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I may have the world's most awesome wife. I spent Christmas and New Years away and just got home and had this waiting for me. 😁

At the beginning of practices for the 20-21 season it became obvious to those of us close to the program that Riq was going to take it to another level. When I posted here that he would be in the starting line up, more than a few of the regulars here scoffed. What made that starters spot possible is what still makes him the best player in the MAC, his relentless pursuit of excellence. He also benefitted from a great upbringing by his mom Tonya. He is just a great kid with a love for life.

This video just popped up on my youtube recommend. How crazy is it that this video has 2 teammates from BEFORE covid and are still playing together at the same school. A great testament to Akron's culture Ali needs to be the next Papa Johns Sub of the Game and use the clip of him saying its his favorite pizza

The reality is we are still adding another 6-10 players in total, with most or all of them being transfer portal players. Still opportunity to bring it a lot more talent. QB - do we (or can we even convince) another experienced QB to come in and fight for the job? We currently technically do have one less scholly in that position group than last year. RB - I think we're OK here. Two intriguing transfers brought in and Kellom another offseason to improve. TE - Fine in my mind, but I think they bring in one more. WR - a lot of intriguing options, but nobody has really done much at the FBS level aside from Adams. Would lean towards being fine to stay put here unless you can bring in a Shocky/George/Adams type from a good P5. OL - I think this unit is at worst case an improvement over last year, but probably still a long way to go. 2 more P5 transfers a la Whigan or Seymore would be clutch. DL - Same level as last year at worst. Would bring in another DT and DE to add more depth at worst, or find another Nunnally/Jones type as best. LB - Good. CB - with Jackson bailing, want another outside corner. I think we're good at Nickel with Lewis and Thomas backing him up. Surprised Thomas didn't play more than he did last year. I thought he looked the part in the spring game. S - our least experienced unit on the team (just above TE). There are some intriguing young options, but nobody on the team has ever started a FBS game, let alone played much at this level. I think Paul Lewis is a shoe in at one of the spots, but the other is up for grabs. I'd bring in another as insurance at worst.

Time to get ready for round 2!

I'll never forget him hitting that 3 and skipping his way down the court like an idiot as they went to a commercial break. Kent was still losing at the time, he didn't score another point the rest of the game and only finished with 6.

I didn’t even realize Eric was playing at a tournament at my alma mater and was MVP of his game.

Also, If SDSU keeps their winning ways going we will have another Q2 win

If Bradley keeps up their run, and we beat JMU, we'd be 2-4 in Q1 & Q2 games. The focus for this team is on the NCAA tourney. The NIT is as worthless as ever. What we're fighting for is the best seed possible in March, and that could be up near a 10-11 seed, or as low as a 13/14 seed depending on how we take care of the MAC. 3 & 2 pt losses to Utah State and UNLV - especially without Ali Ali - will carry weight with the committee. Regardless, this is the best OOC schedule I've ever seen for Akron basketball. Beat the Dukes!

JUCO OL that played mostly LT this season. Plays with a nasty streak.

Wonder if Riddle is back on the table now with DePauls coach getting fired.

Correct. For example, Drake is now in the 40s for Net, so our record vs. Quad 1 is now 0-2. Bradley was Quad 3 for a bit, but we are now 1-2 vs. Quad 2 thanks to their move up the ranks.

Again, not that we could realistically expect an at large. But things would be interesting if we win the Utah St and St Bonnie games. Probably getting votes and at least talking about a 9-10 seed if we win the MAC. Oh well, just win the rest of em

In Groce I trust. We got ourselves a late bloomer 💯

There is no need for an additional tournament. The NIT just needs to be expanded to 48, like the women's tournament is set to be this year.

2.5 hour trip. 👍

https://letsgobigmoe.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023-24/mentor-high-school/boxscore/5253

Yeah, I still don't see him making it. 😆

before I read your post I was reading this as your predicted scores and the fact that you had WMU losing 315-268 had me dying

This has to potential to be huge for the Zips… excited for this one. JMU is no joke though.

5 hour and 45 minute road trip!

The MAC leads the sun belt 7-5. A 6-6 finish would win the belt for the MAC we need every win we can get to boost the MACs rating

Right now that would be a quad 1 game. Lets go!

Another "co" player of the week 🤣 https://www.instagram.com/p/C2aW0fSOBf7/?igsh=c2p5eTBlYmM1bndm

AJ Brown is done for the year and Elmore James likely will not play, so 40% of the starting lineup is out. Generally speaking, we don't shoot it well. Or rebound well. Or win tight games. I'd be surprised if Ohio can keep this game within 10 points. EMU rolled over and played dead on Saturday, I don't expect Akron to do that.

Predictions: Akron - JMU Toledo - App St BG - Louisiana Kent - Troy Ohio - Southern miss WMU - Georgia Southern

It'd be awesome if someone could dig up the old post of Enrique playing in the summer "Defense Optional" Akron-Canton Pro Am league where @NWAkron said he looked great. It was shortly after we learned of him being offered a walk-on spot. I thought NWAkron had had a few too many & was definitely wearing blue & gold-colored glasses. 😂

23, almost 24 years ago, a gift from the gods was born. In 2019, that gift from the gods descended upon Akron. The rest is history. Rashaun Agee averaged 13.5 PPG and 13 RPG this past week. He had 1 total block, 3 total assists, 2 total steals, and 7 total turnovers including 6 in the game vs WMU alone. Freeman averaged 21.5 PPG, 11 RPG, and added 8 total blocks, 1 total assist, and 4 total steals. He had 2 total turnovers. They're literally handing out participation trophies to anyone named with Freeman. That's ridiculous. It's a poor joke.

