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Would hope this means Groce isn't planning to go anywhere anytime soon

That's 2 per quarter. Let's run everyone out of the gym!

Conner Groce is joining the team as well, per his instagram

Well he speaks coherently so that disqualifies him from the current White House. Good things are happening with the basketball program. 3 P5 guys are coming here and a 4th player that chose us over P5s and high mid-majors. Clearly there's, at the very least, some truth to what Wentz is saying. He's also putting his money where his mouth his and heavily financing these endeavors. Why do you feel the need to 💩 all over it?

Kinda used the wrong stock photo of the stadium. ...

I don't want to get too excited, but how can you keep calm with this type of personnel infusion. Bud said the goal was to build a program that could consistently go into the second round of NCAA playoffs. I am not saying we are there, yet we do see a glimmer of what may lie ahead one day, however soon that may be.

Interesting read here on Isaiah... Looks like Akron beat out some serious competition https://247sports.com/college/nevada/article/minnesota-basketball-portal-profile-cornell-guard-isaiah-gray-229799153/amp/

I thought this was interesting

If I waited an entire season to play, expecting to get substantial PT in 2024-25...and then found out my team just recruited a bunch of upperclassman...and, I can transfer elsewhere without sitting out...I would be moving on to greener pastures faster than a rolled up tee shirt to NW Akron's skull. Tribble, Freeman and Ali were complete dinosaurs, graduating as seniors from the same school they began their college careers. In today's NIL/Portal era no kid is going to wait his turn for playing time. As Chris Rock once said - "You're only as faithful as your options". Kid's options are endless today. I'm ecstatic with the caliber of talent and experience Groce has signed in the past week. He had to do it, because today's AD's don't have the patience of AD's from even just 5 or 6 years ago. It's a business on both ends now...the kids can pack their bags and leave as they please...and coach's can eschew player development by bringing in bucketloads of new, seasoned talent before they can even sweep up the confetti from the previous squad's conference championship.

Earlier this year there was a video posted somewhere of an interview w/ Enrique. He was asked who he thought had a bright future among the underclassmen & he mentioned MMK... but didn't mention Baker. At the time I thought it was just a mental slip as he was speaking off the top of his head. But now it looks like there was more to it than that.

I think it's safe to say he wasn't as good as this board thought he was

Nice. I might attend this year. Not worth the drive to Michigan, but Canton is a different story.

Looks like Groce & Co. are really putting together a tough squad!! I'm already impatiently awaiting next season 😂

Very good at getting to the rim and finishing.

Zips add Isaiah Gray and Conner Groce. Darrian Baker departs.

That was challenged in court and overturned. The NCAA just updated their rules last week to not limit transfers as it wasn't a rule the courts would let them uphold. As it stands, the NCAA has no power over player movement. It's the wild wild west and nothing can be done to modify it.

Thanks. (Out of Likes.) With the departure of Baker I hope Onkonkwo is ready to play at least 30 minutes/game. PG: Wilson........ Tavari/Young WG: Gray......... Scott WG: Johnson... Prather WP: Harris........ MMK P: Okonkwo... Lyles Redshirt (or did we just learn our lesson w/ Baker?): Mahaffey

Certainly he seems connected enough that he has some business connections in the Akron area. I'd imagine the collective is more than just him at the moment, but I'm not sure who else is helping to bankroll it as nobody really advertises it.

I don't really think Groce ever really got away from the concept of wanting to be a guard center team. He just happened to stumble on an All-American big, which he didn't even recruit. When you have a player of Freeman's caliber, you adjust your scheme to fit your roster. Now that Freeman is gone, Groce is just returning to how he normally constructs a roster.

This is exactly why I've been saying if you think a player is good enough to give you 5-10 minutes, there is no point in red-shirting in today's game. It's better to use scholarships on players you can help you now as there is no promise of a tomorrow.

I don't think we can judge if Baker was a miss as a player. The "miss" is found with the roster construction. I think it's quite obvious the staff have learned their lesson. This is a complete 180 in recruiting approach this offseason.

Very, very similar.

One year is all a coach needs to figure out if a guy is a good fit. Even if he’s still inexperienced and raw. It could be almost anything; attitude, work ethic, teamism, intelligence. Remember what UConn’s coach Hurley said, it is sometimes the parents that are the cancer. Could be anything. We might be done. If not, I would like a true center with more than one year of eligibility please.

With so many guards and the tidbit from Bud about the offense moving to a more guard-centric one, is it possible Groce is trying to build a team like his Sweet Sixteen squad at Ohio? Jon Smith, 6'7", 189 Walter Offutt, 6'4", 202 Ivo Baltic, 6'9", 214 Nick Kellogg, 6'3", 198 DJ Cooper, 6'0", 176 Reggie Keely, 6'9, 239 Ricardo Johnson, 6'5, 207 TJ Hall, 6'3", 210 Stevie Taylor, 5'10", 174

There's a huge baseball complex in Indiana that is planning to host a week of "Portal Games" where kids in the portal can come there and show their talents over a week before college coaches. I wonder if at some point we'll see something similar for basketball.

Because we needed a scorer last year, and that scorer's scholarship was occupied by a player that chose to redshirt and is now leaving the program. To be clear I'm not mad at Darrion. Just frustrating to see how many recruiting misses the coaches had in the last few years post-COVID. Baker was always pretty well recruited out of high school. He was potentially stretch 4 material which is big in today's game. We are also now lacking depth in the front court. Lyles and Okonkwo are the more traditional "big men" on this team. Harris is a good rebounder but plays more on the perimeter. MMK seems to be more of a 3/4 Forward than a 4/5 F/C, and Brisco might fit the PF mold but will only be a true freshman. I wouldn't be surprised to see a guard transfer out and a "big" fill their spot.

I do not know why everyone is upset. I think this late it is the coaches call and obviously he picked the player that he thought would not get to see the court.

Darrion Baker just entered the portal

i would bet it's Musiime-Kamali or Prather

I agree and I hate to see anyone go because I like the chemistry of our returners, but if I had to choose one myself, I would choose Lyles. My previous comment was based on the number of guards now on the roster and would seem to make the most sense.

I hope not. Killer guards are what wins games in the tourney, and while he hasn’t put it all together consistently, the potential has flashed and is there. LCJ didn’t really take off until his 4th year of college. Same for Castenada.

It just seems to have that feel to it.

Walk-on? Or is someone else leaving?

He's from Brooklyn. Him going from Brooklyn to Cornell was probably the bigger culture shock.

Watched him Ivy Tournament. Cornell to Akron. Culture shock

Hell yeah This also begs the question, who's gone?

You don't have to like the system, but it's either adapt or be left behind.

I have been a HUGE Zips football fan for about 30 years but I don't enjoy attending the games nearly as much as I used to. A 1-hour game shouldn't take 3&1/2 hours to complete. Of course winning would probably help more than anything. lol

I guess they saw everybody complaining about the 4 hour college football games last year and decided to make them 4 and a half hours!

thought that this might interest a few people.... https://www.soccerwire.com/news/substitution-rule-changes-approved-for-ncaa-division-i-mens-soccer/

I was watching Prather during pregame warmups & he has the smoothest 3-point stroke on the team. Effortless. If the game slows down for him just a tad he could be something.

Me too. But we have to remember the tv commercials that come along with the highly lucrative (🤪) tv contracts. If a QB takes a second too long calling cadence it’s a penalty. If the network hack wants to go to commercial…