kreed5120

Time will tell. I'm just not seeing where the improvements are happening when viewing unbiasededly. Then again UB came out of nowhere last year before injuries made them irrelevant. But you're probably asking half the league to replicate that UB type overachievement to offset the MAC being weaker at the top. What really needs to happen for the bottom half of the MAC to improve is WMU, CMU, and EMU need to invest more, but that's not happening. Only Ball State has stepped up. It just seemed last year in the MAC there was a much more solid foundation to build off of. Existing players that people knew you could build a team around. This year more and more teams are relying on unproven players. There will be some hits, but also a lot of misses. Edit: Also, it does matter that the rest of the league went a combined 0-34 against Miami/Akron. That means every other team would have had to go 9-5 or 9-6 in non Miami/Akron games just to get to .500 in conference play.

Buffalo actually was pretty good. I think they were 3rd in NET/Kenpom in the MAC at the end of OOC play. The wheels fell off for them when Frietag got injured. Sabol just transferred up to Providence. Toledo started the year off slow, but peaked in February/March, which is when Blyden made big strides. He's now playing for and likely will start for Kansas. They lost another All-MAC player as well. Once again, Gillespie and Whaley look better than anything they signed. I agree Kent was good, not great last year. Just not sure how you can think they will be any better after losing Gillespie to Houston. Even Groce in year 1 didn't turn lemon into lemonade. It's going to take time and an increase in resources for WMU and EMU to improve. I actually don't think EMU was that bad until Hart got suspended. You have to remember they beat Cincy, who barely missed the tournament, in OOC play. Akron and Miami went a combined 35-1 in MAC play. If you back out Akron/Miami H2H other MAC teams were a combined 0-34 against Akron/Miami. That alone dragged down the win totals of all the other teams. Edit: If UMass isn't improved Frank should legally be required to required to change his name to Fraud Martin. Dudes the new generation Stan Heath. Riding off of success from 1 magical season a decade ago.

We'll see how things play out, but right now Toledo, Kent, Akron, Buffalo, and Miami all look weaker when you compare what players they lost to graduation/transfer vs what they added via the portal. The only team that I think is definitively better is Ball State. The others are about the same, maybe slightly better or slightly worse. CMU has 1 transfer so far. EMU has added all but 1 non-D1 transfers. The one D1 transfer they added is nice, but a downgrade from losing Habhab. WMU added a bunch of guys but I'm not really sure if they're any better than the players they had before. BG has added some players, but none as good as Campbell. I'll give UMass an incomplete as I do think they will be improved as I have to imagine they have loads of NIL still to spend. Edit: If I'm TBH I don't think the MAC will have 1, let alone, 2 top 100 teams. The bottom of the MAC may or may not improve, but the top of the MAC will almost certainly be weaker. There certainly won't be a 2 bid MAC next year.

I received mine yesterday as well. I plan to get a case and display it in my home office. There have been some talks here about how the success of the program warrants our attention, but it's also great seeing Ford, Bud, and the assistants engage the fan base. In a day and age where college athletics has become more transactional, it's great to still see the sense of community they're trying to instill in the program. They genuinely seem to want to be here and do great things.

Billy Donlon made a very nice signing for EMU. Still a downgrade compared to what they lost in Habhab https://x.com/i/status/2047714264954110206

I still think Miami, Ohio, and us are the top 3 contenders in the MAC for next year based off where rosters stand today. Maybe a team like UMass has some moves lined up that would enable them to enter this conversation, but they have been very underwhelming. Particularly because their AD said they would be competing on another level financially before joining. Not sure where that money went.

His numbers improved with a stepdown in competition by leaving the AAC for Horizon. His best attributes appear to be his size and makes good decisions with the ball in his hands. It definitely appears like he's a downgrade from what Miami had before, but he does give them some much needed size and figures to be a productive contributor in the MAC.

