Leaderboard

Some more observations now looking back. There are three solid point guards in Scott, Thornton and Tavari. Baker is going to provide solid minutes as a big and Amani looks much bigger (as mentioned above). Assuming the shooting I saw from Enrique was not a fluke, we may see two bigs on the floor more often. The kids are having fun and paying attention. Even the new kids, especially Scott and Thornton are up to speed already and giving direction to others. The team communicates well and seems to enjoy each other. Lots of smiles. No obvious bad attitudes. Enrique is becoming more and more of a leader. In one instance Groce was making a relatively complex point and Enrique in a very low voice put it in very simple terms for a couple of nearby teammates. This team will be the deepest Zips team in some time. Other than Enrique there are no distinct stars, but there's the type of talent for a couple of other guys to step up and star on a given night.

Currently at the breakfast/practice. Some quick observations: Enrique is making threes from the wing off of pick and pops; Darrin Baker is a man; Shammah Scott is going to be a big contributor; Ali looks happy and healthy; Dawson looks to be back up at full speed; Groce is not mellowing with age. I can't wait for the season!

Darien Baker looked really good for a true Freshman. Groce is going to have a tough time getting enough minutes for for everybody to be happy.

I can't say enough how excited I am to see and support our talented players who are so proud to be Zips, showing that pride on and off the field. We have a fantastic trio of leaders as our captains, D Will Jackson, MF Sammy Tojaga, and MF Josef Paulus, who also represented Akron with Akron City FC this summer. Looking forward to seeing all of our returning players and our incoming recruits in Big East action. Besides our Big East opponents, we face some outstanding teams in out of conference action...Vermont, Florida International, and Notre Dame visit Akron and we play at Michigan. Let's Go Zips!!!

Obviously not a ton can be gleaned by these clips, but a few things stood out. - Freshman Connor Cravaack looks to have great size in that short clip. Nice job looking the ball in and securing the catch. - Impressive feet by George. I’m confident he’s going to have a big season. - Bullock has a more compact throwing motion than Irons. - #27 freshman Catrell White is fluid and seems to have some explosiveness to him. I initially thought he was one of the transfers. - JUCOs (#90) LaJoshua Jackson and (#91) CJ Nunnally move well for guys their size and should provide DL position/tech flexibility like we thought. - Myles Walker seems to be carrying right on from his spring game performance. Gotta think he’ll be in the rotation if he’s moving like that. - #82 freshman Jean Louis with a tough catch against safety Jaden Woods. Louis is not built like a typical freshman. Can’t wait to see more.

Sweet! And love the Big East logo on the kits.

August 28th #12 Vermont comes to First Energy Field to play the #22 Akron Zips is there any other Zip sport where you can see a top 25 match up in Akron September 19th Notre Dame comes to play at Akron Akron will be favored against Notre Dame. Akron favored against Mighty Notre Dame. This is a must see game.

This is the Instagram account that posts a ton of pictures and short videos each practice. https://instagram.com/kcookmedia_?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Don't forget there's a TV market size aspect somewhere in all of this craziness. Houston is top ten and Cincy is 30-ish.

There are others on this site that can do better than me, but for starters we have a hell of a recruiting class coming in. They will join the returning starters who are first rate across the board. We are healthy and have Gyuwon Chong back. He is one of the most dynamic, play-making attacking midfielders you will see this season. Our forwards are fast and proven scorers. Our D has no weakness in Sangwa, Kamdem, Jackson and Henry. They protect a goal manned by Mitch Butler, who is the best goalie we have had in years. Our coaching staff is in my opinion the best in the league. Add our tradition and gameday atmosphere, which brings a lot of recruits to UA, and you have lot to be excited about. This team is for real. See you at the pitch.