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MAC Player of the Week!

Saint Mary's ranking as the top mid major at the moment, according to this account.

In late Jan., #3 in 3-point average at 31.7, #20 in attempts. https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/625

Further proof of the coaching mastery of John Groce.

Soo…just about every single category? Lol. I know the MAC is down, but I’d really love to see this team get another swing at their OOC with the way we are playing right now. Looking forward to the south Alabama game.

Zips leading conference in: 3 point % 3 point FGs made Scoring FG % FG % defense 3 point defense. Assist/turnover ratio FT % Combined rebounds Margin of victory (by a lot) Blocked shots Assists

I'm once again asking everyone to realize that's literally not allowed to happen. It's not a possibility

The Zips traveling to DeKalb always feels like a trap game. We always seem to underperform there. Even our wins often seem ugly.

I hope all this NIU drama isn't a distraction for the men's basketball team tomorrow night. Could throw off the vibe.

It’s ironic to me that we went away from the fast-paced, guard oriented system because we had a good (soon to be dominant) back to the basket post player. By the end of his career with the Zips, Freeman developed his all around game to a level worthy of being drafted to the NBA. Now he plays in a manner for the Pacers/Mad Ants that would be an ideal fit for the scheme Groce is running this year. Ugh!! I really hope Freeman’s success leads to the Zips landing some highly skilled and athletic bigs going forward. Edit: I should clarify because both Lyles and Okonkwo have had very impactful games and Lyles’ growth in the last year has been very impressive. There are exciting aspects to this offense involving bigs that I haven’t seen run in Akron just yet. Lyles is the player on the current roster most likely to implement them.

OFFENSE QB: Finley Bullock - We are one of the few teams (maybe the only team) in the MAC returning their starting quarterback. Bullock will be the backup if he returns. If not, Roggow should be QB2. RB: Gant (Portal) Gee (Portal) - Transfers Gant and Gee should be the top backs initially. Redshirt freshman Patrick is the dark horse and may push for starting snaps sooner than later WR: Granger Mason WR: Polk Davis WR: Walker Hills (Portal) - The development of Granger and Polk in the back half of the season gives reason for optimism. Those two seem primed for a big year. If Adams returns (and is healthy) he’d be a nice boost. I really like the pickup of Hills from the portal. He’s the type of receiver who can excel in this offense and I think he’ll quickly work his way into the rotation. Redshirt freshman Mason is another one to keep an eye on. TE: Newell Cravaack - Newell was on pace to be 3rd team All-MAC before injuries sidelined him for a few games. However, Newell’s absence allowed Cravaack to gain substantial snaps. Cravaack became a fixture in the rotation once he had an opportunity. This duo should be one of the best in the conference. LT: Shor Johnson (Portal) LG: Archer (Portal) Fox C Morris McManus RG: Davis Mitchell RT: Jones (Portal) Mann - It’s really anyone’s guess who will be starting come kickoff. We lost some key players to the portal, but this group still has the potential to be solid. Coach JRod has had the OL on an upward projection regardless of who has been slotted along the line. We have some talented young players and a number of this year’s linemen will have previously spent time at JUCO. DEFENSE DE: Durham (Portal) Cheatom DE: Dall Frazier - Replacing Nunnally won’t be easy. That said, Durham ought to immediately be able to pick up some of the workload. The young players that are expected to play heavily into the rotation have high ceilings. DT: Murphy Hull DT: Brockington Madden - This position should have produced more than it did in 2024. Moore and Kapongo ended up being the only truly productive DTs once Lavea went down and we really didn’t have much of a pass rush from the interior. The DTs collected only 3.5 sacks as a group. The best talent here is the younger players. This position still needs addressing and 3-4 more interior linemen will be added. LB: Hollobaugh (Portal) Benenge LB: Spriggs Boswell - Similar to DE, this is a talented group, but most of the talent is younger and lacking experience. Hollobaugh should be an immediate starter and if Summers returns, that would help. I think Spriggs is in line for a breakout year. He has the physical tools and seems close to putting it all together. NB: Lewis Greenwood - Lewis and Greenwood return and will rotate at safety when needed. CB: Reed Branch (Portal) CB: Kamara (Portal) DeWalt - Reed was our best CB besides Golden-Nelson. Kamara should immediately slot in as the CB opposite Reed. If DeWalt can become more consistent, that would give us an incredibly long and athletic group to match up against opposing wide receivers. S: David Hunter S: Anderson D. Johnson - This group was inconsistent, at times, due to lack of experienced depth. David and Anderson will likely be the starters. Redshirt freshman Hunter may push his way into starting snaps. SPECIAL TEAMS K: Wiley Schramm P: Castle LS: Rhoades Special teams listed are returners and I’m assuming will step into starting roles. However, I imagine a few more specialists will be added.

A weary world awaits..

I have a friend that used to be a sales manager at a car dealership. He told me that I'd be surprised to hear the credit score of many of the high income earners (doctors, lawyers, etc) that have come into the dealership. Many Americans are financially illiterate. Lifestyle inflation is very real.