I also think as the playoffs expand more and more of those bowl games will be eliminated. Two bowls were eliminated last year and the Detroit bowl was just eliminated. In full transparency 1 was added so it was a net decline of two. Many existing bowls are barely surviving.

This pretty much sums up how I feel. Honestly, you seem more invested than I am. I might catch one or two games on TV each year, and I don’t go to any in person. My past experiences at games were so bad that I’d need to be paid to sit in Infocision for three and a half to four hours again. And it’s not just about them losing. I’ve sat through plenty of awful Browns seasons over the years. It’s more that the product Akron football puts out just doesn’t feel worth it to me, and I don’t really see a clear path for it to get better.

Maybe if they keep receiving $70K from day of giving. I can't imagine those trips are exactly cheap to fund.

Yes, I think his offensive efficiency is probably even better than the graph shows. He has a very quick release and could get shots off at will. The issue is when he wasn't making 3s he was kind of unplayable as he wasn't able to contribute in other ways.

MMK I'm not sure logged a single minute at PF last year and was ahead of Barre in the rotation. Why would you assume he's 3rd string C? Also, I think several of the other guys can play minutes at the 2. Personally, I like the size. It allows us to switch more on defense without finding ourselves with a 6'7 wing backing down our 5'11" guard in ISO. Having to send help defense as frequently as we did last year was what led to many breakdowns defensively last year.

That site only shows 2 years of data. He does only have 1 year left.

Boals seems to have found more money to compete. They paid to keep Simmons and the 2 guards they've added couldn't have come cheap. I think they will be improved.

Probably only a starter on a low end HM, think Boston College. Definitely not on a Duke or Kansas. Also, you have to remember the MVC is one of the top mid-majors and many of the people who finish ahead in those all conference teams either graduated or transferred up to a HM. Evan Miya graded him as the 22nd best player in the MVC this past season. It wouldn't seem unreasonable to me that he would have been a top ~10 player in the conference next year had he stayed given that many of the players regarded as better than him left.

You need to look at the advanced stats. His eFG% was .592 and .598 the year before so this past year wasn't a fluke. He rebounds really well for being a wing. Plays good defense. IMO he's a lot like Eric where he does a lot of things very well, but isn't elite at any 1 thing in particular. I really hate looking at counting stats as it's frankly lazy. Would you want a player that averages 20/game, but chucks up 30 shots a night to get it? Of course not. But if you insist at looking at counting stats remember he only played 23 mpg. If he projects to play 30 mpg you can bump his numbers up ~30%. I would also expect him to a more focal part of the offense so his usage will increase compared to Illinois State, which in turn will increase the counting stats.

She has been a generous donor for years. Part of me still wonders if she clicked 1 too many zeroes 😅

Luke Getsy with $5K as well. Him and @Captain Kangaroo doing the heavy lifting for football.

Below is the link, but you have to have a login to do anything. The site owner gave me free access. https://beyondtheportalbasketball.com/app

Isn't that kind of the problem though? Kaulig obviously gifts a substantial sum, but it's nowhere near enough to be competitive in the MAC. More help is clearly needed.

Probably starts with leadership at the top. If you go to basketball (both mens and womens), soccer, and several other sports you will see coaches contributing. With Groce gone, I'm fairly certain Joe is the highest paid University employee. I don't see him nor his staff donating. Hard to tell others to donate if you aren't leading by example. Edit: Also, props to Gensler for donating to the Rowdies.

One would have to think the last scholarship will go to PF or a SF that can play the PF spot. I would expect to see White or probably more likely Pence play PF for stretches of the game. Just not sure I would want them there for 30 mpg.

This is a massive haul for Akron. He is projected as a HM start/mid-major all-conference. He's a 2-way player and his game is very well rounded. He is an elite finisher at the rim and dangerous enough from 3. IMO this is this our best signing with Tahj a close second.

They really should better advertise any and all matching gifts by listing them on the home page. It might be a challenging concept for some to understand, but not everyone is on social media and even many who are aren't checking their feed regularly to notice.

Touché