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Arkansas had a player who played 8 years overseas and they won the tournament. Northern Iowa was the only other mid-major their, so we are the Mid-Major Manager Champs

Testing the portal waters is the new normal. On the face of it, Eric and Sharron, while we love them, did not do all that much. It’s their youth and upside that almost mandates seeing if they can cash in. I hope we can sell the culture: you will get decent NIL, will graduate, play professionally, and have a finance guru to help you out long term. That’s a nice package.

Groce stealing all our players /s

Connor Groce in the portal, to the surprise of nobody haha

Maybe this forces reciprocity as the solution, but I'm not seeing a willingness by the suits to put logical, common sense restrictions on the current system. Who knows how this holds up in court or what it results in, but at least it's an action in the right direction.

That’s a super strong add. Head coaching experience on the back end and the bench can’t be underestimated. It’s a trend right now and in my mind huge for a first time HC

Same here! They have been doing this for a while now and know how to build. They obviously weren’t blindsided and knew this was what would be coming and got ahead of it yesterday on social media BEFORE the portal announcements came. Also, who’s to say Bud himself didn’t encourage the guys to explore their value and then come back and give Akron a chance to keep them (aka we’ll do our best to match your true market value). Obviously they’d prefer to not have them go in the portal but I have to imagine they would welcome them back with open arms and want to show they care about what’s best for the athlete and their family - similar to Groce encouraging Nate.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/evan-t-wilson_gocougars-1charleston-activity-7445793981835382784-Wvlt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACkAKNsB0SkA095jhk47kMR1msg1-UFdr-o Evan Wilson accepts a job at Charleston. Love to see that

It’s not over. Remember Tavari was in the portal last year and stayed.

Akron is theoretically way under the $20.5 million that teams are technically allowed to revenue share and wouldn't fall under the scope of NIL. If it somehow could become a problem they could always roll the fear the roo collective into the ACE fund and Bud could continue to help oversee it.

I think LCJ still had 1 year of eligibility remaining when he decided to go play overseas. They allow other pros to come play college ball. Let's bring LCJ back to reestablish that culture. To clarify I doubt NCAA wouldn't allow it.

I think Eric's value will be much higher than Young's and will be the one less likely to return. Nothing in his game is great at this stage, but he does a lot of things well with no obvious flaws. Add in his 6'6" size and the fact he can guard positions 1-4 and he fits the positionless basketball style most teams wish to play.

I feel like we had a great lineage from LCJ and Co down to this group with mentorship etc and we've lost that link if they both go. So this sucks

I seriously wonder if any of them will sniff a Final Four with that spend. BBN hasn't been to a Final Four in 11 years, and they can spend all they want and have the most lottery picks. The ?football school? in Bloomington hasn't been there in 24 years. They're casting about and spraying money at what they think is the problem. It's not translating to net cutting. You only need to look at the 2nd half of the Duke / UConn game last weekend to see what happens when experienced talent goes against pure talent in a high stress situation. The experienced team will maintain composure better than the teams new to that environment. Talent surely matters, but culture is wildly undervalued with the NIL top down perspective. There's a team shooting for it's 3rd NC in 4 years that has ample NIL (just below the cited list), but prioritizes culture and team building. It's the *same* reason that the Zips will be playing for their 4th straight MAC tournament title in about 11 months. His on-court antics aside, if you take the opportunity to listen to Dan Hurley's recruiting and program perspective, you'll see how much he values fit and background over projected draft status. Steph Castle is a prime example .. and it's the same reason he's a great fit for the Spurs. He wanted to be part of something bigger. Karaban is shooting for his 3rd NC. He's not a 1st round NBA guy .. but he's essential to UConn's success. There are plenty of other examples (Painter at Purdue for 1). Ultimately, success is less about the "X's and O's" than it is the "Johnny's and Joes." You either have the players or you don't .. but among 2 teams on the court with similar talent, it comes down to cohesiveness and collaboration. Teams that like themselves and play for their teammates will always be better than a group of individuals. No matter what happens this weekend, the signature play of Alex Karaban's college career will be giving up the ball to a Freshman who had a slightly cleaner look at a shot the team had to have. As we all know, the kid buried it .. but it was the trust the team had in each other that obliterated Duke in the 2nd half. Same is true in rec ball, middle school, CYO and almost every career. Build a high functioning team and successes will chase you down. It's one reason I'm excited to see Coach Ford's finger prints on the Zips. I fully expect to take my center court seats at the Q next March and watch the Zips play on Saturday for the hardware. The sun shines brightly on our team & program, and I hope the sun shines brightly on everyone here this Easter Weekend. Go Zips! {/captain obvious}

I think Eric goes back to cincy area. NKU maybe UC be closer to his parents. I don’t think he goes to CoC. To far for family to travel.

Sort of. There is a Woke left and a Woke Right. Both run deep within American politics which is why we are living in dangerous times. Both utilize Maoist tactics but attach American characteristics to their arguments. Both are focused on group politics and fitting each of us into one of two groups. We are a country founded on the rights of individuals. The entire Bill of Rights is geared to the individual being protected from the state. This horse's ass running for the Republicans is trying to fit Ohioans into his world view. We don't need one university in NE Ohio, we need many with competing ideas which will strengthen each other. I can't believe this is the party of Ronald Reagan that I grew up with. It's a crying ass shame.