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Top Drawer Soccer(TDS) seems pretty confident about their "source" I had been very much looking forward to seeing Jason Shokalook on the pitch in the fall of 2021. TDS is now saying that Jason will join the zips in the fall of 2020. Tremendous news. Welcome, Jason. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/recruiting-views:-transfers-on-the-move_aid47695 Shokalook reclassifies to 2020 While Akron recently unveiled four additions to the 2020 roster, a source confirmed to TopDrawerSoccer that Jason Shokalook has reclassified and will also join this year. A prolific goal-scorer for Internationals SC during the past two seasons – Shokalook scored 31 goals in 24 games for the Ohio side in 2018-19, and has eight from just four games played during the current campaign. There’s no guarantee of first-year success, and Shokalook won’t have to be the guy right away. With both David Egbo and Will Jackson back up front for Akron, it means that he can ease his way into the picture. But finishing enough was an issue for the Zips, so the more he can add as a freshman, the better.

Playing the bench guys in the first half is really making a difference. These guys are closing out games because they are getting some rest in the first half. Groce has found a great rotation. Reese has really been playing well. We often wondered how good Akron would be with a dominant point guard and Jackson is that guard. I can't recall a player improving so much from one season to another. HE is doing everything right from not turning the ball over to shooting the ball well, hitting shots in the paint and shooting the ball from 3. Adding that runner to his game has really made him almost unstoppable at times. Fun game to watch.

I laughed when the CMU player made fun of LCJ’s height after he made a layup over him. Sure looked like a tool talkin smack to the best player on the court who was embarrassing your team.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/sports/20200221/with-five-games-left-zips-control-their-destiny-in-mac All this talk about seedings and hoping certain teams beat other teams, then this article pops up tonight. One game at a time. The blue-blooded eastern division of the MAC will be feeding on each other the next five games. Can't overlook any of them.

Good stuff from GT. Learned something I didn't know. Nice to get some insight into the Zips.

Bryan "the glove" Hipsher ??

"come and take it"

X made the two biggest 3s of the season. It's almost like that Eastern Michigan win saved the season. There was a pall hanging over the JAR that fateful Saturday. Then X with the help of the Hurons Smallsville pulled off the miracle. The Zips aren't Buffalo of last year. They are a well-coached team that rode its starting 5 pretty hard for most of the season. They are playing way beyond predictions. They may go 0-2 on the road vs. Buffalo and BG, so these two wins and a win on Saturday would be huge.

All I'll say is I haven't seen an Akron center with hands like that in quite sometime, that includes Sayles. Those hands won the game.

LCJ unsurprisingly named MAC East Player of the Week. https://gozips.com/news/2020/2/17/mens-basketball-jackson-earns-third-mac-weekly-honor.aspx?fbclid=IwAR12-RRqFkfmeXgGH3gUa2A8i7ZI5hqCDJEzXKxSm1lK89urlyjObgCOHbM

I think we need at least 1 big that can play next year (depending on other turnover). Currie can play the 5 if needed but would be nice to have a defensive presence when needed. Going off of the past I would expect 1 transfer that has to sit a year, which can be good as they have a year to acclimate to the team and program.

LCJ is amazing. We're spoiled to watch him in an Akron uniform. Big road win. I'm stoked to see this team come back from their couple-week-lapse and put together several strong efforts in a row. They might not always shoot the best, but man are they just a great TEAM. Aside from LCJ, someone is always picking someone else up when their down. If one of Cheese/Banks/X is off, at least one of the other 2 are pulling the extra weight. If Riak is struggling, Reece is picking up the slack. Even Tribble is starting to be able to spell LCJ without it being a huge detriment to the flow of the game (not saying Tribble is the player LCJ is, but he's not a liability). This has been a fun season. Excited to see where it ends.

Duquesne stinks

Just got to go 1-0 tomorrow.

Daniel has been playing very well and had a career high of 23 points for USC last week and I saw him interviewed on a post game show. Very intelligent young man. The next game USC lost to a ranked team but Daniel is now a starter and played over 30 minutes. I am glad to see that he is doing well. I think his decision to transfer worked out for both teams. I just don't think LCJ could control this team like he has if Daniel would have stayed. I believe that this team plays better without him because we are quicker and more athletic.

You're correct on that, but the sites are already set so they try to work that around those top four seeds to keep them as close to home as they can. For all of the rest of them you gets what you get. Sometimes you're lucky on location (like when the Zips played in Detroit) sometimes you're not (like when they got Notre Dame in Chicago or Gonzaga in Portland). But those last two the Zips were playing a top four seed, in Detroit they were not.

