kreed5120

I think you guys give the NCAA more credit than they deserve. They only exist because the P4 allows them to. The courts stripped away much of their power and the little power they do still have the P4 holds them as a hostage at gunpoint. Case in point, who wanted the expanded tournament? It was the P4 schools so they could get more 18-15 into the tournament and take more NCAA credits from mid-majors. Not to mention allows them to avoid more costly coaching fires since select P4 programs are content just making the tournament. The second the NCAA doesn't comply the P4+ will just pull out and start their own league. They're the real ones calling the shots. The NCAA is just the fall guy that conferences can point their fingers at to deflect the blame. Their version of Roger Goodell

The tool I have says not well, which passes the eye test. We had a lot of great offensive players, but not a lot of good defensive ones. Eric might have been our only real 2 way player. Evan could score, but he was still very limited offensively. Next years team I feel will have more 2-way players so Ford wouldn't be forced to pick between offense or defense when running out 5 players as the players on the court can do both. In all likelihood we won't be as good offensively, but should improve defensively.

Yes, these type of numbers are almost always announced 1 year in arrears, which can make them confusing. This is further backed by the fact you see Miami so far down the list. One would have to think they would be near or at the top if we were looking at the most recent season numbers since they sold out half their games at Millett.

I would guess Shunnar since he's the associate head coach. The role Dustin had prior.

Interesting add for UMass. They received a commitment from Abdullah Ahmed from BYU. Last season he averaged 1.4 blocks while scoring 1.3ppg. It might be the first time I recall seeing someone averaging more blocks than ppg.

I feel it's telling more and more international players are coming to America now that NIL is a thing. Earnings very widely my league. There are probably only a few international leagues paying better than college basketball.

To nobodies surprise.

I imagine we'll start seeing a couple of these announced each week between now and August.

I think it's possible to be argued that we can become as good or better in March, but I'm with you we will almost certainly take a step back during the regular season, particularly November/December. It will take us some time to be firing on all cylinders. Last season it just took us 1 half of basketball to work out the kinks. That's not going to happen this year.

I am actually with you here. I think Amani is better than any C we have on the roster currently, but our production outside of him was very minimal to non-existent. We got 25 minutes of good to great C play then 15 minutes of pretty bad play. Theoretically Barre/MMK (I expect both to improve), Burton, and even Hammer (all of who I expect to see play minutes at the 5) should give us more depth in the front court. Also, gives us more versatility to adjust our style of play depending on the opponent. We can play Barre if we want to get bigger. We can play Hammer if we want to push the tempo. Burton something in-between both. I would expect more consistent 40 minutes out of our C even though none of them are probably getting All-MAC honors.

It's not just TJ, but also Scott and Young. Young is very replaceable, but it will be a challenge to replace TJ and Scott at the guard position. Not saying it's impossible. Just pointing out it's more than just TJ that needs replaced.

Who had 0 scholarship offers and was a former walk on. Someone who credits Ford and his staff with his development. Just another example of showing how effective this Zips staff has been at developing players and unlocking potential.

You have to remember coming into this last season Amani Lyles was just a mid-major bench piece that was promoted to starter. He was coming off a 7.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/game season. Nobody was predicting he would make an All-MAC team, let alone make 1st team All-MAC. Every season there has been at least 1 player that has dramatically improved YoY. It would seem odd to not believe someone won't achieve the same this coming season (not necessarily 1st team all MAC). The question is just who.

We're taking a step back at PG and C. Not really sure how you can say SF. That's where Halligan started last year and I would think Pence/White would make it an upgrade. Not to mention Halligan is probably going to improve and it's TBD what we get out of Henderson. Wing is the one position that we clearly look better and deeper at. IMO we will be a worse team offensively, but a better team defensively. I doubt we'll finish a top 60 team in NET like we did last and will probably start the season off slow as it will take time to work out rotations and for players to get familiarity. I still think we can be a borderline top 100 team, which is good enough to win the MAC both regular season and MAC tournament.

Technically a senior as he did 2 years of JC, but with new NCAA rule of 5 years to play 5 I think he would have 2 years left.

I feel some are fixated on positions, but the Zips will be playing a lot of positionless basketball next year so a depth chart is meaningless. This is how I imagine the starting 5 will play out. Steveskie Wilson/Head White Pence Burton/Barre/MMK Steveskie, White, and Pence I will pencil in as starters. The other 2 starters I think will be position battles. Edit: If Hammer has a strong offseason and develops I won't rule out the possibility he starts. In that scenario it becomes possible White/Head are bumbed from the starting lineup.

Someone on Kent board said we paid Tahj $350K. I have to imagine Pence got something similar. After paying White, Wilson, and others there probably just wasn't a ton of money left to make a splash signing. For what it's worth on the North Texas board they seemed legitimately disappointed in his departure. They describe him as a high energy spark player that shows flashes of talent, but needs to develop more. Lucky for us Dustin has developed some raw bigs like Freeman and Lyles. My guess is he'll be a 15-20 minute player off the bench with opportunity to earn more as season progresses.

Fingers crossed it's a stretch four who can get physical defensively and rebound🤞

Looks like a rotational piece.

I'm not sure if this was shared here, but Jaylen Smith (ETSU transfer) has decommitted from KSU. https://x.com/i/status/2048480785531867273

I feel that's a more workable strategy for the P4, who have big money to buy ~12 players every year. The high school level guys we're recruiting we're paying very minimal for. Probably just a small stipend. The freshman signing for good money are the ones going to and starting at high majors. I imagine most mid-major teams are spending ~70% of their budget on their top 2-3 players and then pinching dollars to fill out spots 4-10. Getting production out of HS players is a bonus because they come very cheap compared to portal players. Edit: IMO both avenues should be used, which we have been doing with great success.

I think TJ I agree with, but Amani was a bit of a late bloomer. He wasn't sniffing All-MAC and wouldn't have commanded big money until after this season, which is when his eligibility ended anyway. The players that stick around the full 4-5 years will be those who like being here and don't become too good that Akron can no longer afford them. Like next season will be MMK 4th season here and it's conceivable he stays all 5.

A good chunk of our best players still are high school recruits. I kind of feel you can't ignore HS players because you need them to help supplement the cost of transfer players. Like we would have never been able to afford a TJ, Amani, Eric, etc. if we tried to pay for that production by adding a proven player in the portal.

I feel it's a given several teams have stepped up spending, as have many other mid-majors in other conferences. We had been spending 2x-3x compared to most other MAC teams in prior years. That margin has probably narrowed. It's still challenging to project with any certainty which team is winning the portal war in the MAC. Pretty much every MAC team is relying on D2, international, or low minute P4 drop down players to fill major holes. Some will produce. Others will be hype, but flop during the regular season

I think OU has had a fairly good portal season. They added 2 perimeter players to go along with Simmons. I believe they also added 2 international players, which I have trouble projecting. If either of those international players are quality MAC starters OU can be a serious contender. If not, they will probably have a similar season to the one they just had.