Let'sGoZips94

Per Google AI, two-ways are part of the NBAPA and receive the same licensing checks.

Enrique Freeman-adjacent info. If this is accurate, good for Freeman haha.

Love it. Size, size, athleticism, size, and more athleticism.

The only one I could easily not choose is 2009 because it was very ho-hum. Double digit win vs. Buffalo (meh) and even though it was our first, there were no other storylines. 2011 was one of the greatest championship games in college basketball history IMO. Major rivalry, OT, 2 blocks to win it, fight at the end - it had everything. 2013 was an unexpected beatdown - given the Abreu situation - against a team that was in the Sweet Sixteen the year prior (albeit a different coach). Semi rivalry and a packed house in Cleveland with one of the best teams in Akron basketball history cutting down the nets. 2022 was awesome because of the Diss Track storylines. Major rivalry and an absolute butt whooping of PCCC. 2024 was hilarious given how it ended. Major rivalry, incredible finish, and the start of an on-going 3Peat. 2025 was simply an incredible comeback capped off by a fantastic finish. Semi-rivalry, big bro/little bro storylines, and the beginning of one of the most unlikeable teams in Miami OH. 2026 was 2025 but with an even better finish. Shammah's shot will go down as one of the greatest shots in Akron basketball history. The view I had straight on from behind Shammah made it even better, tracking the ball all the way just praying the distance was right because it could not have been better aligned. Not to mention prevented Toledo from ending their 46+ year drought. I voted 2025 simply because it was the first championship game my daughters were in attendance for and my wife was pregnant with my son so technically he was there, too. That being said, we've been very blessed over the last 20 years with incredible March basketball at Akron. Go Zips!

The NCAA made their bed with the handling of COVID. This should absolutely stick and we'll have Evan Mahaffey for the 4Peat attempt.

Roster is full with Evan.

He has been averaging a double double in the G League. He'll be fine.

I'm only guessing that's where they have us based on drawing Louisiana in the first MAC/SBC game.

Akron posted some photos showcasing Evan practicing. Awesome to see him out there. Wonder what the "experts" think of Akron now that he's back and there's familiar experience on the roster. Are we still middle of the road in the preseason rankings or did we jump up? I think we would've been ok in terms of leadership/culture without Evan because the HC was promoted from the existing culture, but having Evan certainly completely fills - if not overfills - the culture/leadership bucket. The MAC has to be pissed. Hopefully blood isn't thicker than intelligence. Turning down the type of money Eric got would be Kent level stupid.

Eric got paid big $$$. No surprise, no hard feelings.

Chabi Barre 6'10" Max Burton 6'10" Devin Christion 6'9" Buddy Hammer 6'7" Evan Mahaffey 6'6" Ty Pence 6'6" Colin White 6'6" MMK 6'6" Josh Henderson 6'5" RJ Jones 6'5" Zach Halligan 6'5" Cody Head 6'3" Exavier Wilson 6'1" Tahj Staveskie 6'1" Tai Perkins 6'0" Nasty size, depth, roster flexibility, and experience. Amazing job by the staff.

Yes.

So... Evan Mahaffey is back?

Is this just now being announced?

I had to click on his bio to see if the birthdate was 198* to make sure I was thinking of the correct Eric Gordon haha.

Garvin Clarke is also on the Bahamas team, which is stacked btw. Edgecombe, Hield, and Eric Gordon in addition to the 2 former Akron players. Enrique's squad handled them with ease.

UNLV is such a good OOC home game. Should be excellent football weather and hopefully we surprise people this season. It's Joe-Bowl or Joe-No-Mo this year. Give me 7 or 8 wins. Go Zips.

Double double. Ho-hum.

Akron gets the 3rd worst team from the SBC last year. Glad this is our road game.

We're not at all gutted, we retained one of the best assistant coaches in the country as our HC, and have quite the financial support. Groce absolutely left Akron in a much better spot than KD did.

Which is partly why I feel Minnesota did him such a disservice last year. 2 straight years he has averaged a double double in the G League. He can clearly play. Get him PT in the NBA so he can establish himself more.

I understand that which makes me believe additional scheduling challenges have occurred across the board.

This isn't the argument. Since the start of the challenge in 2023-24, here are the schedule results for Akron... Q1: 1 (James Madison, and we were a Q3 W for them) Q2: 1 (Arkansas State, and we were a Q3 W for them) Q3: 2 Q4: 2 How does this boost the resume for top teams in either conference? That's the whole point of this agreement and Q1/Q2 teams are getting Q3 wins at best. Miami OH got Q3 (Marshall) and Q4 (ODU) opportunities this past season; Kent got 2 Q3 opportunities (Troy & Southern Miss). There are better ways to utilize those 2 dates, especially late in the season when NET is more solidified. The current format blows. The Bracket Buster constantly had multiple top 100 RPI teams participating; someone high up needs to figure out how to revive that.

I don't think not liking the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge is "talking down" to the Sun Belt. In its current format, it has yet to suit either conference. When the Sun Belt has had top 50-75 teams, the MAC's best teams have been ~100+. When the MAC has had top 50-75 teams, the Sun Belt's best teams have been 100+. For the challenge to be beneficial, the top teams each year need to consistently be in the same range for NET. Taking up valuable dates in November & February is expensive for the resume. If the extension allows for conference expansion discussions, that works for me. Otherwise, this is puzzling. Or circumstances changed. Would've love to be a fly on the wall when these discussions were taking place.