Illini Zip

So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see where Lewis ends up and Evan can guard him there.

Baltic moved really good for 6-9.

Groce when at Ohio almost took out North Carolina with a 6-7 center. They were able to play his preferred style, spread the floor, drive and shoot a lot of threes. But it’s a new era and we just got out-rebounded by Arizona by something like 53-20. They doubled up our points in the paint and dominated second chance points. It wasn’t from a lack of effort. They were taller, stronger and more athletic at all positions. Others have already addressed this and Evan Mahaffey is definitely a step in the right direction. But Lyles on a free throw miss got pushed right off the blocks. I think Brisco will help, but a 7 footer or 6-10, 250lb, Austin Parks type player would be a welcome addition at some point. And even though you do lose some quickness and agility, Groce did run his offense with full-sized bigs when at Illinois.

I like family aspect to this move. I watched the spotlight video already. A very nice family/story and a great addition to the team.

Zips add Evan Mahaffey.

Exactly.

I thought Arizona got hosed with about 5 minutes left. They deserved 2 technical shots which would have tightened the game down to 5 points I think. Who knows if that would have made a difference. Duke is just insane this year.

Josiah Harris departs.

So you’re not predicting a home and home with Fordham anytime soon.

I had to look it up, “All Glory To God”.

I did see this and you are probably right, but I was waiting for things to shake out.

It’s hard to run the offense we did this year if defenses can sag off of someone. He doesn’t need to shoot a high volume, just enough to keep teams honest. Just like Tribble his last year. Edit: That’s only if the plan is for him to play the wing. If he plays the 5 in small lineups then he should be completely fine.

Evan Mahaffey has a lot of tools. Shooting from the outside is not one of them. He doesn’t even try that much. If he could make a fair amount of the wide open threes I am on board.

Sounds like something the coach of Louisville would say after barely escaping 82-76 back in 2019.

Still makes me all warm inside. https://x.com/MACSports/status/1901084000845762665?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1901096441008869771|twgr^7081e24e91602c2b0a0a3384f9941b8429ee5373|twcon^s3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fzipsnation.org%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fmegdonovan44%2Fstatus%2F1901096441008869771%3Ft%3DM4QSVLZsvgxX4neyp47Eew26s%3D19

He did. A year ago on a podcast that @Blue & Gold posted. I don’t remember the teams he mentioned.

…and then I saw the photo towards the bottom of the article. 😡

Just reading the headline has me fuming.

We finished the season with a 91 net rating. I would think if we can just get into the top 75 consistently there will be teams like Cincy and Xavier who might want a road test game that can’t hurt them. Worst case is it would be a Quad 1 loss for them. We are not far off.

After reading @clarkwgriswold Beacon Journal piece I don’t think it’s complicated. Groce and his family like it there and he has a vision to incrementally take Akron to the next level. He talks about what they’re building all of the time. As long as he is supported by the University and local community he is likely to stay put. The best thing fans can do is fill the JAR on a regular basis.

I can’t speak of his time at Ohio U, but I know that wasn’t the case at Illinois. Actually, the combination of point guard injury and too many lost point guard recruiting battles (for a host of reasons) was in my opinion the main reason Groce failed to make the NCAAT 4 of his 5 seasons and was let go. We will have a 15 man roster this year. We could use a big, mature wing and a big bodied guard. If the staff choose’s to fill all of those positions with transfers I predict Perkins will redshirt. There would be just too many players ahead of him. If one of the acquisitions is a high school recruit (likely to redshirt) I predict Perkins will play some. There’s benefit in having him go through early growing pains next year when Tavari and Young will be anchoring the ship.

The family discount, but for us. I like it. 👍

I could see him filling the JoJo Harris void at small forward. It would take some pressure off of MMK.

You’re being rational. I respect that. But I’m still refreshing my phone. 😀

During this period I turn into a little kid, constantly refreshing my phone hoping to see what Santa Wentz brought us.