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Tavari Johnson returns!!

The recent achievements for our Lax team are impressive and hopefully will continue to grow. Most wins in a single season, most conference wins in a single season- and remember they still have a game to go. They lead the MAC in assisted goals per game- a sign of "teamism". They play a style of offense that borrows a good bit from basketball- you will see transition goals, screens, isolation plays, picks, pick-and-rolls; on defense, they are pretty effective at a help-style defense called "slides". Add some elements from soccer and hockey- the result can be a fast-paced exciting game requiring speed, skill, intelligence, and lots of solid conditioning. Just two years ago, they were mired at the very bottom of the 130 division one programs. Now they can and do compete as a legit "mid-major" division one program. I liked their first coach but there is no denying their improved play under coach Jones. They are also graduating their players and sending them off to great careers. I don't know the whole list but do know of teachers, nurses, a number of physical therapists, one in medical school, social work, a Chem major in graduate school studying food science. Given the horrible situation in the revenue sports currently, it is pleasing to find one that maintains its roster a bit, is winning, and producing graduates. I hope they win this coming Sunday and add to their achievements. Go Zips!

The John Groce Vest came in from Bud Wentz and the Fear the Roo Collective. If you're into vests, I highly recommend pulling the trigger on one of these. Love the look and feel of this one - premium across the board. Interestingly enough, Wentz ships these straight from Wentz Financial Group haha. He really is an invaluable part of Akron.

So much about this story is disgusting. It's hard to even begin where to discuss it.

Frees up a scholarship for someone who might actually be available to play.

If Chabi is the guy I’d love it. We have plenty of scoring, we need our bigs to get rebounds, play defense, and block some shots. From all reports they liked him at Duquesne but he had a heart condition which ended his freshman year early. He would have stayed if it were not for the Dukes bringing in a big man. James was not some offensive mastermind, in fact he was certainly a negative in most games on that end. I distinctly remember 3 missed layups in the first half of the Arizona game. He was great in other places, but offense was not quite his thing. I have no reason to not trust this staff in their development of this kid. Go Zips

Just saw Enrique in the postgame floor celebration! #teamism

Chabi has 2 years of eligibility left from what I saw. He had a medical condition last year so I'm not sure if that's where the extra year is coming from. He was at Duquesne under KD. 7'4" wingspan at 6'9".

Cash

That's not what they give out beads for.

There's certainly risk, but I'm not sure it's any different from a team perspective than a player getting a season-ending injury, like Harris last season. He wears a monitor, gets regular check-ups, and doctors have told him there's low risk in it happening again.

The article I read said he collapsed on the court due to a heart condition. The scarier part is they weren't able to determine the root cause therefore he hasn't had any corrective or preventative treatment. He plays with a heart rate monitor to measure for any abnormalities. If he has another flair up, he's likely done for the year, perhaps career. Unless Groce thinks Brisco could give Akron 15-20 minutes as a contingency plan, I'm not sure how we could risk that.

Addition by subtraction.

Yeah, it looks like D. Lewis entered the portal this week. I don’t have much issue with this one. He was a Zip for 4 years and is probably looking for some kind of $ in his final season. I just hope he doesn’t land on one of our opponents’ rosters.

That looks sweet!! 👀👀🔥🔥🔥

Should Chabi be the guy, I think he's an upgrade offensively to Okonkwo. 7'4" wingspan is no joke, and that should really help defensively, but Chabi's hands and nose for the basket look to be a bit better. It's all very limited, especially given the medical condition that held him out of 14 games or so last year, but Dustin Ford could really sculpt him into an All-MAC type big man.

Duquesne was arguably one of the worst teams in a mediocre A10 last season. Edwards or the Jack Harlow looking guy are the only ones worth looking at.

Chabi Barre, a 6'9" forward is in the portal from Duquesne. He's a little unpolished but a strong rebounder and defender.

If we're talking Duquesne transfers, this is who I'd want.

I think we were always preparing for him to be gone after he ran out of eligibility

Take out the word "just" and I agree. What it is in addition to marketing could be so much better.

Prepare to be asked to respect my decision!

5 star, huh? Who knew?

Lacrosse seems to have built some momentum under the ‘newish’ coach. I think she’s two seasons in based on the posts in this thread.

Must have just entered.

Athletics is just marketing for schools. Schools like OSU get 100s of millions of dollars in free advertising from their games being on TV, word of mouth, and random people who have had no connection to the University whatsoever being a walking billboard for the school by wearing their hats and shirts. The problem is everyone wants to be a Texas, OSU, Michigan, etc. but thats not achievable. They drown in debt due to delusions of grandeur. No different than when Proenza tried to rapidly expand Akron's campus falsely believing if he builds it, they will come.