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I'm of the opinion Groce is a coach that will adapt his offense to the players he has on his roster. Some coaches try to fit square pegs into round holes. That doesn't seem to be Groce's style. We were a much slower paced team with Freeman and its not like Aziz, who backed up Freeman, was a blazer either. The game against UCLA we only scored 53. We nearly score that in a half now.

I agree. The strength of this team is not the height but athleticism and quickness. Currently, I like Marvin more than Chabi becaus Chabi just seems slow to me. He just has not done well after his injury. We need to clone Evan Mahaffey. I have really been impressed with him this season. The last dozen games he has been amazing. I have questions about Oggie, Briscoe and Chabi but I never thought Amani would be as good as he has been this year. You just never know who is going to develop their game in the off season.

Our second Sunbelt opponent, Troy, wins their league tournament.

We went last year to watch Enrique play. Really nice arena. Great attendance and support for a g League game.

My wife and I went to a quilt show in Grand Rapids a couple of years ago. I knew nothing about it but was very pleasantly surprised. Really nice city. It feels like what Akron could aspire to (of course it helps to have wealthy families devoted to the area). Akron and Grand Rapids are roughly the same size although I was surprised to find out Grand Rapids is Michigan second biggest city.

Love GR & Van Andel Arena. I let myself in & self-toured it just as they were close to finishing construction. Long time ago now.

How much do you think LBJ really has and why would he spend it? His prime earnings days will be coming to a close in the near future.

When I still lived in the Midwest, Grand Rapids was one of my favorite places to go. I was there recently was there again and it's even better. A big part of the start of the revitalization of downtown was Van Andel Arena. Akron doesn't need something this big, but an arena would help. The Van Andels are the family that started Amway. There isn't a business around Akron that would pony up the money for an arena. In 2025 dollars, Van Andel Arena would cost approximately $160 million.per Wikipedia. Goodyear or Firestone could pony up some but they won't. LBJ is rich, but he isn't Van Andels level rich. Gary Taylor wasn't Van Andel level rich. Akron is really stuck with the JAR. https://www.vanandelarena.com/

True dat. To also be clear, I'm not holding my breath for a big facility windfall contribution but I also haven't ruled it out in perpetuity.

Pirates fans chant, "Sell the team!". It's the wrong cheer. Small market teams should be chanting, "Lock them out!". The only way for small market teams to compete is to institute a salary cap. That can only be accomplished by locking out the players and force a renegotiation of the labor contract. What does this have to do with college athletics? Easy, lock the players out and refuse to pay their nils and scholarships. Make the bet that the players will cave. This would force the players to the bargaining table and provide some order to college athletics. Lock them out!

Eric Mahaffey will be highly sought after. Sharron as well to a lesser extent due to size.

Groce now wants big guys who can get up and down the court. Briscoe does not meet that description. That's also what made it not as disappointing for them when Okonkwo left and made Chabi appealing.

Unfortunately I'm not even considering him when contemplating next season. I was excited to see him play this season to see what he brings to the court but he barely gets in even during garbage time... which we've had plenty of this year. Once a Zip always a Zip & we all have nothing but love for our players, but I think we're all expecting him to hit the TP when the season's over. Transfer down & enjoy your college playing days.

Where was this posted? I don’t see it on any social media?

I think they need a veteran scorer. Assuming they return, I think Sharron and Eric will both improve in that department, but expecting either to become "the guy" next year may be a big ask. As @LZIpnoted, they may be able to go after an immediate contributor or two with some of the senior NIL agreements coming off the books.

I hate to be the realist, but if $8 million NIL (on top of whatever we're spending on everything else) is the cost to compete at the G5 level what's the point of continuing? People (myself included) gripe about MLB with no salary cap, but at least there are rules in place so a Francisco Lindor or Skenes can stay in Cleveland or Pittsburgh for the first half dozen years of their careers. If MLB operated like college athletics they would be on a Yankees or Dodgers roster day 1. Any late bloomers would join those rosters immediately following a breakout season. There is no way for us to compete.

Pluto didn't write that - Captain Obvious did.

“Right behind”, or just “behind”?

I bet Akron is right behind them !!!

twofold imo - Miami is getting all the love, there's no room for 2 MAC teams to be ranked with mediocre resumes. And 2nd, the mediocre resume, we don't have any good wins.

Pluto - MAC Tournament Pressure

Fair enough, but as you suggest, no one has or wants to front the necessary money. The Proenza days of construction without financial foresight are long gone.

I know it's a tall task, but if we were to beat Miami in the Championship game AND win a NCAA tourney game, it would be a program-changing week for Akron basketball. Not saying anything we don't all know already though, I guess. 😅

Hopefully we pick it up Saturday 😉