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Nice to see someone come to the realization that the grass isn't always greener. As I have mentioned before I have my concerns, however, my concerns are outweighed by my faith in John Groce.

This is the Portal Era. We could pick up seven 2024-25 seniors to replace them.

I called it

The eagle has landed.

I don't know why you try to cherry pick whatever fits your narative. We wouldn't have even made it past Buffalo in the 1st round of the MAC tournament without him. Not to mention, he hit the clutch 3, while being fouled, against a ranked Ohio State that should have won us the game had we not had a defensive breakdown at the other end. Nobody is immune from having a bad game.

While we’re on the topic, I am particularly a fan of getting 2021-2022 Mikal Dawson as opposed to 2022-2023 Mikal Dawson

I can think of some circumstances last year that prevented him from having a great year for Akron basketball, just a couple. As a true freshman, he was a spot starter for the best team in the MAC. Barely scored, but was a rotation player--as a true freshman--on what many consider to be one of the best Akron teams to ever take the floor. As a sophomore, he played far more meaningful minutes on a team that was tasked with replacing one of the best starting lineups the program has ever seen. In 13 more minutes per game, his FG% saw a 6% increase, 3PT% saw an 11% increase, and he scored 131 more points than he did as a freshman. In a short season. As a junior, he led the team in scoring (the team that went 14-6 in MAC play and beat Kent by 20 in the MAC Championship). He averaged 10 more minutes per game than the previous year, bumped his FG% up 2%, bumped his 3PT% up 6%, and missed 37 free throws in 133 trips to the line. He scored 308 more points than the previous season. I'm all for the idea of him not being as good as he once was in the Akron uniform. My guess as to his production will be somewhere between the 21 and 22 seasons. Lots of cooks in the kitchen this year. But calling that one season an outlier is entirely misleading. There is a graph of usage and production that suggests a trend. Had he never left Akron, who knows how good a year he would've had in 22-23. My main point in this entire business transaction is this. Would you rather bring back Ali to give it another shot with him, or take a shot on a random and increase your risk of another Maishe Dailey, Trimble, Currie, or KJ Walton while you try to land a Xeyrius Williams or even a Xavier Castaneda, who was anything but special for most of his first year at Akron? Or maybe we just go for another Prince Mosengo. Risk vs. Reward.

Yes, even the 20-21 season Ali's efficiency numbers were solid. They just weren't elite like 21-22. He was also a good enough defender to receive consistent playing time as a true freshman on what was a really talented Akron roster. Having a 6'8 G/F that can switch and defend anyone on the floor is a luxury very few mid-majors have. With Ali and Dawson back in the line-up and the depth of the roster, I think you'll see Groce play more aggressive defensively, which should help generate more turnovers and transition baskets.

seriously, people, let him go already. for the love of god!

I’m sorry, but as a program that routinely makes deep runs in the NCAA tournament, we just can’t afford to keep guys like Ali around. He cost us a tournament win for God’s sakes. There are dozens if not hundreds of higher quality players in the portal that would be happy to come to Akron for that final roster spot!

Barring unforeseen circumstances, our 2023-24 roster is finalized. Guards Greg Tribble - 6'3" SR Tavari Johnson - 5'11" SO Ryan Prather Jr - 6'5" RFR Nate Johnson - 6'3" RSO Shammah Scott - 6'2" JR Kaleb Thornton - 6'0" SR Evan Wilson - 6'2" JR Pat Mayfield - 6'5" JR Wings Mikal Dawson - 6'5" SR(?) Ali Ali - 6'8" SR Marvin Musiime-Kamali - 6'6" FR "Bigs" (PF/Centers) Enrique Freeman - 6'7" SR Sammy Hunter - 6'7" SR Amani Lyles - 6'7" SO Darrion Baker - 6'7" FR Easily the deepest team in the MAC on paper, the main questions that will remain unanswered until the season starts... - Which guard(s) steps up to replace X's scoring production? Not necessarily all of it, but 10-12 ppg will be needed. - Does Amani Lyles develop into a solid #3 big man to spell Freeman/Hunter? - Does Hunter's shot develop into a more consistent, stretch-4 threat? - Does Darrian Baker, a McDonalds All American nominee, slot in as a Wing or Big (maybe under weight for a Big)? Does he contribute from Day 1? - What can we get out of Prather? 6'5" is amazing size for a guard, and if he produces, look out. - Does Ali Ali produce similarly to his 2021-22 stats? Do we see better ball movement like the end of 2021-22, or does the offense with the addition of Ali Ali revert back to Ali Ali backing down opponents with the occasional kick-out? I knocked the Kaleb Thornton transfer initially, but I did not realize he led the MAC last year in both assists and steals. He is the PERFECT PG for this team.

He was also hurt for a good part of the year. I hope we get 2022-2023 Enrique by the way, and not the 2020-2021 version.

Woo hoo! I think we’re a lock to win the ultimate prize- 20 games next year!

From GoZips.com: https://gozips.com/news/2023/4/28/mens-basketball-akron-basketball-welcomes-ali-scott-and-thornton

7 seniors next year. This team is loaded with depth.

