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You probably have to Venmo them $10 as well to cover the parking.

AJ Brown is out for the year with a shoulder issue. Miles Brown has missed a lot of time but might be coming back soon. Jaylin Hunter has struggled from the perimeter a lot. With Dwight Wilson gone, there hasn't been any inside/post game and there's a general lack of large bodies. Generally speaking, at least to this point in the season, we struggle to shoot the ball and seem to find ways to lose tight games. Nearly all of the losses have been 6 points or less. Multiple losses had horrid free throw shooting. The last game vs NIU showed some promise with shots falling and making smart decisions with the ball, but at this point, that game feels like the anomaly in the season compared to the rest of the games played.

A familiar face will be "coaching them up".

Hang a banner.

I've watched the Cards a couple times. I caught a half of their slog of a win over winless Detroit, and the first half of their MAC opener at Kent last Tuesday. The wonderful folks over at Over The Pylon have hit the nail on the head. They are a rather boring team without much of an identity. Lewis was going to have a hard time replacing the lost talent from last year, and it looks as though he has failed to do so in any significant way. With that said, Groce has had a hard time getting over the hump in Muncie. He's 2-3 at Worthen since getting to Akron, 2 of those Ls coming in the first 2 years (Ivey game). The 2022 win over there was a prime example of how the Zips had it rolling down the stretch that year. Road games are hardly ever easy, as even last week the Zips couldn't find the net for the first bit of that game.

Yes. We do things small time and get small time results. Concessions not open, no team shop, gear not readily available etc. I'd almost even argue that charging for parking actually helps eliminate some of the small time feel and differentiates from being at a Malone or Walsh game

Short of getting a stud for QB this is great news. JD is a good coach and man. He gets Zip football for all its ups and mostly downs. He clicked with Joe. That relationship will have a positive affect on the entire rest of the team. We talk about creating a great culture, this is another step in achieving that. Welcome back coach, glad you are here!

https://footballscoop.com/news/sources-former-award-winning-akron-head-coach-returning-to-zips-staff

Lots of Ball State optimism over at Over the Pylon, including referring to their own team as a "dog turd" in Akron's path. LOL. https://overthepylon.boards.net/thread/5411/akron-game-tuesday-january-2023

Today is a great reminder that Akron (87) has a better NET ranking than Michigan (92) 😁

Agree 100%. I stopped at the Team Shop attached to InfoCision over winter break. I asked if they had any Nike fitted hats and they did not. The employee told me new Nike fan gear was very, very delayed - they had expected it last summer. He said they now expect to get it in February, but that I'd have to go to the campus bookstore or buy it online because "they were probably going to close that particular Team Shop until Spring". The best Zips gear is at Rally House in Fairlawn.

Some points from the BSU Game preview: * Last season, both teams won on their home court, with Ball State prevailing 70-63 on Jan. 6 before Akron claimed an 87-83 decision on Feb. 28 in Northern Ohio. * Jihad leads the Cardinals in scoring (18.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.4) averages. The junior forward out of Detroit has led the Cardinals in scoring eight games so far, scoring in double-figures 13 times, including six games with 20+ points. The big man's total points (259) and scoring average both rank fourth in the Mid-American Conference, while his rebounding average is fifth. * The Cardinals are a young group, as the roster includes only one senior or graduate student (Ethan Brittain-Watts). Ball State returns only 21.5 percent of minutes played and 19.6 percent of points scored from last year's team. * Jihad was named the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on both Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.

The very basics of producing a game should involve concessions being open until the end and an open team shop for people who want to wait until after the game to on buy something.

I agree, but I also think the university/athletics do things that make that seem accurate. Our family went to a Friday night game (7 PM start) and my son wanted a snack with about 9 minutes left in the game. Went out and every single concession was closed and the workers were long gone. I mentioned another game we went to a few weeks before Christmas that the team shop wasn't even open. Can't ask others to take your athletics seriously if the people overseeing them don't treat them that way.

Like football and all Akron sports -- have to play and beat some name schools-- and more than once --- cuz once is a fluke. Then Joe Akron might look at it and say --"did Akron Football/basketball just really beat Michigan (we were right there a few years ago). And then say, I gotta see this and be part of it." NIU did it for a little while -- Toledo does it.. How we get there from the abysmal hole we started in football is beyond me though. In Basketball, we compete with the names once in a while-- and occasionally take a game from a lower tier P5.

Do I dare mention that the Zips have a higher NET ranking than Indiana too? Ha!!

I dig this

Agreed!!

I've done that a number of times with no response. I've given away a few at times but many have received no response. Maybe I need to pitch them as a prize or a "major award."

The Miami and BG threads were pretty rough lol

You must not have ever ventured to the Zips football section in November

This is great, now the athletic department needs to come up with something themselves

Guys they must be listening. Look a promotion!

I hate that "another chance to get better today." It strikes me as so Tom Arth-ish; "Here to develop." No Tom, we're here to kick ass. I just hope that tonight we "get better" all over BSU's ass.

What's OU's issue right now? They lost either Elmore James or AJ Brown to a season-ending injury, didn't they? With those two in the backcourt (as long as the TP didn't gut them) I thought OU was going to be a monster for the next 3 years.

Explain what, his vagabond history? My best guess is that he has attached his self-worth to being a D1 starting QB and if that doesn't work out, he moves on.

Right now, this feels 100% accurate.

Stop the count 😆

Perplexing on attendance, but the JAR is a dump. I loathe the bleachers. Stinks that there is no money to let's say build a baby Baylor arena that I know I'd enjoy attending a game with chair backs for everyone

Nope, there is great availability in the lower bowl for every game.

I think part of the issue lies in the inferiority complex psyche of the area in general that bleeds over to the University. The residents of Summit County never much appreciate what they have here, looking to other areas' cultural attractions and sports. Part of that is an underlying propensity of Joe Akron to think it's "just Akron basketball", not "real" D1 basketball like they have in Columbus and Cincinnati.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store at 1634 Brittain Road in Akron (44310) has a ton of nice Zips gear new with tags. Shirts are $5 and sweatshirts at $10. Most of the clothing is from - The Original Retro Brand which is a nice quality line of sports gear.

Mack Rhodes way overbuilt our football stadium during his tenure here. It looks like he learned his lesson and built this beauty for Baylor.

Let me add: yes, anything will help. Do what they can to get more people involved and present. Creating an overall game day experience would only benefit the team and fans. More social media and promotion of these amazing players would help. Comes back to the product. Make people want to see them. They should send out clips of the big plays . Get those up on social media with sound and editing. Something we can share and get some interest.

So should we put Tribble on stilts? Is that how we get 3k in there for a directional on a Tuesday? Or Freeman tik tok dances when calling for the ball? #ThinkLikeABanana

I find it quite hard to believe that there is an even slightly significant group of people that are willing to spend $7 but not $10 on a ticket. If you can't justify dropping a $10 bill, you probably aren't going if the tickets were free. Which gets back to the bigger problem, that there aren't enough fans that believe that a Zips basketball game is worth their time at any price. The struggle is increasing the value, not decreasing the cost.

I gotta say, I sure am getting a chuckle out of all the bitching about a $10 ticket price and the athletics adminstration not schmoozing said cheap patrons. SMDH🫢

In what world is a $10 GA ticket considered expensive?

I think we’re at the cusp of tarping-over the bleachers and moving home games to Florida.