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O jogo bonito [The Beautiful Game]: Brazilian-born Victor Souto’s story of futebol — and soccer ...Souto decided to attend Akron because he wanted to go to a good school in the U.S. with strong academics and an excellent football program, both of which the University of Akron has. Souto met Jared Embick, the head coach of the Akron Zips men’s soccer program, when Souto attended a showcase in Florida in 2012. Embick offered Souto a full scholarship to Akron, a day Souto considers to be one of the “best days of my life". However, moving from south of the equator wasn’t easy. There were times when he struggled. He didn’t know any English when he went to school, but he “liked the way the language sounded.”... ...Souto only looks at his time at Akron with positivity and gratefulness. ... Whatever happened, I hope our coaching staff realizes how proud they should be of the difference they made in Victor's life and the path that they helped to set him on. Whatever the issue, he graduated Summa Cum Laude and has been working to do things right. Best wishes to him.

I'm just looking forward to watching the 2030 Zips play on the Keith Dambrot Court at the LBJ Arena

I quoted this on here before, but in the words of Dennis Green, "They are who we thought they were." We knew their shortcomings but as long as they were winning, we were gleefully happy to look the other way and enjoy the run. When those weaknesses came to the fore in the last month of the season, they stung us like newly discovered flaws as we'd become so accustomed to overlooking them. There were many positives on the season. The emergence of Utomi and the growth of Ivey stand out. Big Dog carried over from his strong junior season to be the most dominant big man in the MAC. Kwan grew up as a player and may have been the team's MVP in the first half. Poke was a pleasant surprise, giving the Zips valuable minutes and energy despite playing out of position. Martin Dunn gave us depth at guard we didn't expect. Also, the kids were good citizens with no arrests or other embarrassing incidents. There were also negatives. Josh Williams had a difficult time getting on track. Aron Jackson regressed and nearly disappeared as a contributor. For spells, Noah posed too little of an offensive threat. Big Dog's free throw shooting was often atrocious. They continued to get beat repeatedly off of the dribble. Kwan's early season magic dried up late. All in all, it was a positive season. I hated losing 2 out of three to PCCC and that's my primary disappointment in the season. Looking back, I cant attribute the team's failures to any lack of effort. KD and the staff got as much out of the team as could be expected. Next year's team will be much more of a challenge as adjustments will have to be made for the talent.

Big Mike is the key to the Zips season. Poke can be a contributor, but he doesn't have the body to bang for extended periods. Even if Big Mike comes through, they still don't have a strong 4. I guess it's Utomi's job, but he's really more of a 3 and will never carry much of the rebounding load you hope for from a 4. A resurgence from Aron Jackson would be nice, but I don't think we can count on it after he regressed this season. I hope we see a more up tempo offense and some pressure defense, maybe even an occasional zone (gasp!) to mix things up. As a part of pushing the ball more, I'd love to see the ball in Antino's hands more.

Idk, but now that you mention it, yeah, I'd bet they are! There's almost nothing I'd appreciate more than if the Akron Beacon Journal took the City of Akron and the University of Akron seriously.

Thanks for the insight. That hurts if true. Disappointing.

Eubanks was a walk on last year. He was a scholarship player this year.

Honestly if this opens up a scholarship for a JUCO big, it could be a blessing in disguise

No idea who would be the guy, but McFadden is the top assistant and has been recruiting coordinator for 9 years. Those close to the program will tell you KD has groomed him to be a HC. Larry Williams, of course, could see it differently. I use scrambling more because there are obviously some unhappy players, and you'd think others could leave if both the head coach and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator left. I will say some of the names - Jimmal Ball (no coaching experience), Dru Joyce (average game coach), Steve McNees (nowhere near ready) won't be happening. It'd have to be McFadden or someone brand new to Akron. Just my two cents.

+1

I'm not LZ but I think the Tyreek Hill phenomenon helped JoJo's chances. I bet he gets a shot

Good luck to Josh. He was a great student athlete. Unfortunately, on this team we have too many guys that like to shoot the 3 and not enough guys that can penetrate and create their own shot. Hopefully, he will find a program where he will have a unique skill set.