Five seniors, those are teams that go far

I don't know much about the whole process, but I don't see much, if any, chance at this point that Freeman WON'T be with Akron next year. He has been participating in practices and has been plastered all over UA social media. Maybe I'm wrong, but a guy that is getting serious looks at the NBA probably isn't practicing with his team deep into April/May

Please for the love of God don't let us go back to the Ali back to basket offense

This. He padded the schedule with cupcakes to get to the 20 win mark, then give us a false sense of hope that our team was a lot better than it was. Just to fall apart when it really mattered and he bailed for a worse school. I don't care what conference Duquense plays in or how much they are paying him. They are a god awful program. He wanted an easier path to the tournament. So far it's not working out for him.

Not sure time has proven anything about Akron's ceiling. I love Groce and believe in him, but our ceiling hasn't changed...so far. Hopefully that's coming, though. Concerning the state of the program, it was in good enough shape to attract Groce to it (Boals wanted the job, too, FWIW). Do you think those guys would've been pursuing an opening at, say, Western Michigan? We only had two down-ish seasons after he left, which isn't much compared to most mid-majors that lose a long-tenured coach. KD wasn't perfect. Sometimes he was too honest. But he was a damn good coach that elevated our program from a mostly middling MAC team that hadn't won much since the 80's to a top mid-major consistently in contention for the league title. I think we probably needed a change and believe Groce can take us to that next level eventually, but that doesn't mean we have to diminish the important work KD did in front of him. I know plenty about Zips basketball history. Personally, I don't think lower division accomplishments match up in terms of impact to being able to build a consistent winner at the D1 level. As for Huggins he was obviously fantastic, but I don't think he was here long enough to have sustained success that truly elevates a program over a long term.

IIRC, you told that story at a dinner before an Akron West Virginia basketball game about a decade ago and I believe it was Dr. Z who responded that he wished you would have replied "we only have ONE at Akron" while showing him the appropriate finger. 🤣😂

Never appreciated the excuses for his failure to take us to the next level. Did not appreciate the state he left the program in. Did not appreciate the ceiling he put on Akron when he left for Duquesne. Absolutely appreciate the level to which he elevated Akron basketball, but the way he spoke (bitching about the JAR, MAC 1-bid league, fans, etc.) made it seem like Akron had the ceiling instead of Dambrot. Time is proving that the ceiling was actually over Dambrot, not Akron.

Zips Nation you are welcome! It is painfully obvious that my hunger strike was the tipping point that brought this young man back into the fold. Groce is so grateful to me that I now have a seat on the bench next to Bud Wentz. Rest assured I am staying humble about my unselfish sacrifice. Yet my wife is disappointed Ali did not delay longer. She wanted to see a slimmer version of 72Roo. Can't keep everyone happy.

2026. I'm just now getting the chance to add it to the list as well as another one today.

I feel it was more than just that. He missed a huge part of camp and the early part of the season because of injury. Considering he was learning an entirely new offense, asked to play a different position/role, and had no prior experience playing with any of his teammates missing a huge chunk of the preseason & OOC play impacted his performance. Frankly, I feel his prior performance under Groce is a better barometer to measure what to expect. Groce already knows how to get the most out of Ali and outside of Castaneda, this core team is pretty much the same. I'd be shocked if Ali doesn't at least make All-MAC consideration.

Just as significant I'd say is that he forsook an incredible comfort level at Akron. At Akron he had a familiarity with his teammates, familiarity with his coaches, familiarity with the offensive and defensive schemes, not to mention a comfort level with the U as a whole. Additionally, at Akron, Groce had given him a perpetual green light to shoot as well as an incredibly long leash. None of which he would have enjoyed at Butler.

6'6" 310 lbs. Sheesh.

Bump for update. I’m excited about this group. Curious to see if we add another back due to Price’s injury. Here is some film on Anderson when Arizona played Oregon in 2021. Highlights are: 5:09 7:21 7:39 10:15 10:31

3 starters above 6'7 isn't something you have often in mid majors.

X was a 13 ppg player in 2021-22 with 2 other 13+ ppg guys on the team. I don't think X took a significant leap in 2022-23 - he just had a more prominent role thrust upon him. He largely answered the bell. Ali Ali, for as big of a step he took in 2021-22, regressed mightily in 2022-23. Whatever the circumstances may have been, he only has 1 year out of 4 of being a prominent DI basketball player. That's a fact. We need another year from him like 2021-22. That's all I'm saying.

I think this is a very sober opinion that has to be factored into projections for the coming season. Which Ali will be back with the Zips???

LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This roster is LOADED.

I would think Ali coming back doesn't have much to do with him staying in the draft. He'll either be projected to get drafted and stay in it, or go back to college. If he withdraws, Ali coming back has to help with ensuring he stays here.

As I recall, when Aziz was here he did a print ad for the ADM Board. Good luck to the kid. It's probably hard enough to make the cultural adjustments without having those struggles.

He was a very good coach at Akron. In a couple seasons he was undoubtedly the best coach in the MAC. He’s been good At Duquesne too. Nice person as well.

Looks like Aziz is having some mental health issues. In this tweet he asks Utah Valley fans for prayer. He's garnering a lot of interest in the Portal.

I don't believe they've ever broadcast any part of the event in the past. But if I hear/see anything I'll come back here & let you know!

Freeman Hunter Ali Tribble Thornton