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I'm at the game. Enrique has shown well in the game. 10 it's, 7 boards, 1 assist and 1 block. 2-3 on 3pt shots.

Anyone else watching? Enrique playing pretty well. Hit a three and getting some airtime as his on uniform camera got knocked off. LOL

It makes sense to me in that if you are a talented MAC player and you can earn some money and fame transferring to a bigger program, why not sell your talents to the highest bidder. Essentially, Ali went to a bigger program after his success at Akron. However, I think we have found out that a talented MAC player does not equate to success in a bigger program. You also have players who believe they will get more playing time in another program and transfer like Deng Riak. I thought Tavari Johnson might be one of these players and I am glad he is staying with Akron. (thus far). Unfortunately, I think many of these MAC players might be overestimating their talents and can wind up with no division one offers and go to a division 2 program.

I suspect Bronny is entering the draft for the purposes of getting a full evaluation of his game. I do wonder though if he'll get an honest assessment. My assessment- very good perimeter defender but otherwise not an NBA talent, at least yet. To his credit, his recovery from the cardiac event is impressive and he's done a great job of dealing with the pressures of being Bronny since he was a kid.

Geno Ford product.

I am not at the game...but just got a very early report from today's 5 pm game..... after 15 minutes, the zips lead 1-0 ...on a beautiful long ball....to Stefan....and Stefan put it in the goal. well done, Zips !!!!.....keep it going !!!

Michigan State will play Marshall in the title game next Saturday in Columbus. With a win or tie today against Dayton, the Zips will finish 2nd in the league..... again, I only want to see the zips make some progress on offense.... 1 goal from the run of play in the previous games......looks too much like the last half of last year.

At least the initial school would receive compensation if the other school pays off the existing contract. The latter point is certainly valid and something I'm sure people smarter than me can figure out (which means PCCC is screwed).

Last category. As I mentioned last year, this one is tough as some of these guys will actually end up being safties. It’s not even a “may” who I missed on below, but a bad oversight on my part when it comes to Daiquan White. I also did not see Raion Strader making such an early impact. HS/JUCO CBs: BOWLING GREEN - Kal-El Pascal CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Bryce Rowe TOLEDO - Zachary Rogers EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaylyn Monds EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jordan Toney TRANSFER CBs: TOLEDO - JaDarrius Perkins BOWLING GREEN - Ja’Corey Benjamin TOLEDO - Terrell Crosby NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Kiwaun Davis OHIO - Jacob Proche 2023 CBs and how they fared: OHIO - Byron (Tank) Pearson = 16 Tackles and 2 Interceptions. BUFFALO - Charles McCartherens = 33 Tackles and 3 Interceptions. EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaheim Jenkins = N/A Redshirted. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Jamari Allen = N/A Redshirted. BUFFALO - Jayden Lewis = N/A Redshirted. Who I missed on: EASTERN MICHIGAN - Daiquan White. Honestly, I have no idea know how I left White off the list first go round. Overlooked him somehow when he was a huge get for EMU. Should have been top 2 on this list when I originally made it. 19 Tackles and 12 PDs. MIAMI - Raion Strader - 57 Tackles and 12 PDs. Zips actually offered Strader out of HS. He was an excellent cover corner, but was on the lighter side. I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to add the needed mass. Strader quickly added the weight and started 12 games. I’m not going to touch on kickers and punters because I honestly don’t know and I don’t pay attention to the specialist recruiting sites. Just like with all positions, I expect our specialists to perform at a higher level this year.

Multi year contractual is an interesting issue for players but I do not think that will solve the problem. If a player leaves and breaks the contract, the new team will happily pay off the old contract to get a star player. However, if a coach signs the player to a contract and he sucks and the coach wants to move on, the school will be stuck with the player or pay him for not playing.

It's good in certain ways. There is now an incentive to stay in college rather than going pro. The longer players stay in college, the better the game is. The downside is the lack of chemistry that builds and the lack of a connection that fans can build with their team's players. However, I think this changes to become more restricted. If NIL becomes more multi year contractual, that solves that problem.

I realize the portal and annual line up reshuffling is the new normal, but I wonder if the addition of UMass has teams really trying to improve their rosters in preparation. Because 55 MAC players in the portal is not normal or healthy. Competing against UMass might even be a talking point on the recruiting trail, selling to players that the MAC is only going to improve going forward. Time will tell. Just trying to understand this mass exodus.