Haven't been to the Big Dance in 7 years. No match-up would be "lame". Bring on whomever we would draw. I just want to get there.

We're down to the final 2 weeks of indoor T & F, before the NCAAs, and Stile Athletics Field House will host back-to-back weekends of fun. The final event of the ill-fated 2019 outdoor season was the Campbell/Wright invitational, and it was great to see long-time coach Al Campbell there. Unfortunately Al passed in December, but not before knowing that U of A re-named their final indoor home meet the Al Campbell Invitational. It's Friday at 6. He was coach from 1970 until 1995, and was inducted into the Varsity A Hall of Fame in 1979. Then the Zips are hosting the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships the next weekend, February 28th and 29th.....Defending Champs!

I want to see Jackie gets bigger games on a national platform. She is flat-out good. Reghi I can tolerate, but Jackie is the best.

I want Joe Tait types. Information please, not gushy BS and cliches. Your getting paid by the game, not by the word.

LCJ ONLY scored 17 last night. Terrible game LOL

Yes, any team that wins their regular season conference title, but doesn't make the tournament gets an auto-bid to the NIT. The change came in 2017.

I'd be more interested in a doubleheader if the women's team was actually good. Even worse this team plays a heavy number of seniors and is still bad so it's not like I'd be watching a young team develop into being good.

Sayles is the best pick and roll big man they have. He rolls to the basket with a purpose, usually catches the ball when it is passed to him and is aggressive when he gets it. That being said, I have to trust the guys who work with him 7 days a week and see him in every practice and game. He's not that far removed from the kid who often looked lost and tentative on the floor. He can be invaluable in contributing to the Zips shorthanded post game, but he's not going to become the savior. It's going to be interesting to see if the coaching staff rewards him for his play at the Zoo.

Yep sadly that site (http://playoffsimulator.com/ncaambb/mac) is not working anymore, but I did find a new one that seems to work. And this site just gives odds but is pretty bullish on the Zips chances right now. If all of the favored teams win out from here on out the bracket would look like this. Not too bad for the Zips.

Ah, not a huge Platform fan myself, but Haze Jude is a solid offering. And Mosaic hops are one of my favorites so I'm sure I'd enjoy that. I had a few White Rajahs last night (Brew Kettle, Strongsville). Also not my favorite but it was fresh and it was on sale. Cheers to another win!

I don't think anyone (self included) were trying to force him out of town. It just seemed he completely fell out of the rotation and I can't imagine many players want to ride the bench their senior season. He took advantage of his minutes tonight and deserves minutes next game.

Sayles looking good so far. I like that he is attacking the basket.

That last bucket by WMU was a euro step = 3 steps = travel.

When Len Paul played there were no three point shots and no dunking. There was also no shot clock. Yah, he could have scored a few thousand more points!

How about just "Zips want to ease in down the road" and take out the rest

Just spitballing here, but Ali Ali is a legit 6'8" & he looks to me like he could put on some muscle over the next 2 years. Do you guys think he could move to a power forward/stretch 4 position? If so, we could look something like this going into next season: PG: LCJ Tribble Clarke W: Trimble Dawson W: Dailey Edwards P: Reece Ali P: Currie Sayles

That's a wrap. Oakland College Grizzlies 4 University of Akron Zips 3

We would have lost to EMU had EMU shot their season average.

2 seed looks to get CMU and then NIU if chalk holds while the 1 gets OU and Kent.

Just a sampling of this year's games. Taylor's been putting up amazing stats.

I want both the #1 seed and tournament win. https://images.app.goo.gl/ZZMazWQiCvRvAtqs5

https://gaffer.online/features/football/deandre-yedlin-crystal-ann-rod-on-sharing-clothes-the-culture-and-becoming-a-creative-power-couple/ ... Crystal: There’s a long list! One of the most amazing things is that we read a lot now. I didn’t really start reading books until I met him. We now go through three books a month. It’s making me smarter, a better person. What books are on your shelf right now? DeAndre: It’s a mix. There’s a lot of self-help, mental health books to help us keep our minds right. A lot about goal setting. It goes under the radar, especially when you talk about athletes. So much of the game is mental but we only train 100% physical. Which doesn’t really make any sense. It’s very important to have refreshers on self-happiness, there’s so many things we go through as humans that it’s important to be able to clear up your mind. It’s a really good skill to have. I say skill because we’ve learned to beat ourselves up, talk ourselves down, when we don’t need to. If you can re-learn the skills of positive thought then it can do wonders in life. Crystal: Goal-setting is another big thing which DeAndre has taught me. I knew it was a thing before but he sat down with me and walked me through it. It’s another amazing way which I’ve changed; mapping everything out has helped me grow as a person and achieve things. ...

