kreed5120

Leave them be. March Madness is the most entertaining playoff system in all of sports.

I wouldn't deal in absolutes. Reports are Bacot, at UNC, is getting $1 million dollars in NIL to return. That's more than he would make playing in the D-league, overseas, or working whatever job his major is in.

I'm not even going to pretend to make a guess at who it will be, but if it's a D1 coach I'd imagine it will be someone from a low-major. I'd be stunned if we have the money in the budget to pluck away a proven winner from a fellow mid-major. Football has obviously been the top priority at Akron for funding. To get Joe here he had to agree to a pay cut and accept a salary similar to what Arth was making. I'd be stunned to see us spending significantly more than what we were paying Jackson.

He inherited a 4-22 team then had them winning 20+ games in his first year. Frankly, I feel 1 season is too small of a sample to judge how good of a D1 coach he'll end up being. That said, even if you take the Purdue upset away, adding 16 additional wins year-over-year is a hell of an accomplishment.

Between X, Hankerson, Kobe, and Clarke we lost 4 guards who got regular minutes. I'd assume we'd be after at least 1 more guard.

Burried before meant they hovered around 150-200 in rankings. Now CMU is ranked 329 out of 363 teams. It has definitely widened the gap even at the mid-major level between the haves and have nots. Akron seems to benefit from it so I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. I certainly agree with you here that players should be able to transfer without penalty if a coach leaves.

Yes, I feel role players like a Hankerson or Cochran are easier to pluck and there certainly is value in doing so. They have shown the ability to play in the MAC and by taking them, you're weakening your competition. That said a roster full of Hankerson's or Cochran's aren't going to win you the MAC. You need a few legitimate studs so you have to bring in some guys who have high ceilings.

Unfortunately for him his coach bolted to BGSU and who knows what kind of roster fall out that will create. He might get stuck on a gutted team considering he burned his free transfer.

I don't think he'd turn into this player had he stayed. He's a talent, but he would have always been stuck behind Freeman.

It's definitely a mixed bag. It has helped some mid-majors, like Akron. It has buried other mid-majors, like NIU or CMU.

It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there certainly is a gap between the two. When LCJ was doing what he was doing the MAC was a top 8-12 conference. I don't think the OVC has ever been a top 20 league. I view the MAC solidly as a mid-major while the OVC is more a low major. That's not to say they haven't produced a good team from time to time. Just that the vast bulk of the conference is comprised of cupcakes that make stat padding a little easier.

I pointed it out earlier in this thread, but that page isn't inclusive of all players. It lists Big Dog as #9 in FT%. He's one of my favorite Zips of all-time, but his 58% FT% clearly shouldn't be anywhere near the top 10.

He was on the Huggins tournament team. Also, the OVC conference is a big step below the MAC so LCJ achieved what he did against better competition.

I still remember the running joke this board had about height because someone argued Mark should play more because he was tall.

2/3 years Pistol Pete LSU teams had a losing record in conference play. 4/5 years Davis team had a losing record in conference play. Perhaps having a dad that's a coach who encourages their son to put up >50% of the shots a game isn't really a winning formula in the long run.

He already had pretty much a full 5 years to break it since he the covid exemption. When Pistol Pete played freshman couldn't play so Davis played 5 years to Pete's 3 and still couldn't beat him. He had his opportunity, but fell short.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dawson plays 10-15 min/night at the 4.

I don't think this website is accurate. Go look at free throw percentage leaders. It lists Big Dog as 9th all-time with a .587 percentage. This year's team alone probably had 9 guys with a higher free throw percentage than that.

Clarke's departure is by no means backbreaking, but it does make the need for a 25-30 minute a game guard transfer all that more pressing. I wish him well.

Big Dog won MPOY. I'd have to think he'd at least be deserving of an honorable mention.

The B1G as a whole s*** down its leg this tournament. Michigan State was the only one to make the Sweet 16.

I think the covid adjustment was just that it gave everyone 1 extra year of eligibility. The 1 time free transfer rule I'm pretty sure was put into place permanently

I see he went to Victory Rock Prep

@clarkwgriswold said teams so he's meaning a collection of teams, not specifically one. Half the conference in basketball has been stinking it up for the last 5 or so years. You can't blame it specifically on one school, but a collection of them. There is no disputing the fact that Akron's futility is a contributing factor in the MAC being as bad in football that it is. That said, they solely aren't the ones to blame. Kicking them out of the MAC only marginally makes the MAC better at football. The same would be true if the MAC booted WMU out of the conference in basketball. A big difference in football is I never get the sense that a program isn't trying. All of them are investing in facilities and are willing to spend on coaches. Look at Akron, we paid several million in buy-outs between I-coach, Bowden, and Arth. You don't see that level of commitment in basketball. Guys like Montgomery, Murphy, and Keno Davis wouldn't be given 8, 9, 10 years to prove themselves in football like they were in men's basketball.

I meant to type cheaping out, but my phone must have auto-corrected me without me realizing.