Illini Zip

I thought of this too. Not sure if this is a factor, but Akron won their second championship in 3 years since Senior day. Maybe recruiting is going well for Groce. Or Dawson might be seeing what options are out there. Very good question.

Not the best stats for Dawson to try to entice a good program off the portal. I wonder if he ever really got back to 100% after his injury? He didn't drive to the basket like he did before. We'll see who comes in. Maybe Groce had some success on the recruiting trail. Once a Zip, always a Zip. Best of luck Mikal!!

@Blue & Gold posted an interview awhile back with Bud Wentz. It was mentioned on there. That was the first I had heard of it.

Right now Illinois is getting the Shaka treatment by UConn. I believe that’s what you call it. Well it was a good run.

#LeavetheMAC

If I'm using my trusty calculator correctly, 39 transfers equals 25% of the MAC scholarships from last year are in the portal. Ugh!!

I get it, but it’s happening everywhere. The NIL will have to be capped at some point because even the major conferences are eating their own. We will first end up with just 2 conferences and then just a handful of teams to root for. I have read that Illinois is pursuing this 5th year center from Rutgers as well. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/rutgers-basketball-two-new-schools-reached-out-to-cliff-omoruyi-this-weekend-in-the-transfer-portal-who-has-reached-out-so-far/ar-BB1krhtM

I’m watching JMU get curb-stomped by Duke (4). Down 35 points with 2 minutes to play. I guess losing to Creighton (3) could have been worse.

15-0 run in the second OT.

I’m afraid it won’t be long now that Rick Pitino (St. John’s) completes his return from basketball Siberia. No list of cheaters is complete without that scumbag.

Nice work @Zippy87 Please keep it going!!

Bill Self is my “Tom Izzo”. Kansas has had a key player hurt since January and the selection committee still gives them a 4 seed. I would have preferred them losing to Samford, but I will enjoy the 21 point beat down they received from Gonzaga today.

The problem I see is the power conferences are not going to want to give up the money they make off of each participating team. There is already talk about getting rid of all automatic bids. That would be another step towards ruining March Madness forever. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/how-much-do-teams-get-for-making-the-ncaa-tournament/ar-BB1k7aEq

I was sure I was going to read “This is a paid advertisement by Tod Kowalczyk of the Toledo Rockets” on the bottom of the tweet.

💯

I have heard that when it comes to recruiting bigs you need to have a point guard they are excited to play with. Often the success of a post player is determined by how well the point guard can distribute the ball to them. And they know it. Hopefully a more mature Tavari and the addition of Sharron Young proves to be a magnet going forward. Also, we have learned that it was Freeman’s Mom who really deserves credit for recruiting him by convincing him to try out. I still give Groce credit for recognizing his athleticism and bringing him in as a walk on. Then I give Groce credit for not being prideful because Freeman was grading out better than his recruits. He went with the best performer in practice, period. And finally, thanks to Freeman the coaching staff can show what is possible at Akron from a developmental standpoint. Freeman with all of his physical gifts was raw. Their guidance combined with Freeman’s desire and hard work took someone without a single D1 offer and turned him into one of the best forwards in college basketball. That’s impressive. Thank you Enrique!! Well done!!

I believe the only Senior who has or is about to graduate and still has basketball eligibility left is Dawson.

This is one of the great mysteries to this season. As a team, we were just awful. Were we pressing or something? Was it the different offensive scheme? But we had so many open looks and even the guys who have proven themselves in the past were missing. The water never found its level. On the other hand, Tribble and Freeman showed much improvement from deep.

Did Prather show enough promise to avoid being recruited over? I do believe so. And he seems to have a high care-factor. For him, just like with Dawson it comes down to defensive match up. He can't guard faster players, but he has the size to hold his ground in conference play. And the verdict is still out, but I think he can shoot.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I support adding a big from the portal if Rich Brisco is likely to redshirt. I expect the other 3 will be playing plenty. I doubt Lyles is going anywhere. We haven't seen much of him at all and we have seen even less of him in a guard oriented offense. Meaning don't compare him to Freeman. I don't think he is a pure post up type player. I expect him to move around a lot and stretch the floor with his shot. I hope so anyway. I also believe that losing Aziz Bandaogo set us back. I agree. Coit or someone similar for a season would be awesome. I see Tavari being a serious contributor next season, but not THE man. He has a chance to be the man his Senior year if he applies himself. I too hope Sharron Young is the next best thing since sliced bread. He definitely won't red-shirt. Point guards rarely do. But he will be a back up at least early on. We very much needed a dynamic point guard this year who could create and score. In that way, I agree we failed. But I still see growth potential in Scott and he is likely going to take on Tribble's defensive duties.

…the unicorn.

Enrique is hitting from deep early. Trying to pull their big guy out.

Here we go!!