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When the market zigs, some successful people zag. Groce zagged. This could pay off greatly. This roster matches what he had at OU for his 3 NCAA Tourney wins. Guard heavy with a shorter but more athletic front court. Spread the floor, run em, and play stone cold Z Fence. Akron athletics is setting up to be incredible starting in August. Time to run the MAC.

And what about the members of the Zips marching band. They put in just as much practice as any footballer and play in the same weather conditions as the footballers, but what kind of recognition do they get? Do you see any write ups about them in the newspaper or stories on the radio or TV? Have we done a position group analysis by musical instrument for any instrument here? I'll bet even the most ardent Zip fan can name two trumpet players in the Zips marching band. These kids are shining examples of successful multi-taskers what with all the instrument playing and walking they do. My hats off to them.

That's just a byproduct of the transfer portal. These guys were severely under-recruited so it has worked into Groce's advantage. These two additions are very exciting. It'll be interesting to see what this rotation turns into.

Interesting read here interviewing current coaches (including our old friend Bob Huggins) on why they transferred back in their day and their thoughts on the current situation- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33971293/current-men-college-basketball-coaches-why-transferred-players

Anyone else surprised that our last 2 recruits are coming out of high school and not the transfer portal. I am not being critical but I do not think that Groce has a high school recruit that has stayed the full 4 years. I think that Groce recruits athletes that he thinks are coachable, will work hard, and will play defense. Looking forward to next season.

Clark, l tend to agree with you. I feel ball security has been an issue. Both decision making and security issues could go away with maturity. If he develops confidence in himself and THOSE around him, maybe he won't try to do too much on his own. From a distance, that seems to be the issue.

I love marching bands and I think they are a big part of the college football experience but nobody pays to go watch the band perform (except maybe their parents).

Bump for updates. Of note: A few former walk-ons are no longer listed on the official roster, nor is scholarship tight end Matthew Monaghan.

I have tremendous respect for the players that choose to stay with the team and don't receive a dime for their work or dedication. Kick off and punting team players, low on the depth chart players who rarely get in the game, permanent fixtures on a practice squad; guts but no glory. Obviously, they bust their butts for the love of the game, the satisfaction of being a Zip, and the selflessness of helping to make their team and mates better. Hats off to the unsung!

These are the body types Akron has missed out on for years. Hopefully JoMo can keep this pattern of bigger kids that can add weight/strength and not loose speed in the process. For years the LB position has been way too small and not nearly fast enough.

Zips add Amani Lyles. And we are loaded.

With the acquisition of Prince Mosengo, it might open up the opportunity for additional mining of talent from this really outstanding new prep school Keystone Academy in Erie, PA. According to this story, @BCJoeMo already has one of Prince's teammates on his squad. https://www.goerie.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/04/10/keystone-athletic-academy-kings-players-raise-recruiting-stock-1st-season-dellquan-warren/7041831001/

This is an insanely talented team on paper. Repeating in sports is one of the hardest things to do, especially in this league. I think Buffalo is the only team to repeat recently since Kent in the early 2000s. With that said, I feel that this team could face similar challenges that the title team did. While there may be some early season struggles with guys figuring out their game and the staff playing around with lineups and matchups, I firmly believe that we'll be back in the thick of the title race once again. I am a bit concerned right now about the lack of a second true center, especially for foul trouble situations and when the shots just aren't falling. It's always nice to have Freeman to throw it into for a high-percentage look after all. I'm excited for the possibilities with the shooting. Clarke is a decent shooter, X is a great shooter, Dawson is a really good shooter, Hunter has shown potential other places, Hankerson is a great shooter, Kobe Mitchell is supposed to be a great shooter, Tavari Johnson is supposed to be a great shooter, Ryan Prather is supposed to be a great shooter, Mosengo is billed as a great shooter, Amani Lyles looks like he can be a shooter. On top of that, all of these guys look to be supremely athletic, still with plenty of potential to continue to bulk up. As I look at it right now, I simply see a lot of options for this coaching staff. They've got the whole offseason to come up with a plan of who to redshirt, who to put at the end of the bench, who to put in each lineup, and then watch it play out in the early goings. If we've learned anything from this past season, it's that we shouldn't get too high and too low no matter what we see on the floor in November and December. A long list of highly touted guys will be putting the uniform on for the first time this year. While I would've hoped a guy with experience like Ali would've stuck around, we've got a great mix of young talent and seasoned vets. X is one of the most experienced basketball players in the country, Freeman is one of the best centers in the country and has been here for a ling time, Dawson has blossomed into a tremendous glue-guy and he's been here a long time, Clarke has been here for a while now. This could be special. I won't get my hopes up yet because we all know that potential is just that--potential. But wow, this is amazing and we're lucky to have Groce.