LoyalZIP

I think we all deserve a round of applause. The football has been appalling lately but a lot of this discussion (while not all of it) has been constructive and passionate. After however many straight losses, not a lot of fan bases would have anything close to this. I can't wait until we can all celebrate well-deserved success together as fans of our favorite football program. I get disgusted when I see fair-weather fans (many of them fans of Kent) that only show up when they're good. We aren't like that. I love that.

I absolutely love this roster. Not many college basketball programs can successfully rebound after losing the class that we did, that's my fearless forecast for this year.

Zips come in at 3rd in the pre-season poll behind 1. BGSU and 2. Ohio.

Love Dollard. They play hard and they were really fired up until it got out of hand, which was really fun for a bit. But the defense might as well have just forfeited 7 points instead of taking the field each drive. That was unbelievable even by Akron standards. The overall trajectory of the program is barely facing upward, which is promising yet still depressing. They've looked simply like a bad football team for most of the year, which is quite a compliment considering most of the last 20 games have been utterly embarrassing. I feel that the offense is a quarterback away. They've moved the ball as well as they have since mid way through 2018 before that collapse. The line is raw but massive of course, and I optimistically feel that it will be one of the tops in the league in 2-3 years assuming they all stick around. Gibson has potential, but his fundamentals are atrocious. Take care of the damn ball. As PJ Fleck would say, "the ball is the program." Fumbles, bad picks, failing to throw the ball away, those jump passes he does sometimes. Thats unacceptable. Especially when the head coach is supposed to be this premier QB coach. Looks like AJ Milwee 2.0 now. Terrible. As for the defense......Feeney (sp?) is way too damn young. I know a lot of young guys can be really successful at this level, but he also lacks the experience at this level that a lot of those guys have. There's no reason for that last night. These teams that play fast like this run very simple offenses, they just do it fast. Therefore, there's not really much of a reason for all of the confusion and disastrous coverage. Do the same thing every time and have the players do their job. If this keeps up and Bowling Green ends up beating Akron in a shootout, Feeney has got to go. I don't like firing guys so soon but it comes to a point where it can't get any worse, so a new fresh mind that may challenge Arth a little bit might be a good thing. I don't want a bunch of young "Yes" men that haven't accomplished anything. I honestly don't know what to think moving forward. Just win a damn game so this nightmare can end. I'll still be here cheering hard and getting my hopes up regardless, but it's time to win before we get to a point of no return. God bless and Go Zips!

Sure, this is making everything boil over. But the department bleeding money isn't a new thing, shitty attendance despite basketball being as good as it has ever been isn't a new thing. It's just pathetic, there's no visible effort to change things. The senior leadership has been the same for a long time, and we get the same results. Arrogance and entitlement are far too prevalent at Akron considering the circumstances of the last 5+ years.

I think this whole situation says a lot about the leadership of the athletics department, specifically in terms of external things. Marketing is a disaster as we all can see, and it has been since the current "rock star" of a director was hired. And fundraising is a joke too. How do I know? Matt Kaulig is a BILLIONAIRE, yes, with a B, and the only time I ever see him is in commercials during the local news. Name the damn athletic department after the guy, do whatever you have to do to get a piece of his fortune. Hell, he's a former athlete!!!! He seems passionate about UA athletics and the University as a whole, take advantage of it! Sorry to all the athletes and people that will be affected by these cuts. At the end of the day, someone had to make a very hard decision and deliver some difficult news, nobody wins in these situations. Go Zips everybody! Hope your MAC Champs shirts show up in the mail soon!

Greetings, all. Nice to look back through this thread and see someone talk crap about Groce being a bad hire still because the man cares about his career more than UA. Do everyone here a favor and stay the hell away from this program. Go cheer for Kent like you want to, if you're dying to cheer for complacency. Jackass.

That can't be real...

Justin Turner of BG has put his name in the transfer portal.

Recruit 2 shooters that can play now, IMO. They'll need to spread the floor once again to make room for LCJ, who's going to be in the other 11 coaches' crosshairs starting right now. I worry his overall production will be reduced because of this, if he weren't 5'8, I wouldn't worry about it. But who knows, he could average 25 per game next year and make me eat my words. I'm looking forward to what Currie brings to the table. From what I've seen, he looks like a really good post player and without X, Cheese, and Channel, they're not going to have the three-point threats that they did so a dependable guy to throw it into could be a big help. I'm not sure if he is a shooter, if anyone has anymore info on that, I'd appreciate it! I'm kind of guessing on Currie, and I know next to nothing about Clarke, so I'm not going to pretend to know what I'm talking about. If I had to guess, I would say next season will be defined by the offseason development of the guys who were here this year. Dailey, Sayles, Trimble, LCJ, Ali, Reece, Dawson, Tribble. Specifically, the three freshmen Dawson, Tribble, and Ali. Tribble obviously showed the most flashes and Dawson didn't have much of a chance to, but I think Ali has potential to be one of those huge "NBA All-Star in your role" guys that Groce always talks about. Everyone on the team is supposed to fill their role like that, but I think Ali could be special. He's got good handles for a long guy, he's big but needs to bulk up, he has a decent jumper that needs work, and he's a damn good defender. If he develops in the offseason like we just saw that senior class, look out. If he, Tribble, and Dawson all develop like that, we'll be pretty damn good again, especially on Defense.

Yup. I also think that because many teams' seasons were already over before anything drastic happened (4 MAC teams' seasons ended Monday, when it was still full-steam ahead on fans, tournaments, etc.), the NCAA will not grant these seniors another year. But, I've been surprised by enough things this past week to know not to be surprised anymore. Stay safe, y'all. Cheers to the undisputed CHAMPS!

That video confirms it, this is my favorite Akron basketball team from my time as a fan. Just such a fun season.

At this point, NCAA tournament games may follow suit. We may have seen Deng Riak, Marquelle McIntyre, Tyler Cheese, Channel Banks, and Xeyrius Williams play in-person for the last time. THAT is heartbreaking. Those guys are special to be around.

WBB tournament tips up there in 20 hours. Tick tick tick...

Imagine being as miserable as this loser