Leaderboard

The MAC Coach of the Year lost 10 players.

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

Back then my family watched The Love Boat followed by Fantasy Island every Saturday night. Good times!!

I won't let anyone use that video as an excuse for why PCCC lost in 2022. Jacobs played the entire second half - starting with 0 fouls - and we kicked the 💩 out of them by 20 with their best players available. That was a 9 pt game at the half and we won the second half by 11. Akron won that game. Period. Even this year, Akron let PCCC back into the game at the end; it was a multiple possession game until Akron missed shots/free throws. PCCC made the foul mistake, but we still had to knock down the free throws. PCCC deserves credit for 2008 and 2017. No way do they get to hide behind excuses for their losses in 2022 and 2024.

Kent State’s best player on defense entered the portal. CJ West - 2023 3rd Team All-MAC. That’s a blow.

I think you're a bit out of touch with those guys ... but it's understandable. Here's a more up to date take. 1) The only notable transfer loss was Sullinger, their leading scorer. Davis went into the portal but came back. All other portal entries for them were bench guys, including Freeman, who (based on their board) was a poor recruit who only showed up once a month. Rollins (who committed the foul that sent Akron to the NCAA) ultimately beat him out. And is now in the portal as well. 2) So far they have two transfers from the portal -- not the * caliber the Zips have hauled in, but solid none-the-less. The PG above was the starter for St. Louis the final 10 games or so of the season and had some very productive games, especially with assists, including vs. Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island on the road. Has 3-years to play. The other portal recruit is a 6-8 guard/forward from Boston University, again, nothing over the top besides the fact he's a very good 3-point shooter. 3) Have no clue how many (if any) scholarships they have left. But they always seem to recruit a bit differently from the rest of the league (witness above) anyway. None of these two guys move the needle much for me, but we'll see what it looks like come January/February.

Heck Lunardi has Toledo (whoever plays for them at the moment?) as a 16 seed in his 2025 bracketology

This tweet is so hilarious to me. Their entire team basically transferred. Yet they brought in one guy, who barely did anything for St. Louis, and are going to the tournament? What?

On the upside he has a chance to surpass expectations once again.

It's crazy, but I'm already excited for the 24/25 basketball season to start and we just finished the current season! I feel really good about our recent portal signings as well as our high school recruiting class, especially Sharron Young. I agree with @Let'sGoZips94 that Brisco and Mahafey should/will be redshirted.

A couple of random thoughts about the Zips. I think the competition at PG in practice should be a blast to watch. And if I’m Groce, I am not backing off one bit on the OOC schedule. We will lack continuity early and will improve over the course of the season, but these new guys are battle tested and not afraid of anybody. That would be the case if we reach the NCAAT again as well.

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

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.

The last time Toledo made the tournament the #1 song on the billboard charts was crazy little thing called love by Queen. The #1 movie at the box office was The Fog. The price of a Big Mac was $1.20.

I don't remember the exact specifics, but the auto-bid credit is split evenly. Additional credits earned go into a prize pool. That pool is then divided based off regular season and postseason performance.

Wow. He - along with the Zebras - almost single handily kept PCCC in the contest at the toilet bowl known as the MACC this season. Great 3P shot. Poor Pinky. Queue the memes!

As long as my off-season tracker is accurate, it's a tie between OU and WMU, although I'm not entirely sure how much WMU graduated, if anyone.

I don't know if this is true. Lack of opportunity for whatever reason, but Harris shot 42% from 3 in conference play (50% overall from the field) and Wilson is a 35%+ 3P shooter. These guys aren't facing Big 12 competition on a regular basis anymore, and Groce has a proven track record of getting guys into positions to succeed. It might be a slower start due to chemistry issues, but come March I think we'll be one of the strongest Zips teams Groce has had yet.

Paging @monrowe

Young/Tavari Wilson/Scott Nate/Prather Harris/Baker/MMK Okonkwo/Lyles Redshirts: Brisco, Mahafey See y'all on Selection Sunday while we await our 11/6 matchup.

East Virginia Zips???

The Akron Mountaineers

I'll get a better one next time, I promise.😀

Looking at this through your lens ... I see what you're saying. Akron's two latest NCAA appearances were probably more directly related to Kent self-inflicted miscues (24-foul, 22-video). Could Akron have won both games without those incidents? Certainly. But ... It's not like blocking Kent's last-second shot in OT to win the MAC Tournament, and go to the NCAA. No discussion. Zips earn it/took it.