Let'sGoZips94

Correct, Buffalo was pretty good with Freitag. They were nothing special without him and even with him failed to beat any top MAC teams. Toledo needed to beat Akron in the Title Game to hit 20 wins and they didn't. Overall they weren't very good. I never said I think Kent will be better. The discussion is about the MAC as a whole, which does not require improvement from Kent. I said I believe they'll be competitive per usual. Groce's 1st year wasn't during the NIL/Portal era. Invalid comparison and it's much easier nowadays to take a sizeable leap in a coach's 1st year. I also never said EMU was bad, but 4-14 in the MAC isn't good. There is room for them to improve to good. Akron & Miami OH being 35-1 vs. the MAC wasn't the reason the MAC failed to have more than 3 20-win teams. Only 4 teams had winning records in conference - Akron, Miami OH, Kent, and Toledo. Everyone else just beat up on each other because nobody was particularly good. I know you dislike Frank Martin, but dismissing his K-State resume and only focusing on his Final Four at South Carolina is disingenuous. The guy is a good coach. Again, my point is the MAC can absolutely be better next year. Not saying it will, not saying it won't, but any sort of confidence either way is silly.

Toledo, Kent, and Buffalo weren't all that great last year, with Kent being the only 20+ win team of the bunch (they lost to Akron 3x, including 2 significant double digit losses). Miami OH should very likely be significantly worse, but that was expected. Very much looking forward to seeing their schedule, too, to see if they actually challenge themselves this year. Who knows if Akron will be weaker; every year Akron loses top talent and every year they retool and keep on humming. EMU's improvement will come more from a coaching standpoint than anything. WMU as well. BG has had some really nice additions. Whether or not any are as good as Campbell is likely irrelevant to their overall success as they weren't a 20-win team with Campbell. UMass is very much an incomplete. They still have one of the best coaches in the MAC. If he can find the talent - especially shooting - that he lacked last year, they'll likely be dangerous.

As the MAC focuses on getting bigger, a 5'10" guard who averaged 6 ppg with a 30% 3P rate from Marquette isn't very threatening IMO. I don't know how anyone can say with any confidence that next year's MAC won't be as good as this year. The bottom of the MAC looks to be getting better and there were only 3 20-win teams last season. For as amazing as Miami OH's undefeated regular season was, they weren't spectacular and their metrics/rankings reflected that. Plus, the MAC is going to an even schedule this year thanks to NIU's official departure.

This is so cool.

Was just about to post this to call that out. First hint we've seen at the style. Looks like we'll be getting a bigger, more physical version of All Gas No Brakes?

Still waiting for all the dust to settle before I start thinking Power Rankings, but I would agree that Akron/Miami OH are in the top echelon. I just don't think Miami OH was able to retain or retool with any of their "special" qualities from last season. They were a mismatch all over the place due to their size that could also shoot, and they've largely lost that. Skaljac is a nice player but how much of his early success has been due to all of the support around him? Defenses will be able to play him differently and can afford to put a longer defender on him instead of needing all their length for Suder/Elmer/Byers. Todd Simon always does well in the Portal and this year is no exception. He wins in April, Tod K wins Nov. through Feb., and Akron wins in March. Balls, WMU, and EMU should be much improved, especially if the new coaches can actually coach. They've done well so far in rebuilding really bad rosters. Kent & Toledo are TBD. They'll always be competitive, but I'm not seeing anything special. Ohio has added some decent offense it appears, but I question their defensive abilities at the moment which has been their achilles heal. Buffalo and CMU are ? and has anyone heard from UMass?

Really not impressed with Miami OH's offseason.

Poor man's Eian Elmer?

