Let'sGoZips94

Nored and Steele have to be frontrunners ahead of Groce. Shrews being mentioned is a joke.

I think that's a common use of the term, but it is important to point out that the lawlessness with the Transfer Portal is the biggest issue.

Nate Oats joining in on ripping Miami OH. I love it. These coaches let Miami OH's carriage turn back into a pumpkin and now they're stomping on it. It's glorious.

I don't think think Cody would've accepted a redshirt had he not planned to be here for the long haul. Guy was an assassin at Lipscomb his freshman year. He also looked very engaged with the team throughout the season. I think he took multiple huge steps this year. In addition to his defensive improvement, he really looked to dribble drive and be more aggressive on offense. I will forever wish they would've just given him the ball at the logo during latter part of the TTU game to fire up 3s. We needed our white 3P assassin more than ever (the key to nearly every Cinderella run haha). Bull. Akron doesn't have a permanent ceiling. Akron just hasn't had the right bounces/luck to hit that next level. Fully believe we'll get there, especially with Bud Wentz as "The Orchestrator." Fully believe there will start to be a sense of pride for mid majors players to want to break the narrative that Cinderellas are dead. Young adults are naturally rebellious. Programs like Akron that can provide long term financial opportunities will be able to break through as long as the culture is there. Gotta wait and see if he's committed to the program. If he is, the potential is endless with him. He could be nasty on offense and a real problem for opponents defensively. Really wish he would've developed more because we needed his size/versatility more and more as the season went on.

Nored's name has been HOT for that job. Played for Brad Stevens at Butler.

Everything hinges on if Groce stays or leaves. Assuming he stays, Sharron and Eric are the obvious top retention targets. What's unique is Groce & Co. will essentially have a blank slate to work with. If Eric and Sharron return, that doesn't lock the program into any specific style of play. If they want to return to a slower style, they can get Portal guys to fit. If they want to maintain a faster style, they can get Portal guys to fit. It's a very malleable roster right now and that's exciting.

He would've signed that extension if he was 100% staying.

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but that no look pass by Sharron Young was sweet. This past week has been huge for my confidence in him taking over next year. He has such a high motor - can be really special.

You're fun. Talk to the committee about who the better team is. Even without Toppin, Texas Tech was a 5 seed vs. Tennessee's 6 seed. Iowa State lost to Toppin-less Texas Tech. 39.3% 3P shooting team vs. 33.4% (Tennessee). The 3 ball is the great equalizer and Texas Tech is NASTY. Arguably would've been a 3 or 4 seed at worse with Toppin. Akron did matchup better vs. them, but that doesn't mean they aren't lethal when they're on. We still needed them to be off.

Akron would give him the key to the city. He'd have to win a Natty at a P4 for that kind of love.

This is a problem.

And for that, we thank SMU for being so unprepared and uninterested. 🫡

Which is why I wanted Miami OH snubbed. Let the conversation be "what if" and save the at large for a legitimately good team.

Miami OH even faced a worse team. Really pathetic effort.

They are who we thought they were. At least Akron was competitive.

I'm not saying you can't impact the game defensively, nor am I saying Akron's 3P defense is anything to be proud of. Akron's key to success this year was shot making. We weren't built to play the lockdown defensive style you, Zippy87, and some others wanted us to play. Miami OH was shooting borderline logo 3s the other night and making them. High Point's #99 hit a logo 3 to get them back in the game vs. Wisconsin yesterday. You either make your shots or you don't and Akron didn't make enough; the opponents did.

And yet despite that, we were in that game for 80% of it. If we make our shots, we possibly win. Way too much focus on what we can't control as much.

Much better than the list Toledo is on.

The % margin that separates most teams on that list is miniscule. Toledo is in the 200s for 3P defense and only .6% better than Akron. Troy shot 18% from 3P vs. Toledo in a loss. Cornell is 349th in 3P defense - Yale shot 35% vs. them in a loss. The best teams in the country shoot the 3-ball at 40% at best on average. Ultimately, teams either make their shots or they don't. Akron had a couple wide open 3s today that they missed. Open isn't automatic.

I don't know that it has. This tournament is proof of that so far.

He won 3 tourney games at Ohio. If anything, JG probably wants to break whatever glass ceiling is over this program because he can.

You would think they would've done it at least once; you would also think any of those 5 OOC losses would've had average or even below average shooting nights at least once. Realistically - Akron didn't do enough in any of their OOC losses to overcome unprecedented shooting performances by their opponents. Whether or not defense was a factor is irrelevant because the opponent made their shots at absurd rates. THAT'S being realistic. Akron was talented enough to compete with all of their OOC opponents. THAT'S being realistic. 3 pt loss to Yale: Shot 64% FG and 47% 3P; on the season, 49.6% FG and 40% 3P 15 pt loss to Murray State: 58% FG and 56% 3P; on the season, 46% FG and 34.8% 3P 10 pt loss to Troy: 43% FG and 52% 3P; on the season, 44.9% FG and 33.5% 3P 20 pt loss to Texas Tech: 64% FG and 55% 3P; on the season, 46.7% and 39.3% 3P Purdue pretty much shot their season averages; the difference in that game was our inability to do anything around the rim. Akron had to be damn near perfect to win any of those OOC games and even then (great offensive performances vs. Yale & Murray State) it wasn't enough to overcome the hot shooting. Those shooting percentages are outside the norm of what most defenses can affect. On the flip side, they blew out Tulane (18-15 on the year and middle of the pack in the American) on their court, dominated Princeton, and handled James Madison. They didn't drop any headscratchers to teams like Evansville, Iona, Milwaukee, Bucknell, etc., which is something we've seen other teams do. This team was much more than just "MAC good." This team had the talent - that wasn't the issue. Luck wasn't on our side in some of those games and execution certainly wasn't, especially vs. Miami OH, Troy, and Texas Tech. Did we have the size? Probably not, and that's likely where the team will look to improve in the off-season. I'm realistic, not pessimistic.