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I'm so freakin happy! Next up Basketball F The MAC Checkbook is back open

Looking forward to seeing the BigEast logo on campus 👍

Precisely. It's huge. At the end of the season only four teams will have any shot to play for the national championship, but at the beginning of the season there are really only ~five-ish true contenders anyway (in that respect college football is seriously broken and, frankly, uninteresting for 98% of college fans, but I digress). But the bowl games are great! One of the best times of the year! Young men playing the sport they love & that they've focussed most of their respective lives on playing. Bowls give a rightful sense of accomplishment & exposure. They give the athletes another month of practice to hone their skills, usually a pretty cool trip to the bowl sight (even if it's not a tropical location, the hosting sights do a great job of treating the young men like kings), make life-long memories and stories to tell, and the opportunity to win a big-ass trophy. If you like football, then what the hell is not to like?! Can't wait till we're playing meaningful football in November & get to another bowl game.

The “Greg Tribble Criticism” alarm/bat signal went off again

Here's how it affects soccer recruiting... Recruit: "Hey Coach Embick. I've heard of your program - impressive history. Who do you guys play typically on your schedule?" Coach Embick: "Our conference has Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, and whoever else the MAC can find. Right now it's Chicago State. But hey, we do play a lot of Big Ten and some ACC schools in the out of conference portion. We do need to win those to have any sort of respect since our conference blows." Versus... Recruit: "Hey Coach Embick. I've heard of your program - impressive history. Who do you guys play typically on your schedule?" Coach Embick: "In conference, we have 2 divisions. Our division contains Creighton, Butler, DePaul, Marquette, and Xavier. Then we'll face a few from the other division, which has UConn, Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova. On top of that, we'll face some Big Ten, ACC, and other highly touted programs in the out of conference portion. You'll have a full schedule against the top talent in the country, plus a chance at a National Championship every year." Otherwise, recruiting won't change much. We have quite the footprint to begin with.

I wouldn't mind if he looks/plays like Harney but if he develops the same crappy attitude of whining, sulking, not coming into team huddles, etc... I will lose my damn mind (not unlike I did with Harney). Tribble's effort and mindset with Harney's skill set would produce an All-American!

Don't forget about Big Dog around the basket! Re: Tribble, agree if he's going to mark his mark on the offensive side, it's going to be around that basket. His athleticism masks his size there, but the size still does prohibit him some. I remember being frustrated with Tribble at the beginning of last year, but he seemed to come around as the year went on. Hopefully he does the same again.

I've been thinking the last few days of what I want Tribble to look like. I have finally come up with the answer--Nick Harney! Of course, I don't want him to become a carbon copy. And though he's a bit smaller, he has all of the tools he needs to be the great player that Harney never could be, since it was clear he didn't want to be. He didn't play hard, he didn't utilize his body to the maximum ability, and he had a terrible attitude. Tribble plays his behind off, uses his physicality to his advantage, and is perhaps the teamismist of them all. Harney didn't have a good jump shot, but he could get around the basket and draw fouls, like Tribble. Most importantly, he was a wizard at finishing around the basket. I think he and Treadwell, now Freeman too, are the only Zips that I have ever had full confidence in when they get the ball inside of 5 feet. Harney, in particular, could throw it in off the glass from every angle, with the softest most finesse touch I have ever seen at Akron. If Tribble were able to do the same, he would be one of the all-time greats here. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but if that was a skill that Greg could develop, a ton of this team's issues would be solved.

I kind of imagined, was just hoping for something more to be excited about. At the very least, we are establishing a relationship with a conference that is an upgrade in just about (maybe every?) sport. Down the road, who knows......one can dream, and the MAC has shown the willingness to take on football only members in the past.