Not sure if I’ll be able to make the spring game this year, but there are some things that can be taken away. Like how players move or their explosiveness. For example, even though Lingard didn’t have any big runs at the SG last year, it was easy to see how explosive he was. On the other hand, JU had the benefit of playing behind the first team OL and seemed better than he really was. Although, he still struggled on a few throws that he always struggled with in game situations during his time here, so that one aspect was true. Anyway, I copied and pasted what I said after the game last year if anyone cares to read it. Keep in mind this was before most freshmen, JUCOs, and several transfers arrived. One player who I definitely missed on is Terence Thomas who ended up hardly playing last year. See if he contributes this season. “Enjoyed the spring game today. I thought it was a great idea to open up the lounge/box seats. There were not many people in that area until halftime, when it became flooded with fans and recruits that were guided to free food. Well done and way to show off the amenities of the stadium, which otherwise may not often be seen. The game itself flew by. A few things really stood out to me. 1) This team is way ahead of where they were last spring. They look disciplined (minus a few penalties), physical, and know their assignments. 2) The athleticism and maturity was noticeable. 3) The secondary is much improved. It seemed like last spring game WRs and RBs were running free in the passing game nearly every pass. Not the case this year. 4) Tackling was outstanding. I think there were only two missed tackles the whole game. Last SG I remember coming away thinking Wiley had more lower body strength than what he showed on film due to his ability to break tackles. Turned out our defense was just terrible (as a whole) tackling at that point. Position Takeaways: QB - Undercuffler looked confident and in command. He also had the benefit of playing behind what looked like the first string OL. There are still some passes Undercuffler struggles to complete. That being said, he can get the job done. The offense should be in good shape if Undercuffler has to play meaningful snaps this year. Jennings and Wasel received the rest of the snaps. Both did some good things and also looked like young QBs at times. Jennings throws a nice ball and is clearly a solid athlete, but listing him as 5’11” might be generous. Wasel has a big arm and forced a few throws today. He also made a few that gave reason for excitement. His mechanics need work and he seems to realize that as he was focused on the sideline going through step by step motions before the 3rd quarter began. (Irons and Jankowski were sidelined). RB - Lingard is good. He didn’t break any big runs today, even though it felt like he might a couple of times. Not sure what happened at Florida, but the guy has “it.” He did have a nice touchdown run and is the number one back. Lingard will be a weapon for this offense barring injury. Kellom looks ready to contribute when his number is called and Hester also had a nice run. It’s unfortunate Price is out for an extended period, but I have no doubt this group will provide more production than last year. WR - Might as well mark down George for All-MAC. The guy looks the part in every way. It was good to see some of the other guys get substantial playing time today with Adams out and SJL gone. Like @LZIp mentioned, Walker had the best day catching the ball. Thomas, Golden, Anderson, and Gathings were all noticeable. TE - Banks and Ognenovic took most of the snaps. Nothing substantial to report here. OL - My biggest takeaway is that T. Williams and K. Davis look ready. I can’t place who the other guard was, but the lineup blocking for Undercuffler was LT Chambers, C T.Williams, G K Davis, RT N. Williams. Takeaway from the opposite OL was freshman OT Jayvin James. James is huge, has long arms, and moves well. He’s going to be a good one. I locked in on him for a number of plays and came away excited about what he could become. (Landers and Robarge were on the sideline). DT - Terray Jones is a force. It’s unfortunate Holt left because those two could have been dynamic. Robinson seems to have come a long way and will challenge for a starting spot. Nothing stood out about the other DTs, but they did not make it easy on the OL. (Murphy was on the sideline). DE - Pass rush from this position is still a concern. Rabah and Johnson look like the starters for now. We need the incoming players to step up and provide more. (Richardson was on the sideline). LB - This position looked great. Bubba was Bubba. McCoy is physically impressive even though he surprisingly missed a tackle. Fish looks like he knows what he’s doing this year. I noticed him around the ball often. Griffin and Behm also had their moments. CB - The coverage was solid today despite often not having much of a pass rush. Golden-Nelson and Terence Thomas look ready to cause other teams some serious issues. Those two kept popping up over and over. I believe it was Judson Tallandier who also looked good here. All the DBs seem to have added muscle mass. (Joey Hunter was sidelined and I don’t recall seeing Cam Threatt). S - So many of these guys are built and move so similarly now it was hard to tell them apart at times (that’s a good thing). Martin saw plenty of time and Johnson chased down a miscued pass for an interception. This group was solid against the pass and came up well in run support. (Nate Thompson was sidelined). ST - Some good and some not so good. As a group they struggled at the start, but found their groove as the game progressed. Im sure there is more that I missed or forgot to say. It’s late and I wanted to report as much as I could while I had it on my mind.”

That was a pleasure to watch. Freeman was a stud. Once the chemistry settled in and his rotation of teammates played more traditional half court college basketball, Freeman really rose to the occasion. Him wearing the on court can, too, was pretty neat.

He has played really well - hit two threes, had a really nice block, and of course a bunch of boards. Hope the additional exposure will help him get a shot with an NBA team!

We possibly got worse last season. Irons was the biggest reason we had a shot against Indiana and that kept the defense going. We have to step it up offensively and on special teams. Not expecting to be able to tell too much from this upcoming spring game, but hopeful. Moorhead taking the offensive reigns brings hope, but then again you gotta hope he’s not spread to thin to oversee the program.

I think they play those games to survive - not make money. All MAC teams play those games (maybe not as many as this coming year) but they are good to some extent. Next years out of conference is much more manageable.

Dan Hurley - is that you?

Love the breakdowns @catdaddyp!

Yes. There are 1300+ players in the Portal - about 1/3rd of all college players. About 50-75% of P6s are experiencing multiple players leaving. For example, Colorado just had Eddie Lampkin leave for Syracuse. You can sort this by previous school or new school. Fascinating to follow.