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Akron was a very early adopter of NIL. I've heard jokes about other MAC coaches referring to Bud as the real league MVP. Akron probably still is at or near the top of the MAC in NIL spend, but the gap has certainly shrunk. It's not just in the MAC either. More and more mid-majors are stepping up their spending as well. With more money out there for players to get, Akron isn't going to be able to afford the same caliber roster that it could before. Not unless it doubles or triples it's current spending to restore the same disparity it once had.

Wait a minute ... neither Miller or Dorian are PGs. Both are shooting guards and listed as such. Jones might even be a wing, albeit a short one at 6-4. Their PG is Minnesota transfer Chansey Willis, who only played/started 7 games before being injured. But he was a stud at WMU before that averaging 16ppg and 5.8apg. True, Miller and Jones are more question marks with no D1 experience. But Kent has former 6th man Sumlin (injured last season) and All-Freshman Team guard Quinn Woidke in the wings with proven experience should those two fizzle.

I'm not as negative about next season as AkronAlumnus is but I do have lower expectations than last year, for sure. I felt okay when we started off by getting Staveskie but Burton and Hammer do nothing to make think we're on our way to another MAC title. Of course, who knows with every team having so many new players but as Kreed said, on the surface, it's not realistic to say this team will be better than last year.

I don't find it unreasonable to have lower expectations for next season. I also don't think we'll finish in the top ~60 for NET or go 17-1 in the MAC, like we did this year. I also don't see any team as good as Akron or Miami were last season for this coming season. Akron/Miami really pounded the rest of the league. Kent kind of did too to a lessor degree as I think they only had 1 loss to a MAC team not named Miami or Akron. I expect next year there will be 4-5 teams in the top 100-150 range battling it out for MAC supremacy. I'm not saying Akron will come out on top, but I'm not seeing anything from any of the other MAC schools that leads me to believe we should be written off.

So he went from being committed to Ohio State to not playing at Rutgers to Kent. There is either a character issue, talent issue, or both.

I'll come back after next season and maybe you'll be the topic of my roast. Dorian was originally committed to OSU btw

We’ll see... I’ll revisit this after the season. I think some of you will be severely disappointed. My expectations are much lower this year, so I can’t really be disappointed

Huron blows. Guarantee whatever plan they come up with will get shut down.

7 1/2 minute interview with Richie Laryea

This was a great interview. Thanks for sharing. We are lucky to have Michael on our coaching staff. he will make a good head coach some day.

Go zips!

Not sure if you're auditioning for the next Netflix Roast with these jokes but your post certainly isn't based in reality. Dorian and Miller are intriguing but as Kreed said, neither one has played a minute of DI basketball. In fact, Dorian was with 14th place Rutgers all last season and they seemingly let him walk. I also don't understand Miller's top 100 class ranking because his best offers were PCCC, Miami OH, and Furman. Meanwhile, Akron brought in a guard that averaged 17ppg/4agp/37% 3P and dropped 27 vs. Colorado State, 17 vs. Indiana, 19 vs. High Point, 9 vs. TCU, and 19 vs. McNeese. Sorry he didn't make All Conference in the Southland; I think we've seen enough from the MAC's annual awards to know that these selections are largely a joke and meaningless. By the way, the Southland was ranked 18th in Net, 1 spot behind the MAC. Staveskie will not be in over his head at the MAC level, that's for sure. Did PCCC get better? Maybe, maybe not; that remains to be seen. However, it's a fact that they got smaller and Akron got bigger. Incredibly odd to tout PCCC's two incoming guards with zero DI experience and rip Akron's incoming PG who averaged 17ppg in a very similar conference to the MAC. Go Zips.

This is a strange comment. We have someone coming in that averaged 17.3 ppg on a .520 eFG%. Are we as good and deep at PG as last year? Most likely not, but at the same time it seems odd to call it a question mark. Steveskie is a proven D1 contributor. In fact, will probably make preseason All-MAC lists (1st or 2nd team). If anything I would say the 2 PG you listed for Kent are the real question mark as neither have played a minute of D1 collegiate basketball. The only thing you can judge either of them on is hype.

They got better. Dorian and that freshman Miller are dudes. Honestly probably better than anyone we have at guard right now. PG was our biggest strength last year and now it might be the biggest question mark after losing TJ, Young, and Scott. But hey, at least we have a guy who couldn’t even make all-conference in the Southland to look forward to 😅

It's interesting to see the directions Akron and PCCC have gone respectively. I don't believe PCCC brought in any wing guys - they're all guards and (shorter) post players. That's how Akron was built in the early-mid Dambrot days and Kent used to be built like Akron is now. Roster composition and physicality is completely reversed. We'll see if Akron has the shooters, but I predict PCCC will struggle with Akron's size/athleticism/rotation flexibility/physicality. I think a lot of teams will.

I like seeing the aggressiveness going to the basket and willingness to play through the contact by all three of these guys.

There should be some opportunities for Akron athletics to raise some additional money to reduce the deficit. Sponsor patch on jerseys is allowed next year. That should bring in 6-figures. The stadiums naming rights expire within the next 2-3 years so we should be able to seek something there. The college football playoffs will be expanding and even though the P4 hoard most of the money, some of that will trickle down to the G6.

Energy, attitude, effort, and versatility. He's going to be a great addition.

I still don't get it. Is there any evidence that this consulting company has taken a program from one division to a lower one in athletics as part of a strategic plan? If they have, I could see it. If not and that's the plan, seems like it could be money poorly spent. Huron was hired by Toledo when they had budget deficits around level of Akron's in 2022, but Toledo is still around. Their plan seems to have worked. The President hired people to boost revenue to support the current athletic department. It seems like he is looking for a way to make that work and not gut the program.

This part. The university has hired Huron Consulting Group to help develop a specific strategic plan for the athletics department.

Michael Nanchoff (great interview) this interview occurred during the 2025 Fall season. Sorry if it was previously posted but I don’t recall seeing it.

I don't either. Sounds like the President still believes in D1 athletics even if the faculty doesn't.