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After he left ... Kent picked up a worse 'shooter' (less than 30% on 3s) but more familiar player in 6-0, 200lb Chansey Willis, who was pretty good at Western Michigan two years ago, 16pts, 5.8ass, but got hurt at Minnesota last year and played just 7 games.

Who knows how they feel about college sports, but they certainly love themselves and their wallets first and foremost.

Looks like a rotational piece.

Another 6'8" F from Tennessee State.

6'8" F from Tennessee State via Sac State via Pepperdine.

Bummer. A 5'11" so-so shooter was exactly who I was hoping would stick around the Kent program.

Connections made with high school recruits can pay dividends 2-3 years down the road now.

I'm not sure if this was shared here, but Jaylen Smith (ETSU transfer) has decommitted from KSU. https://x.com/i/status/2048480785531867273

I feel that's a more workable strategy for the P4, who have big money to buy ~12 players every year. The high school level guys we're recruiting we're paying very minimal for. Probably just a small stipend. The freshman signing for good money are the ones going to and starting at high majors. I imagine most mid-major teams are spending ~70% of their budget on their top 2-3 players and then pinching dollars to fill out spots 4-10. Getting production out of HS players is a bonus because they come very cheap compared to portal players. Edit: IMO both avenues should be used, which we have been doing with great success.

HS kids aren't free nowadays. Who knows how much cheaper the worthwhile players actually are, if at all. Until there is framework for a multi year commitment in this era, I'd be targeting strictly Portal guys. If cost becomes an issue, don't carry 15 guys.

I think TJ I agree with, but Amani was a bit of a late bloomer. He wasn't sniffing All-MAC and wouldn't have commanded big money until after this season, which is when his eligibility ended anyway. The players that stick around the full 4-5 years will be those who like being here and don't become too good that Akron can no longer afford them. Like next season will be MMK 4th season here and it's conceivable he stays all 5.

Think about it ... teams aren't just replacing their starting 5s, (Akron, Kent) they are basically replacing 2/3rds of the roster, almost every year. Just not sustainable for stability or success.

Players like TJ and Amani who stayed at one school their entire careers - in the MAC at least - are likely a thing of the past. If Enrique was a junior now, he'd probably be going elelsewhere. We are likely going to have brand new teams basically every year. At least under the current system.

A good chunk of our best players still are high school recruits. I kind of feel you can't ignore HS players because you need them to help supplement the cost of transfer players. Like we would have never been able to afford a TJ, Amani, Eric, etc. if we tried to pay for that production by adding a proven player in the portal.

10%

No way to find out ... but it would be interesting to know how many of the players in the portal would have actually left the teams they were playing for, if there was no NIL?

I would think twice about recruiting another HS player ever again.

Gross

NCAA tournament to go to 76 teams. All the 16 seeds and half of the 15 will play in the opening round. Just another excuse to shove the automatic qualifiers down further so they can shove a few more P4 teams in. I hate college sports more everyday.

When judging these recruiting classes I personally look at a few things: 1) Who's making style/philosophy changes. Last season it was obvious Kent made changes to more mirror Akron and Miami. Didn't get better than those two, but was clearly ahead of the rest of the MAC. 2) Toledo did not seem to change style/philosophy, but did seem to bring in more physical/athletic players and by the end of the season were arguably playing better defense. This seems to be a trent they are continuing. 3) Ohio seems to be searching a bit. Boals is known for recruiting bigs, but hasn't really hit on any of note. Now going the international route. 4) BG, Ball State, EMU, UB all look to be searching for an identity, even as they improve their rosters, on paper. EMU, by keeping Habhab, should be pretty solid if the Eagles have a good PG.

I'm not sure that's fair to say EITHER WAY because you have teams trying to build out 15-man rosters with innumerable guys. What Ball State wants a guy to do might be more interesting to that guy, even if Akron is a "better" situation. Assuming Akron even talked to him, of course.

I feel it's a given several teams have stepped up spending, as have many other mid-majors in other conferences. We had been spending 2x-3x compared to most other MAC teams in prior years. That margin has probably narrowed. It's still challenging to project with any certainty which team is winning the portal war in the MAC. Pretty much every MAC team is relying on D2, international, or low minute P4 drop down players to fill major holes. Some will produce. Others will be hype, but flop during the regular season

For sure, it's all unknown but based on the credentials of players coming in, we're not far and away better than the rest of the conference. And there's an argument that other teams have brought in better players. Sure, we'll still win the MAC. That's a given. 😅

Yes, but isn't there a case to be made that a team that bad wouldn't have redshirted him if they thought he'd be a big contributer?