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He has a 3.5 GPA. Sounds like the person that brought him to the US is a real scumbag.

There's a difference between recruiting D3 talent at the D1 level, and recruiting D1 talent that was at the D3 level.

This will be a tough one for the zips. Especially with a looming national game on Friday. I believe in Groce to keep them focused but Buffalo on the road is already a tough trip. This will be a tight one. Watch out for the Kent Central Michigan game too

Stetson "Beer Run" Bennett is 25. 25 is the new 18.

ZipsNation didn't respond favorably when the previous staff recruited D3 talent.

Top Drawer Soccer....released the January recruiting rankings this morning the zips dropped from #4 in December rankings...to #6 Top Drawer soccer is showing 2 transfers..... from the Keiser Seahawks...an NAIA school in West Palm Beach per the attached article...Rui Reis was freshman of the year in Sun Conference 5'9 midfielder from Lisbon, Portugal...10 goals...9 assists Varela is from Spain...6'4 midfielder...was MVP of conference tournament 6. Akron (4) Commitments: M Caleb Borneo (Crew SC Academy – No. 37), D Joshua Hardin (Colorado Rapids – No. 70), F Nathan Ferguson (St. Louis City SC – No. 187), M Joshua Bartels (Crew SC Academy), M Matthew Dreas (FC Cincinnati), M Jackson Herbert (North FC), F Alen Kapic (FC Cincinnati), M Ryan Kopay (Beadling SC) Transfers: M Rui Reis (Keiser), M Alejandro Varela (Keiser) Akron’s secured commitments from some of the top talent from domestic ranks, boosting this group. https://kuseahawks.com/news/2022/11/10/no-9-mens-soccer-rui-reis-earns-sun-conference-freshman-of-the-year-honors.aspx https://thesunconference.com/tournaments/?id=446

Maybe that person got in a terrible car accident severing both of his legs off at the knees similar to how Cotton Hill had his severed off in WWII by a Japanese machine gun nest.

Smart kid coming from Hobart. Prominent lacrosse school (D1 in lax).

Both transfers from Keiser were first team all conference https://thesunconference.com/news/2022/11/10/2022-sun-mens-soccer-all-conference-teams-announced.aspx

Not sure if this appeared. SS, first team all-Cal JC, Riverside CC. In any case it's reported in my town he's verballed to Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, who are going nowhere fast.

when I looked at the MAC schedule at beginning of season, I had this and the early Ball State game circled as potential and likely losses. They will pick up a few more losses for the rest of the season. Looking at last year's schedule, Zips were at 2 MAC losses coming into the 1/28 Toledo game which they lost at Toledo. Then they won back to back with Miami and at DeKalb. Next thing we know, the bottom dropped out, and I was ready to cancel my vacation days for the MAC tournament. I like what @LoyalZIPsaid about winning the last two games differently. However, I thought they would win those even when it got close. I expect a let down tomorrow night, heading into Friday.

I’m guessing DE. They played him all over the place in high school. Did not look like he was always facing the stiffest competition, but the kid is clearly an athlete. Raw with a load of upside. Hudl film here.

Over the next 3 games, Akron will be taking on their MAC tournament opponents from last year, not in the same order. I wonder if Groce is using this as a coaching piece at all, in that they need to recognize where they are in the moment as far as the bigger picture, while also going game-by-game. I would caution Zip fans from overreacting to the results on the scoreboard either way that the games go. This team is improving as the season goes on, just as we were hoping. A different role player is stepping up every night, the offense is manufacturing looks, and one of the three of X, Hank, and Sammy is coming in with a hot hand on any given night. Last week was fascinating. Both games were decided by about the same margin, but they were quite different. The Miami game was a slugfest that Akron played poor defense in, and was quite fortunate to win. X was heroic. Saturday, I think the Zips played pretty good defense and had control, they just couldn't bury the Bobcats. X had an off shooting night. All in all, a good sign when you can win those games. For this game tomorrow (and all of them at this point, but especially against these opponents), the Zips need to be focused. Absolutely locked in. Buffalo hasn't set the world on fire in the win column, but they are dangerous. They couldn't get anything going at Kent on Friday, but still managed to hang around all night. They are the fastest paced team in the league, but are fairly middle-of-the-road when it comes to offensive efficiency. Defensively, they're solid too. Their performance at Ball State last Tuesday, a blowout win for 40 minutes, they were outstanding. An outlier performance from a shooting standpoint. If the Zips keep the pace below 62 possessions or so, they force UB to get more makes on fewer shots. What makes them dangerous is their rebounding. They have the best offensive rebounding rate in the league. The Zips, on the other hand, are the best defensive rebounding team in the league. The Zips have put up the best defensive numbers through the first half of MAC play. If they keep that up tomorrow, it could all be for nothing if they can't limit UB's chances. So they keys to beating UB--control the pace and rebound! Scoring more points wouldn't hurt either 😉 Go Zips!!!

It was Red White and Blue theme which worked out well cause I wore my guardians gear! Total coincidence I think

Indeed. I’d assume this is a scholarship player too considering they are a current college player with 1 yr of eligibility left, but have no idea.

What position do they see them as I wonder. Also, came across this while trying to find info on him: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2019/12/11/southport-basketball-controversy-nickens-paul-lemba-raymond-truitt/4401612002/

Here's an intriguing offer. I'm digging it. 6-6 player from Indiana who looks like he's mainly being targeted for basketball, but MAN he is built like a truck & is athletic as all get out! Can't believe that's a high school senior. That's a freaking full grown-ass man 🤯😂

I’ll give it to this coaching staff, they are scouring every level of football to find some linemen. Hobart is D3 in football.

College basketball attendance is a difficult thing to predict and explain. I've been reading that OSU has bad attendance, but they are also a bad team playing in a bad arena. Akron is a good team playing in a bad arena. I went to the Wake vs #10 Virginia game last weekend and there were easily 4,000 empty seats in a 14,000 seat arena that is pretty average for an extremely meaningful game for Wake. I'm past the point of caring about crowd size when I go to a game. In fact, the fewer the better as far as I'm concerned. The JAR is old enough now that Joe Akron has probably been to an event there. The truth is this, it's a bad place to watch an event unless you have a chair back. Winter is bad enough in NE Ohio. Braving the cold to go to a game to sit in bleachers that can only make a chiropractor smile isn't a very attractive Saturday afternoon for a lot of people.

Whatever happens this week, it's so "nice" or whatever adjective to have Groce and his staff on the bench and even better that they don't need the likes of Carry, Payton and a washed-up Jim Christian to succeed. Side note. This is crazy...Tribble was here with Jeremy Roscoe...and is only a junior.

Buffalo... where it is always winter but never Christmas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-xfI1sKVm/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= freeman and hankerson. High level character.

And with no fanfare it seems Nyeem Wartman is officially the DL coach.

https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/boys-club-standouts:-november-19-20_aid51557 Columbus Crew SC 05/04 MLS NEXT – Caleb Borneo scored two goals and Joshua Bartels added another in a 3-2 win over Minnesota United. FC Cincinnati 05/04 MLS NEXT – Alen Kapic and Ryder Mills scored two goals each as FC Cincinnati defeated Michigan Wolves by a 4-3 score. Ryan Hannosh bagged a brace for Wolves.

Thank you, Blue & Gold....nice to see photos of the recruits from FC Cincinnati.