RoyalBlu

Unlike football, where ADs schedule for the big paydays ... in basketball, coaches do most of their own scheduling. As you can see, most of the MAC sticks to a formula of 1-2 non-D1s and 2-3 sub 300 RPI teams, a couple of payday D1 road games and/or tournaments then fill in the rest while proclaiming "nobody wants to play us." Truth is, there are solid/quality games out there to play with the bulk of the Horizon League willing to do home-homes, A-10s willing to do mostly just road games and some Mo-Valley willing to do home and home if the MAC program is usually above 150-RPI. Considering a teams power ranking is based a great measure on road games and overall strength of schedule I don't understand why MAC schools play more than 4 non-con home games. It's a waste. Play a Thanksgiving tournament (2-3 games), a Christmas tournament (2-3 games) a couple of P5 paydays then 4-home games of cupcakes if you choose. Seems simple to me.

Ceiling is indeed high ... but not "SO HIGH" because this team has yet to prove it can be a good 3-point shooting team, especially in the second half. In todays game of basketball you have to make 10 3-s a game to have a shot at a power conference upset and more likely 12 ... and at least 8 3s to get a solid road win in MAC play. Shy of that, you better get a ton of steals and dominate the glass night in and night out. The defense is capable of getting the steals, the rebounding appears solid but not dominant. But it's the 3-point shooting that will likely be the difference between a 1-2 MAC team or a 3-4-5 MAC team. My opinion.

All of this is great ... but it is a bit of false advertising against the Wheelings and the Fordhams of the world ... Groce w/his B10 contacts should have this team playing more established teams. I just don't buy this 'nobody wants to play us crap' ... if that's the case, just line up 2-3 tournaments and play solid comp there. From what I've seen this Akron team is no worse than third best in the MAC over the course of the season, and built like a tournament team when the perimeter players are clicking. And that is as it should be every year going forward. Time for Groce to put the big boy pants on and schedule for success, instead of picking pansies every year. Good players/team want to be challenged. After the way they played against OSU, and to not have another game like that for a month is not a good formula in my book.

Word on the street - not a personal observation - is the big African is the real deal, OFFENSIVELY, which would certainly add a new element to Groce's offense since I can't remember him ever having a solid offensive post player at OU or Akron - though he did have one at Illinois. Have also heard some ??? things about a couple of other players but won't share those until I see for myself (or hear directly from coaches).

Freeman's numbers should tic up a bit both scoring and rebounding but not at the expense of his incredible defense ... scoring is relative. This team will score. It may not 'shoot' like some people hope, but I have no doubt this team will 'score'. ... Seed? A pumpkin seed for Cinderella.???

Also note ... Zips only play UB once, Feb 1 at home!!! (UB only plays Akron once and OU once)????

Only one rivalry game (BG-Toledo) to end the regular season. No OU-Miami, No Akron-Kent, No Western-Central???? All of those were great TV games no matter what. (Especially Akron-Kent). Why screw that up???

A non D1 game I would suspect ... vs. a 'closed' scrimmage or home exhibition.

All these FB coaches (Arth included) are micro-managing people to the nth degree. To sound like all of this was above him and out of his control is ridiculous. Simply put, the players quite likely came to him (and Bowden) first and said their scholarship $$$ had not come through yet. What do I do? The coaches quite likely then sent the players to their neighborhood 'fixer.' ... I mean really. This is SEC/Ohio State football 101.

Comme ci, Comme ca. This can be looked at two ways, considering his base salary: 1) At Kent, you get what you pay for, considering, I believe, most base salaries in the MAC are over $300,000. ... Or, 2) RS is hitting above his weight considering his overall record, MAC overall record and vs. Akron record combined. The guy still hasn't had a losing record overall or in MAC or a losing season overall, or in the MAC even w/losing slate to Akron... and does have 1 NCAA appearance. His non-con schedules aren't overly daunting, but still competitive and (sans the last few Groce years) arguably better than the KD years. Definitely say true Zips fans would take Groce over RS, and Ohio fans would take Boals over RS, but judging from the cries on the UB board, and Toledo board and BG board about their coaches, one would suspect RS would get strong (but not unanimous) consideration as a replacement at those stops, much less the rest of the league. Like I said, Comme ci, comme sa. In the end Kent is getting what it pays for, RS is overall hitting above its weight ... but he still struggles to compare/compete with the Zips.

Just don't think it's a good look for the league, even as pragmatically, I understand it: Kid wants to transfer but still stay close to home. The MAC is fertile ground for that. Top NIU player jumps to Ball State due to a coaching change ... understandable; Front line Ball State player, a grad transfer, goes to Akron ... would hope there is honor among thieves so to speak and this was above board (all parties on both sides aware from start to finish) so while it doesn't look good, it goes down smooth ... Latest has backup KSU center (in line to start) going to Bowling Green where incumbent C remains and recent post transfer has arrived??? No coaching change on either side, no grad transfer, but AAU/HS coach at BG is now the conduit. Even if it is Kent, still doesn't sit/smell right. And remember this is the first few weeks after this rule was announced. What happens going forward after a year or two. Far Flung power conferences can do this with little bad feelings, but in a league tightly bunched like the MAC - most teams 200-miles or less from each other - I think this has the potential for some very bad outcomes both on the court and off ...