It has been given 10 times this year. He has received it more times than he has not. Just give him POY right now - and it better be unanimous. 😂🤣 But it is nice that by sharing it this week they have now let another TEAM have two Player of the Weeks.

Now at 1526 for points and 1184 for rebounds. 51 behind Jimmal Ball and 61 behind LCJ for points for sixth place and 34 rebounds to move into 2nd place! all time. That's only about three more games for him. Amazing.

The selection process is still done by the committee. It's not like they take NET 1-4 and make them the 4, 1 seeds. Then make 5-8 NET teams the 2 seeds and so on. The NET rankings are just a tool they use. They still take other things into account, like injuries.

It's based on where they are in real time

No doubt, but right now we're slotted into a 13 seed by pretty much every bracketologist. Assuming we get JMU and handle our business in the MAC (including winning the 3 in Cleveland), you'd be looking at a 10-11 seed at worst anyways. Actually, if we draw JMU and beat JMU, assuming we hold serve in the MAC, we would probably starting getting votes then with only 4 losses, all to respectable opponents, and 3/4 losses being without Ali Ali.

At your request - Southland: At this point in the season only 2 of the 10 teams in the Southland are above 500 overall. Neither one of these 2 has an in-conference losing record. As a special bonus just because I like you - Horizon League: At this point in the season 6 of 11 Horizon League teams are above 500 overall. One of them has a losing record in conference. Big Ten: At this point in the season 12 of the 14 Big Ten teams have an overall W/L record above 500. Only 4 of them have an in-conference record above 500.

Oh yeah, Dawson's bear hug was timely no doubt. But wasn't it just a few minutes later when Groce went into his "marionette" mocking of the refs - that was hilarious!

Still enjoying the afterglow of Friday night. But looking ahead, we're going to be awfully young next season. Potential 2-deep: PG: Tavari... Young Tavari's gonna be a good one. He had Sullinger going in circles Friday night. Young was very highly recruited but do we want a true freshman as our backup PG? Do we bring in a grad transfer? Can Scott play PG? W: Dawson... Scott Here's to hoping Dawson has a year left. Scott is the most quick, athletic, best on-ball/perimeter defender I've seen in a long time (even including Tribble, IMHO). If he can improve his 3-point shot he's going to be an absolute beast next year. W: Johnson... Mahaffey Nate is a future pro. But we're thin at W after Johnson. Mahaffey will only be a true freshman. He's a great athlete w/ a ton of upside, but I think he'd make for a good redshirt candidate. P: Lyles... Marvin Now we're getting to where we're really going to need help. Lyles is good off the bench but I don't see him as a starter at this level. He seems just a little bit slow. Marvin has springs for legs but will only be a redshirt freshman. P: Baker... Brisco Not to jinx the brother but Baker may be the next great Zip. However, as our roster is currently constructed, it looks like he's going to be our primary big; a tough ask for a redshirt freshman. Brisco is a man child and is going to be a bruiser but he'll only be a true freshman. We desperately need an experienced big to transfer in for next season. We'll have two scholarships to give and I say use them both on post players. Tavari's got dibs on the starting PG spot next year & I say let the cards fall where they may in having Shammah and Young run backup PG. This would leave us 2 scholarships for experienced post players.

Is this the much needed change the program needed? I’m just glad we’re not “middle of the road” anymore, playing in Cleveland in March, and recruiting multiple MAC Player of the Years. Good thing Reagan likes engineering classes. Chuck Guthrie holds the program to a higher standard. Now excuse me, I’ll get back to monitoring the football transfer portal. We’re just one DB away from adding a second win in the MAC next year.

Can’t State still sucks… but my Xbox gamertag I’m still rocking 15 years later does not

Making a return to Zips Nation after an 8+ year hiatus to say first and foremost Can’t sucks in every possible way. I was at the game last night with my son. Sat mid court low near some of the old stalwarts on here. The Can’t fans by us were classless, clueless, ref blaming jackasses. Felt compelled to come on to share my thoughts and thank the team and coach for cramming a W down their throats last night. Enjoy seeing you at the games year in and out. Your unwavering (though often critical) support for the zips is one of few constants in an increasingly crazy world. Go Zips!

Players no longer listed on 2024 roster: RB CJ Price OL Tony Georges OL Alex Robarge DE Antonio Smith LB Andrew Behm S MyJaden Horton Walk on WR Jax Smith is still listed even though he transferred to Southwestern Oklahoma State. DT Terray Jones is still listed, but I’m pretty sure he’s out of eligibility. Im certain most of the 2023 HS class that did not play and are listed as Sophomores are actually redshirt freshmen. Im going to remove the above players from the position previews and will add back if it turns out they are still on the team. Edit: Forgot to add if the above is true, that leaves only 10 players remaining from the Arth years.

Great effort tonight by the Zips. The flu bug has hit them hard. WBB and T&F too. Guys just sucked it up and competed!

Fanduel has player props for this game. Enrique O/U 17.5 points and O/U 12.5 rebounds, Ali O/U 14.5 points

Absolutely stunning news. He was a good guy, a proud Zip and someone who made you love to be at Track & Field events. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

Tragic. Absolutely tragic. Prayers for his family.

Horrible.

Lol. Bulletin board material. Freeman is going to feast. Pinky tries to use bulletin board material with PCCC, but it's useless when they Can't read.

I don't feel good about this team if the roster stands as Catdaddy has predicted. Too many question marks with no solid QB or OL amongst the biggest ones. Please Santa return with more productive players i don't care where Santa finds them (TP, Bench, HS, JC).

Any idea where we stand? If my math is right, we’ve added as many scholarship players as we’ve lost. We are still offering guys so we must have at least a few scholarships still open. I think we are at 81 now, but not totally sure. It’s some of the remaining players from the Arth era that is throwing me off.