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All aboard the Tribble Train!

Yeah, but he's in Chicago, so, you know, time change to Central vs. Eastern....

Sayles is the last remaining Dambrot recruit, and it shows. That's most certainly not a slam on Sayles. He was recruited for a completely different system - half court offense, half court defense, inside-out gameplan on offense, man-to-man on defense; a system I think he would have truly excelled in. Groce employs an up-and-down attack on offense, and whatever he needs to use on defense to shut down the opponent - full court press, zone, man, etc. I think Sayles is a good player that could have really developed into something had he not dealt with the injury bug. The jump from high school to DI ball is huge to begin with - size, speed, strength, pace, pressure, etc. He lost half a season his freshman year, and basically the previous 2 seasons in their entirety. The obstacles on his uphill battle include conditioning, as well as STILL adjusting to DI size/speed/strength/pace/pressure/etc. In many of those categories, he's still a freshman basically. I have always admired how he stuck around through the coaching change, and how he's always out there with the team. Speaks to the kind of person he is despite the series of unfortunate events that have taken place on the court these last few years. I think you'll see Sayles become more of a factor as the season wears on, especially during the MAC portion. He's an athletic big that I believe will find his place and get somewhat caught up in the categories I mentioned above. Wasn't his hanging-on-the-rim-induced injury a byproduct of a technical called earlier in the game on either him or someone else for hanging on the rim (I think it was him?)? Robotham is a perfect example of how injuries can derail a career. He was getting P5 transfer looks during his freshman year if I remember correctly, and probably would have departed if not for the injury. He eventually ended up going back home to play for UNLV, and had a decent finish to his career there, but nowhere near his ceiling. That kid might have been the best true basketball player this program has had as a freshman. His vision, shot, and ability to slash to the basket were unrivaled in an Akron uniform (at least as a freshman). After that injury, he always seemed timid. Glad to see a solid highlight video from the other night. Love how we're finishing at the rim. Everyone looks so smooth.

We had a guard, Noah Robotham, who had a great frosh year and we thought he would be a great player over the next 4 years. He suffered a knee injury as a frosh or soph and when he came back he was never the same player. I remember he once had a fast break and instead of going up strong would fake going up. It seemed as though he was always a little tentative after the injury. He had a good career with Akron but never lived up to the career we thought he would have as a frosh. I believe he transferred out his senior year to go back home to Las Vegas. Good point that injuries can affect how a player develops after his frosh year. Sayles is also a little slow for this team. I think he is the last KD recruit. All of Groce's recruits are quick athletic guys. Our defense is so good because these guys are athletic enough to recover when somebody attacks the basket and goes to the hoop. Cheese had a great block last night from behind the play. I think Sayles will have limited minutes but he can still help the team by being aggressive on offense.

After TDM, V Cotton and LCJ, I am not sure how to handle a full sized PG in a Zips uni. It's a good problem to have.

Tribble's game and confidence growing with every game.

They gave up 12 sacks while the defense held Miami to 8 points less than their MAC average. I think both lines are awful, but the defense wasn't the primary issue when the O-line is a sieve like it was last night.

The Zips head off to Louisville this Sunday to face the #2 Cardinals. Louisville has recovered from Rick Pitino carousing with floozies on restaurant tables and assistants providing strippers for recruits. The Cardinals are projected to finish third in the ACC, behind Duke and North Carolina, and were ranked 5th in the AP preseason poll. Junior forward Jordan Nwora was the 2019 ACC Most Improved Player and was named ACC Preseason Player of the Year. Louisville returns six of their seven leading scorers from last year. Interestingly, they have had 3 common opponents with the Zips in the young season, beating YSU 78-55, NCC 87-58 and SCU 76-50.

Our football team is in its 27th year in the MAC, and is currently winless. Why not just join and start building the tradition back up?

Doubtful. The buzz on the high school football forums is that he was arrested recently.

I'm tempering my excitement for now. We were all frustrated with them less than a week ago after their lackadaisical efforts against Malone and NCC. X is the best player on the team and we have yet to see him at his full potential as he's just 5 games in after sitting a season and a half. He should be an All- MAC first teamer at the end of the year. I'd like to see him use his length in the post more and also see him drive to the basket more often. He's not only a nice player but seems to have a great attitude on the floor. Reece is what I hoped he would be, a blue collar defense and rebound guy. They don't have to create offense for him and he seems content to get his points through hard work. Every team needs that guy. It's something Groce's UA teams have lacked. Cheese is the second best player on this team and the best at creating his own offense. 10 seconds left and down one, he's the guy I want with the ball. His shot has also vastly improved since he showed up in Akron. He also seems like the rare Zip with a little attitude (in a good way). LCJ continues to be streaky and I suspect he always will be. I wish he'd try playing at 90% speed and more under control at times rather than pushing the ball into a turnover, blocked shot or a quick three. He's a guy that I would love to see bring energy off of the bench if the Zips were deeper. I'm surprised his lack of size hasn't been more exploited by opponents, but that is also a testament to how hard he works. To his credit, I've seen him on multiple occasions work very hard in the post on a bad switch, to the point that I said to my wife that I wished our big men worked that hard. Banks appears to finally be getting his shot back after losing it last year. He also is our best perimeter defender. He's very good at getting in passing lanes for steals, without getting out of position. I think he's a guy that could really help the team down the stretch if his shot is on. I don't share akronzips71 enthusiasm about Riak. Don't get me wrong, I think he is an asset to the team and he works hard. I just think he's the very same player he was at the start of last season. I sure wish he had better hands and I cringe every time he takes a 3 pointer. The guy gets his hands on more balls that he doesn't eventually control that anyone I have ever seen. Ali is like a young gangly deer bouncing around the woods uncertain of the world around him. It's really going to be fun watching him grow as a player. He could be a good one in time. I am most impressed by the fact that he knows and has accepted his role. Tribble has a chance to be special. He's very athletic and is fearless. His game will really grow if he can develop a consistent outside game. Sayles appears lost. It is tough to tell whether he doesn't have a good natural sense of game flow and positioning or whether he's just overthinking it. I really had high hopes for him when he arrived but he seems to have gone backwards. Hopefully, its rust from all of the injuries as I think he has the frame and footwork that could make him a valuable extra big for he Zips. I like to sit up above the bench and watch what's going on. One kid that has impressed me without playing a minute is Maishe Dailey. He is actively engaged with his teammates and is involved without being on the floor. I saw some of that from X last year. I think he'll be a huge help next year. Also, Scotty Walter is involved despite not dressing on game night. This team also seems to really like each other which goes a long way. I don't see any Cotton or Harney like bad attitudes on this squad.