If Reece is to be a starter, he has to play smarter. I love his motor and his effort. While undersized, he generally holds his own down low. However, he commits way too many fouls to be on the floor for extended periods, at the clip of a foul every six minutes. To put that in perspective, Cheese has the same number of fouls (65) and has played a whopping 351 more minutes than Reece. NWAkron is right on in his assessment of Jackie Whindon. Surprised she's still just on the Zips ESPN+ broadcasts.

Zips -3.5 was free money

He made two this year that really counted

I wish Akron was this clever on social media. Students might actually find them humorous enough to follow, which might actually lead to them knowing when games get played.

Zips by double digits tomorrow. Book it

I’m not familiar with the mentioned comparison so I’m gonna take your word but when they were moving to Blackford I tempered any hype that I had heard until 1. I saw the video you just described which REALLY intrigued me and then 2. Went to the first summer clinic they put on ( I was coaching 8th grade at the time ) and they had him demo a shooting drill ....hit 48 of 50 3’s shooting them at close to the speed you would see in a 3pt contest as an incoming freshman. I’ve been blessed to see many prep players multiple times who have gone on to have stellar or even above stellar D1 careers and this kids basketball IQ is different than any player I’ve seen also ...not sure which bsu site you mean but if they have videos compiled in one spot you should link them here ...I tried to do several separately without luck and another poster tried to help condense them

#1 - Jukubik: Never saw him play, but if he led the nation in scoring, he's gotta be #1. #2 - Bill Turner: Only Zips player to play in the NBA. Again, never saw him play, but he had to be very good. #3 - Eric McLaughlin - Best Zips guard...probably the best player I've seen in the past 20 years. #4 - Marcel Boyce - Who would have thought that the #4 all time Zips hoops player would have the same first name as the #1256th all time Zips hoops intramural player? Uncanny coincidence! #5 - Jamie Bosley (years 2-3, but not 4): A scoring machine that played great D. Too bad Hipsher burnt him out...like so many others) #6 - Anthony Buford: Would have ranked higher if he wouldn't have transferred to Cinci for his senior year. He could do it all. #7 - Roy Coleman - Anyone that could score 20 points under Coleman Crawford's offensive tutilage MUST have been great. #8 - Pete Freeman - Huggins departure screwed him. He was a monster inside, much like Wood is now. #9 - Rashon Brown - Only played one year, but single-handedly won 4-5 games for us. #10 - Bryan Hipsher - Known as "The Glove" for his suffocating defense, he was always asked to guard the opponent's toughest player. Equally effective and guard, forward or center. His gravity-defying aerial show was awe-inspiring to behold. Honorable Mention: Nate Schindewolf, Mark Alberts, Shawn Roberts Don't Know What to do with Him: Jimal Ball Best Player to Play One Game then Quit: Neerim Gembolai Class Acts: George Phillips, Byron Thompson Overachiever: Mario Collins Best Walkon: Goddard Future Top 10-er's: Wood, Travis, Conyers Best Fans: Tie 1.) The students chanting "LOSE-SOME-WEIGHT LOSE-SOME-WEIGHT" every time MTSU's Kerry Hammond went to the foul line in the 1986 OVC Championship Game. 1-Tie) Any fan who could sit through the torture of Coleman Crawford's final 3 years. Best Fighter: Tie 1.) Ryan Andrick: Who could ever forget "The Spar at The JAR!?" The debate still rages over landed the best shot...I say "Thunder Dan Hipsher" should have been awarded the decision. I had him ahead 114-111 when the referee's stopped the bout. 2.) David Wood: The 27ppg scorer from Tennessee who gave the big beat-down to his team mate with a folding chair in the locker room. (has there ever been a more appropriate "smilie?") He would have been ranked #1, but the beat-down only resulted in a broken arm. Most Deceptive Zip: Falknor - 300 lbs, but deadly from 20 - 29 feet. Best Garbage Man: Doug Schutz (Wood should supplant him in a year). Best Football/Basketball Player: Tie 1.) Chris Kelley 1-tie) Jason Taylor Best Locker: Huggin's Liquor Cabinet.

When I saw the 4:00 I assumed it was being broadcast on something other that ESPN plus. I just realized it's a doubleheader with the women's team.

You write like someone paying to hear Jane Fonda speak at PCCC at Ravenna.