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Don't forget there are two sides to the coin. Ali averaged 14 ppg, but also played good defense. Even if the guards can pick up the offensive slack, we still need an athletic wing player to play defense.

I think the answer to that is, "he doesn't think of himself as a mid-level player." I think any player worthy of playing time needs to think of himself as, at very least, having a very high ceiling. So I don't begrudge him that. Also, while Butler sucked last year and I can't be arsed to look into how good or not they stand to be next year, the Big East tends to be bunched up, and so going from 6-14 in conference to, say, 11-9 and on the bubble is probably not out of the question. Finally, while we have misgivings about Ali (especially now that he's gone), statheads and analytic nerds tend to love his game. Maybe there's something to that, and maybe the "actually, he's not that good" camp is right, but again, you can't blame him for believing in himself. For better or worse, this is the transfer portal reality now, and this is gonna happen from time to time (and hopefully not more frequently than that) with our good players. I for one am not gonna try to take such transfers personally as a Zip fan (although I would be f***ing heartbroken if Enrique left, I would try not to be ANGRY). I hope that Groce and his staff respond to the advent and popularity of the transfer portal by scouting low-major transfer portal diamonds-in-the-rough thoroughly, and well. If any of our players feel like Butler is a step up, well then, maybe we are a step up from Nebraska-Omaha, or whoever. Or even D2 (Max Strus went from D2 Lewis (Ill.) to DePaul to the Miami Heat).

I had heard from someone that Cam Wiley looked an awful lot bigger than his listed 180. Well, this article states Cam is 6-2, 215 (with breakaway speed!). Now that's more like it! I was worried about a RB who was 6-2, but only 180. 215? Now we're talking! Go Zips!

If I had the time.... I still have my PS3 thinking someday I want to play NCAA again and take Akron back to prominence.... with me as the QB!

I download Zips uniforms and floor for NBA 2K games, and rename the players. It's NBA rules, but it's better than nothing. And you need a couple centers. Best we can do with Madden is use older Rams jerseys and rename the players. Some years when I'm ambitious I redo the player ratings. It's a gamer thing. I go back to pong on a portable black and white TV.

I want a replacement for Ali Ali, and I think we'll find one, but I'm not sure we need one. We are going from a guard-light team, that allowed Ali Ali to take 477 shots last year, to a guard-heavy team that has 4 new guards (good size, too) to consume 477 shots. Those 477 shots were second on the team (X took more) and only led to less than 14 ppg. Can those 4 guards slot in and average more than 14 ppg in total with 477 shots? A modest 6 ppg per player (around Tribble/Dawson production) would equal 10 more ppg. That would be 78 ppg (subtracting Aziz's ppg), with zero increase in production from the returning guys. Moneyball.

With the commitment of Sammy Hunter, our roster is already looking good, but we still need one more legit wing to try & fill some of Ali's big shoes. PG: X..................Clarke......... Tavari Johnson G: Tribble.........Kobe G: Dawson.......Nate W: Wynn.......... P: Freeman.....Hunter Point Guard: X is set in stone as the starter & may be a preseason All-MAC selection. Clarke was coming on at the end of the year getting big (and productive) minutes in big games. I think Tavari Johnson will redshirt (a minority opinion on the board - I think he'll need a year in the weight room). G: I think Kobe will be a starter come MAC play. He'll likely be our #1 shooter from the jump next season and he's had a year to acclimate to the intensity of D1 ball. Tribble's lack of an outside shot still worries me. I think that come MAC play Tribble will be bringing great energy and leadership off the bench. G: I like Dawson in the starting lineup. He's a junkyard dog and has a nice outside shot. I think he'll hold the starting spot over Nate... for at least this year. (I think Nate will be our best player and face of the team after X & Freeman graduate.) W: Gaping hole here. We need a strong wing who can come in and start from Day One. P: Hunter is the Stretch 4 we were looking for. He and Freeman could see a lot of time on the court together as he'll compliment Freeman much better than Aziz did. If we could run 3 guards with Freeman & Hunter on the court together it'd be great. But we still need a true 6'6"-ish wing, IMHO. EDIT: I forgot to include incoming freshman Ryan Prather. He's a 6-5 guard. At 6-5 could he add to our depth at wing?

This is from July 29, 2018...

Thank God you clarified that B & G. Up until now I thought that UA was orchestrating the invasion of Ukraine.

