kreed5120

So you expect no drop off despite losing our MAC POY and a 2nd team All-MAC player in Kwan? Groce might recruit some good players, but I highly doubt day 1 they walk into the building and be as good as what Big Dog was his junior and senior year.

On the plus side or negative side, depending on how you look at it, those games should be more competitive this year considering all the talent we lost.

Why? Dambrot's staff, who were the ones negotiating games, packed up and left. Groce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority should all be recruiting so we have enough players to field a full team. Our schedule is the least of my concerns.

I don't believe I've ever had one of these said cookies

I'm going to guess he will still be involved, but not as involved as before. Even with Dambrot being gone, he has connections with the university through his foundation. I foresee him still lobbying Nike to give Akron a favorable apparel deal and I still see him tweeting stuff out when Akron basketball does something newsworthy. Akron will also be able to use his likeness for jerseys and bobbleheads or whatever else.

Dambrot called his number to shoot that 17 foot game winner against Ball State. Big Dog just wasn't looking to shoot the 3, nor should have he. Outside of Karnowski he was bigger than anyone he faced. Settling for 20 footers would have just done the opposing defense a favor. Edit: In a glorified scrimmage I can see why he would want to shoot the 3 to show scouts he has the ability. Big Dog was always a team player and I assume he didn't shoot them was because he felt that wasn't what Akron needed out of its only legitimate post player.

I'm surprised we don't see more mid-majors recruit international players. St Mary's built their program on landing guys like Patty Mills and Dellavedova. They had 7 Aussies on their roster this past season.

Better players in theory should lead to more wins. He finally was in position of landing that recruiting that narrowly eluded him years prior, but unfortunately for him it was 1-2 years too late. I've actually seen a number of Illinois fans wish they gave him 1 more year to see what he could have done with the players he had coming in.

I feel you were interpreting what I was saying incorrectly. I'm wanting us to target the best players we can get regardless of if they have 10 offers or 0 offers. I'm just reserving my excitement for when we actually get them to commit.

What pretty much cost Groce his job at Illinois was he had a bad habit of finishing 2nd place in recruiting battles. Hopefully he can close at Akron.

The Duquesne visit would have been before Dambrot.

Edit: 4) 80,000 tickets sold at $5 a piece means OSU, not including concessions nor parking, made $400,000 off of a spring practice. How about we focus less on what a team 2 hours south of us, whom we have no chance of ever catching, and focus more on our team along with our peer competitors.

+1,000

Don't let facts get in the way of someone trying to get their personal agenda a crossed.

I've never been to a spring game, but I'm not surprised by the 2k figure Skip threw out. I can't imagine a meaningless intrasquad scrimmage would attract many, if any, casual fans. I'd say I'm more than just a casual fan and there is no way I'd be attending without the surplus sale.

"There is a championship team that we can afford because everyone undervalues them because they don't play defense but shoot a crap ton of 3's. Like an island of misfit toys"

Carlton Bragg appears interested in OSU. No indication if the interest is mutual. https://www.landof10.com/ohio-state/carlton-bragg-transfer-kansas

From watching shoot around, yes I knew he could make them just like I knew he could make 17 footers. I also knew Kwan can make 27 footers. That doesn't mean either should shoot them. A few times over the course of the season I noticed Big Dog getting the ball beyond the 3 point line with the defender giving him 5 feet of space and he thought about shooting before passing.

I'm with Clark, our starting pg isn't on the roster. We've lost 4 guards so we're going to have to add guys at the position that can play immediately.

Duquesne is coming off a 10-22 season and hasn't been relevant in decades. It's going to take some work before they can attract the caliber of players they need to compete with the top of the A-10. In the meantime they need to progress into something more than the dumpster fire they currently are if they ever want to attract the level of talent they need to compete. Dambrot obviously feels Hughes and TDM helps make them a better team in the short-term. Just turning Duquesne into the 5th or 6th best A-10 team is going to require a lot of work. When it's all said and done I wouldn't be surprised if Dambrot bit off more than he can chew and I actually don't believe he'll make a NCAAT at Duquesne.

I'd imagine he knows that. Duquesne was a 10-22 team last year and would have been a below average MAC team. It is going to take time to rebuild and frankly TDM and Hughes are upgrades over players who played those type of roles for them last season.

Not what I was trying to insinuate. I was saying this is going to be a long-drawn-out process and anyone that expected a quick resolution on the makeup of our roster is going to be in for a surprise.

I feel a lot of people are just looking for things to talk as there are a lot of unanswered questions right now and really no current solutions. The lack of buzz on the recruiting trail leads me to believe there is a good chance we'll still be looking to add key pieces in June or July.

I say the same thing when people try grading our recruiting classes solely on the number of NEO players we get or don't get.. Whether it's players or coaches, I want the best talent we can get. It doesn't matter to me if they are from Akron or from the opposite side of the country.

I imagine some people are just fed up with the system and not the university or hire itself. Investing so much for so long only to see who you thought was your golden goose bolt town. I'm not really in a position to judge how others spend their money since I'm not cutting the university 5 or even 4 figure checks for that matter. Maybe one day I will be in a position that I can.