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This is a player I'd be all for targeting. Local kid - Wadsworth graduate. High character. Scored 18 against Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. Averaged 10 per game and shot just under 40% from 3PT.

I love when mediocrity in the MAC gets passed around among the dregs. Decent piece, though, for the new coach. He at least has experience with MAC competition and can be a leader.

We had no proven guys to build around anyways. Relax - it'll be ok haha.

Not everyone we bring in from the portal is necessarily expected to be a 25+ minute a night guy. It might just be someone we expect to be 10-12 minute incoming sophomore that we hope to develop. I do think we do need 1 more wing and big at minimum that can be solid MAC starters.

Local guys: who will be the next Josh Egner? A weary and wary Zips Nation awaits.

Following @Zippy87's strategy, here are a few not mentioned that Ford follows on X... Luke McEldon (6'10" F from Mount Saint Mary's) Kelvin Amoako (6'11" F from UIndy) Davion Hill (6'2" G from Balls) Derek Goodman (6'4" G from Ohio Dominican)

Brayden Gross is a local guy. 6'7" post player it looks like. Not sure he makes any sense without a 3P shot. Sean Register is from Cleveland. 6'7" freshman who averaged 24.8 ppg on 66.3% FG and 40.6% 3P shooting. also had 8.7 rpg. Could definitely see us offering him. The rest don't make sense.

I wouldn't mind a few of these guys - but at some point, we need to land proven high-end portal talent or legitimate P4 bouncE backs—not just under the radar guys. That’s how you show the roster has a higher ceiling rather than simply filling holes. Right now, we don’t really have anyone to build around, and a roster made up mostly of depth pieces and stopgaps isn’t going to win the MAC or ultimately a tourney game. A class built mostly on names like these feels low-energy, and it’s hard to generate much hype around it, even if some do pan out. I think Ford can do better.

I looked through the accounts Coach Ford follows on Twitter and found these players he follows who I believe are all in the portal. It may give us some clues on some players we may be pursuing. Brayden Gross (Walsh) Iyran Francis Jr (Gulf Coast State) Sean Register Jr (Eastern Florida State) Donovan Hill (Saint Leo) Cooper Kesler (College of Southern Idaho)

You can't even have him in during crunch time of close games because he's a 33.3% FT shooter. They must plan to start Atlason.

Really not impressed with what Miami OH is doing thus far in the Portal.

I agree with everything you said, and I also think MMK showed a ton of hustle on defense and rebounding ability both offensively and defensively.

I know things can change quickly in today's college hoops world, but I'm going to assume the players with eligibility remaining who aren't in the portal are returning. Returnees who saw the floor last season would include MMK, Halligan, and Barre with Head, Henderson, and Perkins returning as well. I'll also assume for now that Jones, Ladd, and Christion will stay and redshirt. MMK and Halligan are both culture guys, and I think they'll bring a lot of value in making sure the Akron culture Groce/Ford built continues forward under Ford. I think MMK in particular can be a valuable rotation player if he continues to add strength and develops more offensive ability. Halligan is going to give you defense and energy, ideally off the bench, and will hopefully improve his spot-up shooting from the outside further over the summer. Barre is a bit of an enigma - he's shown the ability to be an impact player in small samples here and during his time at Duquesne, but there were also times where he looked lost. I'm hoping a (hopefully) fully healthy offseason + time with our big man whisperer in Coach Ford will at a minimum give us a Barre who can rebound and provide interior defense. He certainly has the size and athleticism to do it, and everything I've heard of him is that he is an excellent young man who works hard. Head was fantastic at Lipscomb as a freshman and I think, at a minimum, can be a solid contributor. I was surprised he redshirted last season, but hopefully a year in our system as a redshirt will help him hit the ground running next fall. I'm excited to see Henderson and Perkins, and think they'll both contribute as redshirt freshmen.

https://gozips.com/Watch

I think the NCAA is having a BOGO transfer portal deal on D2 and D3 players.

This is why that D2 PF/C might be a sneaky add if he ends up committing. Would imagine he'd be a good value.

I read that article a short bit ago. What may be relevant for us is that mid-major spending is up 44% YoY.

Yep, as an undergrad I would go to 3-4 games a year when JD was the coach. I quit attending regularly under I-coach as going to games and being down 3 scores at half-time frankly wasn't worth my time. I've attended 2, maybe 3 games in the last 10 years and am in no rush to attend anymore anytime soon. In that same time I've attended 5-6 alumni tailgates, but typically just go to Euro to hang out with friends or go home when kickoff nears. The school has no interest in committing the resources necessary to put a competitive team on the field and I have no interest in watching a consistent 0-4 win MAC program that I have little reason to get excited over. No amount of bouncy houses or kid fun days will change that. Joe Akron is likely even less invested than I am.

I agree with this. I'll add it's just not money, but there is also a finite amount of roster spots on those teams as well.

I imagine this will move slower than previous years for mid-majors like Akron. Many players are going to hold out to see if someone will overpay like K State did with Nate first, and then once that P4 money dries up, they'll come back to offers from schools like us.