I mean, yes, other programs have it tougher both with losing players in the transfer portal specifically and just more suckitude generally. And yes, some fans need to gain some more perspective. But we're still allowed to feel bad about any adversity affecting our team, just like I'm allowed to feel whatever feelings I want to about my own problems, even though others have it worse.

I didn’t catch any details

Wiley definitely looks bigger than 180lbs in the clips we’ve seen. What I can’t grasp is the difference in the reported weights. It’s not just 5 or 10 pounds we’re talking about, but 35lbs gained in one offseason? Regardless, I’m excited to see how this group performs in 2022.

https://www.buildlineup.com/shared/6258069a2be93026176936c5 Here is how Zips should deploy vs. Dayton:

Ali was by no means an inefficient scorer either.

So I actually have it on good authority this commit is actually going to be the 22 class, though I’d typically think 23 given the timing. What I don’t know is if they’re on scholly and/or is this a replacement for the OL commit from Indiana who is the only freshman signee that isn’t on the roster. Not a lot of information out there on this one and this is and example of where it gets confusing when trying to track players on scholly.

Ali...

Drink!

This one has me excited. Watched a few highlights, and he seems to be quite athletic/coordinated. Looks like the perfect compliment to Freeman, and interchangeable with Freeman where the offense doesn't change when one or the other isn't on the floor. His offer list shows he has promise. Up to Groce & Co. to tap into that potential and develop him. I'm stoked.

I would think Garvin Clarke is somehow connected to this. Pretty cool if so.

I know it's just the Spring Game, but I'm pretty stoked to be back at stadium, see guys hit each other a bit, and just get a sense that things are going to be different with this new era.

If ever there was half-hearted praise this is it. The Zips can do better. When they do they will receive better praise that is not tongue in cheek. Earn it Zips! You can, and should, do better.

Ali has heard from a lot of P-6 schools. Though Idk if that means they've offered. You'll just have to trust me that this is not sour grapes, but, as I posted a week ago, I think he's going to regret leaving. At Akron he's got a comfortable, familiar culture, great team chemistry, mastery of our offensive and defensive schemes, knows his role, has a spot in the starting 5, gets an abundance of PT, and has been granted an exceptionally long leash by the coaching staff. Good luck finding that wherever the next stop may be.

How about sending Ali Ali to Ball State to complete the trade for K.J. Walton?

A weird 2 days for sure, like I said, the honeymoon is over. Is this really that big of a deal? Yes and no. I am not surprised to see Aziz leave, though I thought he could be a very good MAC player a couple years down the line. No clue what's going through his mind right now. As for Ali, he's probably banking on some advice from prospective future agents, or his family wants him to be a Hoosier so they can watch him play for a high major close to home. Are these a big deal to get exasperated about? I don't believe so. What is Groce & Co. doing to make these guys jump ship? Is it the fun they're clearly having? All of the winning over 3 seasons? The trip to the NCAA tournament? Success was defined by John Wooden as the peace of mind knowing you did all you could, worked as hard as you could, to achieve your goals. Well, if Ali and Aziz feel that their futures are better served with a different basketball program, then so be it. Yes, these are big shoes to fill, but I'm not going to be shaking my fist at anyone this summer and into next season because of the transfer portal. We (Groce) can sit here and bitch about the portal and the players leaving all we went, or we can shut our mouths and recruit and stick to the process that's resulted in 2 titles in the last 3 years. Count me out on "woe is me, this is a huge deal and an awful day" blah blah blah blah. I like the guys in charge of our favorite team. They have to deal with the same crap everyone else has to deal with, it's what they've signed up for in 2022.

I think Aziz could have developed into a reasonable contributor. I don't think he was never going to be All-MAC but I could see him as a 20- 25 minute a night guy averaging 8-10 points and 5-6 rpg. He was also a possible solution to facing larger lineups as with development he could be on the floor more with Freeman. Who knows what goes through the head of a 21 year old kid from Senegal in a distant land where he's learning English as a second language. It seems like staying would be the most comfortable option but maybe there's a better choice for him out there somewhere. I hope he's not being sold a bill of goods.

You guys are pretty good at convincing yourselves these departures mean nothing lol. If they players are on the team, they're good. If they leave, they sucked anyways. The staff has their work cut out for them if we want to repeat or more.