is more than 1 way to win a basketball game?

Bob has been officially hired by Chris Sabo as part of his recruiting staff.

I thought we could compete for a MAC title next year had Utomi returned. Watching Cheese and LCJ progress along with knowing we'd be adding Williams gave me hope we could make strides to improving our offense enough to win in a very weakened MAC. We already had the best defense in the MAC. Fast forward to now and I don't see a real plan. We have 4 graduating seniors on next years team and an additional 5 the year after. The goal should have been to try to win this upcoming season while the MAC is down and before he have to rebuild. Instead of going out and adding a grad transfer that could help replace Utomi's production, our prized off-season acquisition can't even play this season and we now have to spend 2 years worth of scholarships to get 1 year of eligibility. Looking at the scholarship chart @Illini Zip kindly tracks I just don't see where in the next 4 years that we'll be a serious contender for a MAC title. I'm expecting us to hover around mediocrity. I'm not ready to call for Groce head, but I'm certainly losing faith in him.

It is so hard to separate the good news from the bad news in Iowa City. For the record, Dailey is a very good player. Very underutilized in Iowa City, partly because Mad Fran would try to use 10-man rotations. I don't think he ever got a fair shot. He doesn't seem like a disgruntled kid, even though he has good reasons to be. He is very articulate and thoughtful. I think he will bring maturity, not baggage.

I'm getting extremely itchy for recruiting news. The 1st day of the signing period is next Wednesday, but lasts for a month.

Hey guys and gals, remember when the Western Michigan match was cancelled due to an electrical outage at FES-CCF? Remember how mad we all were, how outraged at the U and the Athletic Office? Remember some were even moved to e-mail and write letters about the situation? Well, I know all of your are soccer fans, but I also know you are Zips fans as well. I don’t know if you follow the other Forums on ZNO, but there’s a grave situation happening to one of our 3 Nationally ranked teams, the track and field squad. The outdoor facility has degraded to a point where it is unsafe to host meets, and so, the two outdoor meets that Akron hosts annually are actually going to be hosted - at Youngstown State. Embarrassing? In a nutshell, the team has been asking for repairs but they have not occurred, and the reigning MAC men’s indoor champs and women’s defending outdoor champs have to go to YSU. Also, some of the athletes have revealed they don’t even have locker room facilities, and have to change in a public restroom! The coaches and athletes obviously deserve better, and are trying to make the best of a bad situation, but if ALL Zip fans would voice that same displeasure we felt on that Saturday night last Fall to the administration, it will at least let them Know someone cares and that the program, which by the way is a net revenue producer, is important enough to do something so next year this doesn’t happen. Thanks for “listening”.

Nope, we need only incoming freshman who are at least 6'10"!

Kimani Binder has been offered a scholly to Akron Juco transfer 6'3 180# 2 star SG prospect From Orlando FL

K Brown article https://dawindycity.com/2019/04/23/chicago-bears-nfl-draft-kyron-brown/ Zips haven't had 2 players drafted in the same draft. Let alone 3 right?!

I checked out a few short clips I could find of him. He seems to be able to move the court well and has good athleticism. Not sure if he can shoot or not as all the clips I came a crossed were short clips of him dunking. Here is a video of him taking off from the free throw line and dunking.

http://verbalcommits.com/players/jonathan-dos-anjos

Zips T & F soldiers on...out west at Mt. St. Mary's Tevin Brown breaks school record in the 10,000 meter and Mackenzie Andrews sets new school record in the steeplechase! It's been a while since we've had strength in the long distances....way to go Tev and Mack!

Couldn't agree more with GJ. I left the Akron area in 1989 and love living in Columbus, but no one here has a clue about the Zips. They think we are lucky to be in the MAC and are like a YSU w/o the winning football tradition. They know nothing of Soccer, Basketball, W. Swimming or Track and Field. Most think we have a Cleveland State-type campus = no grass or trees. The news on Akron is mostly negative, that is, losing teams, financial crisis, rust belt economy, axed programs, poor leadership (Scarborough). We would do well to recruit this area. The population base will soon be the biggest in the state and the athletic programs are outstanding, like NE Ohio in the 70's and 80's. We will never, ever pass OSU, but we can build a better rep by getting athletes to go to Akron and have them play on winning teams like Will Trapp, Abdul Salaam, Christie Smith and many more, all from Columbus.

...he's also not 6'11".

HA! Found my old media guide and...December 1993, 3rd game of the season. lost 71-43....

Wow. Would be rough to have to deal with a max exodus of players this late in the game huh? Sounds familiar for some reason..

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/sports/ncaa-final-four-graduate-transfers.html NCAA considering a rule where if a school receives a grad transfer and the player does not earn his masters degree within 1 year, the school is docked a hoops scholarship the following year (which seems to ignore many grad programs take 2 years to complete) Just putting it on the radar since the Zips seem like a team who could use a grad transfer to fill out next year's roster

Fire Jeff Boals already. Enough is enough!

You're welcome, Capt Oblivious!

Being tall is all important in the MAC. EMU had a huge front line this year (6'9"; 6'10"; 6'11") and it led them to...15-17. Oops. Sorry.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/03/21/toronto-fc-sign-richie-laryea-former-first-round-superdraft-pick https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/03/28/new-england-revolution-scott-caldwell-agree-contract-extension

Buffalo lost their Oats.

Can't losing is never a bad thing.

Where's Lori Loughlin when you need her? Just offer her enrollment for her grandkid(s) and she'd buy that contract out in a heartbeat! Only $200k more than her last purchase!

Chris Bassitt pitched five scoreless innings against the Rangers to take the win in his first start of the season. He gave up 2 hits.

Riak as well. It would be a nice little pipeline to build.

Utomi to USC.

That would make Cykron happy!

Not to mention he's 4" too short by your standards. SEND HIM TO DIII WHERE HE BELONGS! In all seriousness, the kid is coming from one of the most disciplined programs in the country. At the very least, he's going to be fundamentally sound, with big game experience. I like it.

he will add practice depth.

Too bad there is no one to blame but our own university for the deterioration at the track!

I mean they already announced the coach

Thanks for compiling that info. Of our 4 transfers, the only transfer of real consequence is Utomi. Frankly, I'm relieved Poke and Kostelac's scholarships are freed up. Gueye was an intriguing prospect, but nothing more than that.

From your keyboard to the ears of the basketball gods.

Give me Murray State, Belmont, Middle Tennessee, Marshall, Illinois State, Indiana State, etc. all day. I didn't mind playing UT-Chattanooga once because of Lamont Paris, and it helped us secure Arth (I'm kidding), but give me the rest of those teams.

I have some inside info that Akron has offered Ian Kipp of Mentor. He is going to be a junior in the fall, but he is lights out as a runner and a passer. He has several MAC offers and the Big 10 (Michigan) is starting to come on strong. If you can, go back and watch the games that Mentor won big, and then his performance in the playoffs. His coaches are comparing him to Trubisky, with a larger up side. I doubt that Akron has a chance with him, but I am hoping that Coach Arth can convince him that his qb experiences would merit enrollment at my alma mater.

Brandon Lee runs the slant with coach Arth in coverage.

Blind squirrel theory. In baseball on any given day.

We definitely need a guy who can make the clutch shot!

Salcedo resigns