After three games, it seems like we're about where we typically are under Groce. With the portal, you just aren't going to have the continuity from year-to-year...the beginning is always going to be erratic until everyone settles in. I remember Xerius Willams struggling from behind the arc early-on, and guys like Banks, Cheese and LCJ all became much more consistent as time rolled on. Hankerson plays good defense and has a smoothness about him on offense...he reminds me a little of Rashon Brown. Hopefully those two 3's that dropped late in the game yesterday boost his confidence. He's no Maishe Dailey. He just needs to settle in his role. Lyles is intriguing. He seems to have a good touch around the rim. But he's too raw to get major minutes anytime soon. Hunter hasn't shown much. Seems like he's overthinking on the offensive side. Groce says he's tearing it up in practice? He hasn't been close to tearing anything up in games thus far. Nate Johnson has the body to replace Dawson this year. He's got great handles for a thick guy, and a nice touch from deep. If he develops quickly, it will really help free-up Casteneda and Freeman. Those two are our only offensive threats right now. '81's point regarding Clarke is valid...I was expecting Garvin to pick up where he left off at the end of last season. He's not close to that level yet. Tribble will be more effective once Hankerson and Johnson become consistent offensive threats. His offensive limitations stick out because there are two other offense-addled Zips just like him every time we possess the ball. He'll have easier opportunities to score once defenders need to respect the shots of the other four Zips on the court. Tavari looks like he's a player. But he's only 18. If he makes the most of his limited minutes and proves he can score a little at this level, there will plenty more minutes to be had as the season progresses. It's tough to be a HS star, and then sit 9th on the bench in college. But if he can accept it, and grinds, he'll be a contributor this year. Freeman and Casteneda are great. Our defense is pretty good so far. We just need some offensive firepower to emerge and we'll be in the mix for a championship once again.

Each team will play all five divisional members once, in addition to three cross-over matches each year. Overall, the league will transition from a 10-match conference season to eight matches.

It's a win, but certainly a lot to work on.

Please read my last two sentences. How do we get the alumni and students to support the University of Akron in the same way? Intelligent replies are hoped for so that the Administration can build the same model.

Excellent article from the Beacon good quotes from Jared and Charles Guthrie https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2022/11/16/big-east-conference-welcomes-akron-zips-mens-soccer-team-ncaa-tournament-midwest-division/69651420007/ Ultimately the change could help in another area — recruiting, Guthrie said. Guthrie said the program has what's viewed as a top-10 recruiting class for next year. “Just talking to coach, the recruits that were on our fence are actually more intrigued now," he said. "So, I think this is actually going to ratchet up our recruiting, even though we've always done well in the recruiting scene on the men's soccer side.”

Where’s Nick Mileti when you need him?

There is not much amazing about Falcon fans showing up in numbers to watch their team play at their nearby long-time hated rival's place. They did that when they were lousy. Now that they are competitive a little bad weather wasn't going to stop them from making the trip.

Thanks for finding and posting this TennZip. I had to look up the map for Roldan's billboard in Pico -- the Whittier area of E. L.A. Ends up it's under a mile from my aunt and uncle's house in Santa Fe Springs. Some great football and Mexican food in that hood!

Hopefully something can change there. FloSports is terrible and very overpriced.

We would have to join in basketball to see our share of the massive Big East deal with Fox Sports.

Amazing news. "The Zips will be eligible for the conference championship immediately." They already know.😎

College soccer doesn't generate TV dollars so I can't imagine we'd see anything financially from this. It might lead to more scheduling in Olympic sports since there will be more familiarity. Big East schools still won't come to the JAR for a basketball game though.

I did not see the game so I am not sure if the Zips were wearing blindfolds while shooting free throws or simply keeping their eyes closed. Either way, it worked.

That's great. Outside of the soccer program taking a step up in competition, does athletics as a whole benefit in any way? Such as a piece of whatever Big East media money is or scheduling agreements in other sports?

@Blue & Gold nothing personal, but I disagree. There is no perfect fix to the disparities that humans seem capable of living down to. However, I prefer the government at least trying to level the playing field rather than letting the worst of human nature run open loop.