Correct, it wasn't just Hardman, but we saw first-hand why his metrics from @kreed5120's site were so unfavorable. Nate wouldn't have required a double team. He wasn't overly athletic, quick, or threatening from deep. Okonkwo maybe down low but I think that's a stretch, too, considering he only averaged 2.9 ppg as a fully developed 5th or 6th year "senior" at Utah. Young will be missed for his energy, not his height, and we're seeing the future for Akron guards - taller. Tavari and Young got completely covered up by longer TTU players. We have now gone from 2 sub-6ft guards to 6'1" being our shortest (expected) key ball handler (Perkins at 6ft-even would technically be shorter but I'm not expecting a redshirt freshman to be relied on heavily, especially with Tahj/Wilson/Head on the roster). Eric is good and has a ridiculously high ceiling but he isn't the answer at this stage in his career. His game is still raw and his decision making is questionable at times. Not so sure Ty Pence will be much of a downgrade, if any at all. Athletically I'm sure there will be a little bit of a difference, but experience/decision making/etc. should all be upgraded with Pence given his experience. White is also a similar type player but with more physicality.

He couldn't create his own shot which is what we saw vs. Texas Tech. He was completely bottled up.

Bingo. Not to mention closing out is a low harder with small guards vs. larger wings (pun not intended). Miami OH's athleticism was a fraction of Akron's, but they're 3P defense was far superior because the close out was more effective with 6'5"+ players all over the court. Akron wasn't built to play lockdown defense last year; they'll be built for it this year, that's for darn sure.

Henderson is a 2G White is a 3/4 Pence is a 3/2 Halligan is a 3 MMK is a 4/3 White and Pence will be the focal points of the group. Henderson might be a focal point - hard to say without seeing him in action (so many good things have been said about him) and Halligan/MMK are supporting depth pieces. If we're relying on Halligan & MMK to take huge leaps and become dependable, we're in trouble. With the way it's setup, they're not in that position. This roster is pretty well stacked.

Based on the personnel so far, I think Akron can play a multitude of styles and be successful. The concrete issue with last year's team was its true peak was a certain style and Groce didn't fully want to commit to that. This squad looks like it can beat you with finesse, physicality, speed, possession, etc.

This is Pence's last year of eligibility I believe.

Kent also added a 5'11" guard from ETSU

He also came off the bench a chunk of the time on a team that made it to the NIT Final Four. He's going to get more PT here, which will likely make him a 12 ppg, 6 rpg type player. That's All Conference in the MAC.

God bless Luke Getsy. Getsy pumps... he throws to Hixon and it is... CAUGHT! FOR A TOUCHDOWN! - Mike Tirico with Herbstreit by his side and Erin Andrews in her prime on the sideline.

Unlikeable coach, losing program, lost the Wagon Wheel to an interim/1st year HC... shouldn't be a surprise.

Would imagine only 1 spot remains. We're at 13. The next would be 14, and I would bet Akron goes Walk On for the 15th spot (go find the next Freeman/Evan Wilson/Halligan). Pence & White slot into more of a Wing role on this roster, giving us some really nice depth and balance. Look at the height! Barre 6'10" Burton 6'10" Christion 6'9" MMK 6'6" White 6'6" Pence 6'6" Halligan 6'5" Henderson 6'5" Jones 6'5" Head 6'3" Staveskie 6'1" Wilson 6'1" Perkins 6'0" Couple different directions we might go with the final spot... - We're missing a proven sniper. There's a chance Henderson, Jones, Perkins, Wilson, or Head prove to be that, but at the moment we don't have a proven ~40% 3P shooter. - Another front court piece would be nice. There's a gap between the 6'6" group and the PFs. A 6'7"-6'8" stretch 3/4 would be incredible. - In a perfect world, we get a stretch 3/4 at the aforementioned height that is also a sniper from deep, although that type of player is like Elmer and already committed to Wisconsin.

Such a big get. 6'6" G that had 23 vs. Wake Forest in the NIT, 13 vs. Auburn in the NIT Final Four, etc. Comes from a winning program. LOVE this signing.

Reach out privately and ask if they'll honor the match to make your donation go even further.

There's real momentum behind Ford/the program.

"Big" doesn't just mean post players anymore, either. The average height of the Sweet Sixteen has increased every year for the past X amount of years. Wemby isn't on every team, which means the average height is increasing because winning teams have taller guards & wings.

Size is the name of the game right now. Cleveland State has added something like 7 guys who are 6'7" or taller. Cincy has added nothing but 6'5"+. Akron is getting bigger at G, added a 6'10" guy for the first time since COVID, and I'd imagine at least one of their remaining spots is filled by a 6'5"+ player.

Gone. Confirmed.