Good question about the injuries impacting his growth. I - along with a number of other posters on here - thought he looked his best his freshman year before his injury. He hasn't looked quite the same since. To this day it infuriates me when refs call T's for hanging on the rim after dunks. Jaden about killed himself because he was afraid of getting T'd up.

I was just joking about the absurd amount listed on ESPN's site. Anyone checking for tickets on the University's site would see tickets going for $10-20 for a gen admission or upper reserved and $35 for lower reserved.

Ah...the Enrique Freeman victory cigar!

Looks like we had the same thoughts ?

I'd say that was our best half of basketball so far this season.

Best Zips half of the season.

Cycron, you have the inside on this, but did I-Coach guess 14,266?

Not that I'm aware. I wish there were a few from Hoban, but there aren't. We wouldn't have stood much of a change in landing RB/S/LB Deamonte Trayanum or TE Caden Clark as they've had high-level P5 offers since their sophomore years. But I would have loved to have kept LB Devin Hightower (Michigan State) home. Hoban is going to be loaded next season so maybe we can keep a handful of them home. Like Melissa Jackson says, "Keep Akron in Akron." Some of the Hoban juniors we're going to want to give serious looks next year: LB Luke Bauer, 6-0, 232 LB Damon Ollison, 6-0, 215 CB Alvin Stallworth, 6-0, 190 DE Darryl Peterson, 6-3, 235 RB Victor Dawson, 6-0, 200 There might be others. Idk I believe the previous staff may have offered Massillon (former STVM) RB Terrance Keyes Jr. But Idk if the offer still stands. Like Trayanum and Clark from Hoban, we would have had no shot with Massillon junior WR Jaden Ballard who's already verballed to Ohio State & is probably the best hs WR I've ever seen. So smooth. But we're gonna want to offer Massillon's other big-play WR Andrew Wilson-Lamp (6-3). He's another top shelf talent. Massillon's QB, Aiden Longwell, is signed to play baseball at Kent State next year. St. Ed's has an OL named Ronan Chambers committed to Akron.

Offensive lineman in the spead have to be able to block 1 on 1. I think the current line can do that ok for pass protection but when it comes to running the ball from the spread, the line has to be able to move bodies and that is where I see a deficit with our current line. It is tough to block a guy who's spinning, swimming, and bull rushing to get by you. Good lineman move their feet and hold (and don't get caught) every play. When I look at most of our current starters, they just do not move well. Not sure if its effort, scheme, or just a not in shape thing. The QB is definitely a critical position in the spread. QB has to make correct reads when throwing, handing off, or keeping the ball and running himself. Frankly, I do not see RB being the reason why we can't run the ball at all. I think its more QB, line, and scheme related. Sure, a good back would help but the holes are there or not. I can't imagine all our current backs not having the vision to see open space and run through it if it exists.

This thread is fun as I love this sort of thing, but I'd be surprised if we have any players on the list the coaching staff isn't already aware of and in contact with. Whether or not the staff will make them an official offer is another topic. The All-NEO-Inland District football teams were just released, so we could probably add quite a few names from that list to this list. The NEO-Inland D-1 Defensive POY was a kid from Medina I'd never heard of - DE Noah Nunn. I'm sure the coaching staff knows all about Noah & has already had a few in-person conversations with him. The NEO-Inland D-1 Offensive POY was RB Lameir Garrett from McKinley. I had earlier added him to the list. But there's no way the coaching staff doesn't know all about Lamier - I think he was 1st Team D-1 All-Ohio last year. But we only have so many scholarships to offer & we have to make the best use of the limited number.

Just realized there's no game thread. I don't know about you guys, but I'll look back fondly on that one time we were tied in the 2nd quarter. Those were the days.

Fearless Forecast: #43 Austin Gillespie sees the field for the first time, and rushes for 275 yards and 6 TD's. In the ABJ game column the next day, Gillespie is referred to as Brandon Junk.

I agree that the O-line needs to improve, but many of those sacks are on Kato. He should have been able to see most of those blitzes coming. If your hot receiver is covered, you need to get rid of the ball.

You just witnessed a lose by our Dline. How did we do this? You know its coming right up the middle. Needed Jest !!