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Is this the year for the up-tempo offense? If @RoyalBlu is correct and Young contributes meaningful minutes at the point I believe it's possible. I keep waiting for it. I so enjoy it. Some of you might remember the team South of Akron running it. Please basketball gods make it be so. Groce usually teaches one position to true Freshman. For Sharron Young that will be at point guard. Tavari should be able to play all three guard positions by now, but he is not likely to be able to guard the wing position well. I expect to see both Wilson and Okonkwo play 35+ minutes a game. But Wilson will probably only play up to half of those minutes at the point. The rest of the minutes will be at the 2 and 3 positions. Wilson unlike Tavari is plenty strong enough to guard the 3 position. We could possibly have three point guards on the floor together and the half-court offense could be initiated by any of them. Talk about a defensive nightmare. So the rotation I would like to see next year is Young at the point, Tavari or Scott at the 2, Wilson at the 3, Nate or Prather at the 4 and Okonkwo, Marvin, Baker, Lyles (or our last recruit??) at the 5. We would have 4 guards capable of bringing the ball up the court in transition. So we would be able to rebound and run. And with a rim runner like Okonkwo our fast breaks could become lethal. Unlike last year our guards have to be able to hit a fair amount of those open shots from deep. If that is the case we can spread out opposing defenses then drive and kick, drive and kick, etc. It's not something you typically run all game or against every opponent. But it's effective and damn cool. Please, please, please!!!

They aren't smart enough to find it, even if they had internet access

Via Professional Zip on Twitter...

Hunter -> Harris Tribble -> Wilson Freeman -> Okonkwo We could have done worse

Just saw Josiah Harris to Akron!

He's what I could glean my first look at the 2024 Zips - Ben Finley saw the field as the #2 QB behind Tahj Bullock. It won't be long before he assumes the #1 position. He hit receivers downfield, whether they were open or in traffic. He moves the chains. Looking forward to watching him in an upcoming scrimmage. Seems like a nice kid too. From observing the player interaction on the sidelines, the other players seem to like him. Finley tosses one deep. Finley reads the D. Myles Walker reels in a 40 yard TD pass from Finley. Noah Perez is still hanging around. Steele Wasel saw a fair amount of action. He seems more confident this season. More purposeful with his actions. It wouldn't shock me to see him pass Tahj as the #2 QB at some point. Tahj received a fair amount of PT Saturday, but seems to be a distant 2nd to Finley in the QB race. Steele tosses a screen pass. David Jester arrives too late to block a PAT. Look out for Bennett Adler this year. I thought he was somewhat of an unsung hero last season. Solid, durable. And sneaky-strong. I'd predict 5-6 sacks for him in 2024. #36 Dante Jackson handled most of the punting today. Very windy...you couldn't tell much from what came off his foot. Adrian Norton handled the punt return duties. With mixed results. He misjudged one that bounded over his head. Braydon Ruggow saw some action. As expected, he looked overwhelmed. Tossed a bad ball on an out pattern that should have been an INT. Missed a wide open seam route for a TD. Nowhere to go but up for him. 😀 Joe speaks to the 4 QB's who saw action today. A little chilly, but overall a really nice day for an outdoor scrimmage. I wish I had hair like Steele. Owen Wiley lines up for a PAT. Then, my camera battery died. Other notes - Finley pulled in a high snap and hit Adrian Norton on a quick slant for a 7(?) yard TD strike in the second half. Perfectly placed ball, and Norton showed nice hands pulling it in while also keeping his feet inbounds. After the play he took his helmet off and got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Joe was pissed and stopped the practice to forcibly remind every player they can cost their team a game with their reactions to adversity, as well as prosperity. Not much news on the RB front. Marquese Williams saw a few carries. He's a little guy. In the post practice mid-field gathering Joe singled out Fish and McCoy as guys that have been outstanding so far. He also brought in three of his former players (not Zips) to say a few words to the guys. He also mentioned the portal opens on Monday, and if any player isn't fully committed to turning the Zips program into a winner, they should use it. Joe also voiced the players can't be thin-skinned. They need to listen to bad stuff in order to improve. Overall, to me, Joe's leadership style strikes a nice balance of being very direct and honest with the players, while also letting them know how much he cares about them and their success.

Found this on a WVU meme account. Doesn’t seem the person who runs the account is too upset about it.

The Akron Mountaineers

Here we go

Safe to assume Jalen Sullinger isn't returning? This kid is 5'11" and played a lot as a freshman - 33 games, 22 minutes per game. 35.7% 3P and 79.2% FT. Looks a lot like Sullinger's replacement.

They were the worst team in the Big 12, but they still finished the season #144 in kenpom. For reference, Akron ended the season at #122, so they weren't that much worse than we were. They just played a vastly tougher schedule. I'm not drinking the kool-aid to think this makes us instant favorites, but in a year that the MAC looks in a disarray, it's not like we need a super team to compete.