From Hustle Belt: https://www.hustlebelt.com/2022/11/16/23461777/this-is-maction-bowling-green-falcons-toledo-rockets-42-35-bowl-eligibility-battleof-i-75-mac-2022 Ohio was known for late season collapses when Solich was running the show. Healthy, I think they would beat Toledo in the title game. Now, it's not looking like a slam-dunk that they will even go to Detroit. In a discussion of the worst teams to ever win a division in the MAC, 2022 BG would be up there with 2017 Akron. *** After our game against Liberty, I thought to myself that Akron would have a very outside shot at a bowl, a division title, a conference title, but could certainly win a couple MAC games. After the devastating loss to BG, my hopes remained of the outside chances. After the devastating loss to CMU, I thought they were finally going to get their chance to start winning a couple, against their rival next week, no less. After that devastating loss, I thought "maybe we could at least play spoiler in one of these last games." And now is our chance. As long as Kent doesn't win the East, I don't really care who does at this point. It would be awesome to be partially responsible for Buffalo missing out on Detroit, especially having not won there since 2005, which seems impossible considering where each program was at that point in time. A foot of snow, a revitalized run game, a chance to play spoiler...could be a weird Saturday in Buffalo, and a lot of MAC eyes will be on it.

article about the Seattle billboards https://www.kiro7.com/sports/mls/seattle-sounders/ted-lasso-writes-personal-messages-us-mens-national-team-hometown-billboards-2-seattle/2A43456O35GYZPAW3NU2HACVUE/

Seattle.

.@ZipsWBB Unveils Talented Three-Member 2023 Signing Class #RESILIENT | #AkronWBB 🦘 RELEASE 👉 https://t.co/kmRxztYW9h https://t.co/gfQz4peJjJ

Aziz had 9 points and 17 rebounds in a near upset of Wake tonight.

Nate Johnson is the only new member of the team that has impressed me thus far. Hankerson was 0 for 10 before he hit his last 2 three pointers. I do not see him do anything but stand on the perimeter and shoot threes. Sammy Hunter is 1 for 18 from the 3 line. Once again would like to see him do something else other than whiff on the 3 ball. He did have a great dunk but not much else. Tribble had so many open 3 pointers and kept passing up on the shot and driving to the basket. Considering that everyone else could not hit the side of the barn from 3 point land, I would like to see him attempt an open 3 ball. He could not do much worse than Hankerson and Hunter. Clark had an okay game but not nearly as good as he was playing at the end of the year. I think this team was stuck on 42 for at least 7 minutes. We have to play better and shoot better from the outside or this is going to be a long season.

Reminded me quite a bit of this game: https://gozips.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20/north-carolina-central/boxscore/6154

That's a typo. He went 15-9.

Hunter sighting. Nice dunk.

Ted Lasson wote letters to all 26 players DeAndre billboard is the 2nd one shown below

Assist matters more than the basket

Yep, Johnson makes 2 consecutive threes and as they come off the floor Groce hugs Tribble!

Great! Need Nate to stoke some confidence stroking the 3-ball. Two in a row.

We got Emoni Bates?! (If you can't tell by some of my posts, I don't think very highly of the Bates situation)

I love Freeman.

I love November at the JAR. Never know what you're going to get.

It's a FDR Fireside Chat. Can't you tell?

First class, all the way...

Sounds like Reghi and Phelps are broadcasting through walkie talkies from WW2 again. Nice.

I certainly hope that they are not on future schedules. If they move to the Big East, they will have 11 league games. There is going to be a ton of travel if they move to the big east so Northern Illinois should never be on the schedule. 11 league matches means that they will only have 6 non league games. I would prefer to see the zips maintain their rivalries against Big Ten Teams. I would keep Cleveland State on the schedule as long as zip Alum Sinisa is coaching there. My preference would be Ohio State, Michigan State, Cleveland State, Wright State, Duquesne and Indiana. The zips need a few fairly certain wins in non-league but they also need to have strong RPI matches. If you want to toughen up the schedule, drop either Wright State or Duquesne...and add a Pitt or West Virginia. I know that the zips have a long history with Penn State but that is another tough travel destination. my two cents