Inside that winning percentage are NCAA Tournament stops/wins at Kent State, Arkansas and South Florida. Without looking it up, I'm guessing Heath and Groce have the most NCAA Tournament wins for a current coach in the MAC, by far. (And Groce's overall winning percentage prior to the last 2 years was not that great, either). Look for EMU to be a solid MAC team, not reliant on being the only team in the league playing zone to steal an extra win or two. Actually, the MAC is starting to become as diverse as it was when Heath was first down the road. Back then (2002) with him, Charlie at Miami, Joplin at Toledo, McCallum at Ball, Drake at CMU, 'Spoon at Buffalo MAC was arguably the most diverse conference in the country. And that was arguably when the league was at its best for overall talent. Just sayin.

Kid was a solid MM recruit out of high school w/pure PG skills but as numbers show at the Big East level just barely a double-digit scorer. A 'pass-first' or 'program' PG is often the terms used but should be a bit better than that in the MAC. This indicates Groce is looking to have some high-scoring wings and perhaps a big number 4-man to go with him.

Don't laugh ... Hawkins actually makes a lot of sense. His teams (when healthy) were actually pretty solid MAC teams. Like most everyone else, his teams were hit hard by transfers over the last 10 years. He's a solid coach.

Mexico!!! ... Hmmm. Now what can you do after practice/game in Mexico???

Anybody else notice Marshall is on the Verbal Commits transfer board. ... Curious. He seemed like a nice piece going forward, especially with getting the extra year.

This link says he was recruited as a stretch 4 ... and his game transitioned to a stretch 5 w/back-to-the-basket skills. ... If true, then he should have been a VALUABLE backup at the least at PF and C. But he wasn't. Something does not compute. Didn't see enough on the court to make a judgement either way. Where he winds up will likely say a lot about what kind of player he really is.

A decent comparison in that both have some ball skills but in many ways are unorthodox. Ball is bigger and more athletic which helps his game a lot. Preston, to me, seems almost fragile. When he plays a lot of games in a short period of time, he seems to lose some steam. This run has been perfect for him; 11 days off before MAC Tournament - three game run - now another week off. He'll be a G-League all-star for sure, and a good 10-day call-up when a team needs immediate help. But for the long haul of the NBA season, unless he physically matures more than he has so far, I don't see it.

Guys like Groce can reload pretty quick at the mid-major level. They know what works. If he needs a guard he'll find a guard or develop one. I think that shows around the MAC with all the veteran coaches. If they need something specific, they find it. The question is how well they fit in, or how long it takes to fit in. While the last two seasons of LCJ have been great, he was pretty pedestrian initially. Took a year. I think the missing element - which I think is key - will be not having that redshirt season to practice and learn w/o expectations. That was big for X and other transfers around the league as well. Also, look for guys like Marshall to make a big jump ... jucos often do their second year.

With rare exceptions, most teams in the tournament 'play well enough to win' the challenge is to ultimately win it ... and to do that teams must not only execute at a high level the final 4-minutes of the game, but also execute with the right personnel. Kudos to LCJ but the fact - aside from about a three week stretch from Trimble - there was no proven second or third scorer, or no player who could execute on the block, to help him was Akron's ultimate downfall. It seems the Zips whiffed on Currie. As a freshman that would be understandable, but as a juco w/one year at a B10 school under his belt, somebody just didn't do their homework. Too bad the 7-0 freshman arrived to campus late or he might have been the guy. That's the breaks, because all these things raise their head at tournament time and is not exclusive to Akron ... look at No. 1 seed Toledo. The MAC FOY played like a freshman and the kid from Walsh played like he was from Walsh ... Toledo, exit, stage left. Groce and the Zips must be credited with keeping this team pretty much together the entire season, even with it's obvious flaws, not to mention the fortunes of war so to speak were generally avoided. Bowling Green's best player plays his last game at well less than 100-percent due to a hamstring injury ... Kent State has injury (and other) issues down the stretch ... Ball State's best player doesn't hit the court until the last month of the season ... CMU's 6-10 freshman (and bonafide FOY candidate) goes down at Christmas and never returns ... It's crazy. What issues Toledo, Akron and Buffalo' had (Covid/injuries) all basically hit early in the season and adjustments were made from there. Most coaches will tell you the toughest coaching job with the least amount of reward is at the mid-major basketball coaching level. I have to agree. Both Ohio and UB have had their struggles in games down the stretch so it will be interesting to see how the title game plays out in Cleveland.

Of the missing players, which one of them would you want on the floor in OT???? Asking for a bunch of friends.

Call me crazy ... but why throw a bounce pass on the move to a player who has just made two straight turnovers at the rim ... a senior at that. March Madness ...

Don't think it's a subject Akron should get involved in ...

Been saving this while playing Dailey ... and where is Dailey btw....