Now, that was more like it! AKR 2-0 LOU Match was not as close as score might suggest. Very solid and steady performance by our Zips, with flashes of brilliance throughout the match. 4-2-3-1 Goal Keeper Devin Armstrong #29 is much more than a suitable backup to Mitch Budler #1. Akron is set at GK for the foreseeable future. His medium ranged save, diving to his left, sealed the deal for me yesterday. (Just in case saving two PKs last week was not enough.) Zips keep trying to move Jonas Buechte #4 to HMF, because he is really good there. The problem is that we have only one Buechte. And he is also our best option at CB. The pairing of Jonas Buechte #4 and Roberto Ydrach #8 seems to be the best Center Back tandem for Zips. Both are heady and steady. Our outside backs really impacted the match yesterday, as they commonly do. Malik Henry #5 put in his usual uneven but sometimes brilliant shift up the right flank. On the left, Ashton Kamdem #27 fought like a demon! He created one chance after another all match long! He was everywhere! Remarkable that he did not score (hit the post). Ashton Kamdem is poised to have a monster Fall 2024. Promising freshman Nicholas Beier #6 was tried at Center Back last week, with mixed results. Beier looks far more comfortable at Holding Midfield where yesterday he facilitated several thrusts into our offensive third. He is also a good ball winner. And speaking of ball winning, Matt Dreas #22 is making a strong case for starting at HMF. Dreas will tackle anything that moves in midfield. Dreas is emerging as a scrapper. Incoming transfer Maximus Barboto #21 continues to show his creativity in the final third. He is quite accustomed to providing the critical pass from Attacking Midfield into space. And he is left footed, so he fits our paradigm of inverted wingers. On the other side? Whoa! When Dyson Clapier #19 has come to play... look out! "Katie, bar the door!" Several players on the Louisville right had nightmares last night featuring Ash and Dice. Stefan Dobrijevic #18 capped off his stellar Spring campaign with a goal and a beautiful assist to Joshua Bartels #15. Stef is another Zip on the verge of greatness. Not necessarily a consensus opinion, I believe Dobrijevic is best suited to play up top. He is currently Akron's best option at Forward. In summary, an excellent performance by Zips MSOC. May this victory be a harbinger of better things to come.

I wasn't looking at the volume numbers. I do see now that you mention it Harris had a pretty miserable start to the year, which explains why on paper his numbers look as bad as they do. It's nice to see he improved as the year went on. Hopefully he can continue to build on that at Akron. Wilson's sophomore season he put up some great shooting numbers. I'd be pleased getting that Wilson. His freshman and junior year he struggled quite a bit, particularly inside the 3-point arc. I'm not sure if he's just not good at finishing at the rim or what. Either way I expect Groce with use him as the proverbial 3&D guy.

Read the comments. We're gonna have a good number of bandwagon fans from WV. Welcome aboard!

I agree. I feel for Dawson too, but it was the right time. He regressed and would have been miserable getting passed over. I'm thinking he never returned to his pre-injury athleticism. I just wish he got to have Senior Night with his buds. He will always have my respect and appreciation.

Zips add Josiah Harris.

😞

This whole rebuild is being done around Sharron, in case anyone is wondering what the coaches' expectations are for Sharron.

🤣🤣🤣 Is that taking creativity a step too far?! I'm going to blame it on being caught up in the excitement.

https://www.dominionpost.com/2023/10/10/column-josiah-harris-story-on-graduating-early-is-one-refreshing-tale/ Great fit for the culture

Interesting graphic I just saw on Reddit. I believe this is as of today but I can’t vouch for the source.

I didn’t make enough notes on the OL and DL. My excuse- it was spring ball for me too…I haven’t done anything like this for a game or practice since before the pandemic. 😷 😀 I will make that a priority if I can attend this coming Saturday.

BEst wishes to former zip Dillon Serna....as he has announced his retirement from pro soccer He was always a very smart and crafty player. He would make a good coach. https://burgundywave.com/2024/04/14/dillon-serna-retirement-loffelsend-contract/

This is the sense I get as well. He could be the next great MAC guard. That's why I think it's so important to land these WVU recruits. Coach Rob is a West Virginia icon for recruiting with his roots being Huntington Prep. Make Akron feel like home and hopefully we keep him for more than 1 year.

Zips Lady Dodgeball - A true Underdog Story. Has a nice ring to it. I wonder if it would make a great movie title?

That looks so good already with one scholly left. Wow. Obviously guys like Prather, Nate, Tavari, and Scott need to take the next steps, but this roster is so much better already with those 2 P5 additions.

Kent State just learned of our latest acquisitions.

Yes. Busy day afterwards so I will post some pictures and thoughts tomorrow morning. My big takeaway of the day was - Finley is accurate. Short and long throws, in traffic, he hits his target.

Was there ever a doubt?

Good day to be a Zip! Getting a guy who transferred up from WVU to NORTH CAROLINA just last year feels like we’re stepping up a notch.

LETS GO!

As a freshman Seth Wilson was rated as one of the two best freshman PG's in the state (IIRC). I saw him at STVM a few times his freshman & sophomore years. He struck me as pretty darn good... but not awesome. He transfered to Lorain for his junior & senior seasons & his production really took off. Not saying that's STVM's & Coach Dru's fault - just saying it's probably because he was an upperclassman & team leader at Lorain as opposed to being an underclassman on some stacked STVM teams. He's big bodied & looks strong as an ox. Good ball handler & can shoot the 3-ball. When he committed to WVU I thought he looked like a prototypical Huggybear/WVU tough-as-nails-type player. Josiah Harris is a true 6-7 stretch 4. He can put the ball in the hole. Sometimes guys just need a change of scenery, and in Groce I trust. He gives his guys lots of confidence and a long leash. If Seth & Josiah felt they had a short leash at WVU then that can really get into a player's head. I think they'd do well - and have a lot of fun - playing Groceball.

I know someone who follows Ursuline religiously, pun intended. He said that Tairan is an excellent WR for them, but it looks like we recruited him as a Safety. Hopefully that translates to a lot of interceptions for us.