Zippy87

Evan Wilson will be a GA at Arkansas State next year.

Last season, we only had 3 players in the rotation taller than 6'3". Next season, we'll have 6. I'm excited about that as I think it gives you a better shot against P4 teams.

I think we all understand basketball here and that a depth chart is a simplistic view of where things may stand, especially in April.

Barre is a great get - athletic big who will help tremendously on defense and can finish around the rim. High character player, too. Have to believe KD helped facilitate this one. No idea how it'll shake out, but maybe we look something like this? Lyles/MMK Evan/Eric/Halligan/Groce Barre/Brisco Scott/Head/Hardman/Henderson Johnson/Young/Perkins

I like it. Now let's get a big.

There's certainly risk, but I'm not sure it's any different from a team perspective than a player getting a season-ending injury, like Harris last season. He wears a monitor, gets regular check-ups, and doctors have told him there's low risk in it happening again.

Duquesne finished middle of the pack. Barre could likely give us Okonkwo-type of production in the MAC.

This is happening from what I've heard.

Two spots open now. I think a big similar to Okonkwo and a scoring guard are the ideal fits.

Interesting that it happened so quickly. Did he not get the offers he expected, or did UA pony up some more money to keep him? Either way, great news for Akron.

The gigantic difference between the Guardians and Zips is that the Guardians know exactly how long they have a player locked in, and can get compensated if they know they'll be leaving (either comp picks or trading them for prospects). The Zips got nothing in return for any of their players leaving.

A few thoughts: - I can't blame Nate based on the money thrown at him. He won't reach the NBA and wouldn't get paid that much playing professionally overseas. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he took it. If Tavari is getting similar money, good for him too. - I do wish neither would've posted on social media that they were returning. Yes, they're young. Yes, it's possible they didn't know. But Nate literally went 6 days between his "I'm returning to Akron" and "I'm out" posts on IG (the Akron post hasn't even been deleted). I hope these young athletes or the adults guiding them do a better job of this moving forward. - If this is the end of the defections, I still think we can compete for the MAC Championship. Evan Mahaffey will be a good MAC player, Sharron Young is the real deal, Amani Lyles and Shammah Scott should get even better over the summer, and I've heard nothing but great things about Eric Mahaffey. - I wonder if Perkins or Henderson may play next year. Redshirting players doesn't seem to make much sense anymore unless they're just not ready to contribute. - We have 3 spots open now, and I trust our staff will find winning players. We have to add at least one big (I've heard us connected to at least one already) and some scoring. They'll need another PG, too, unless Perkins plays right away. - I really hope this doesn't make it harder for Groce and others like him to want to stay at mid-majors. I can only imagine how frustrating it is and how tough it will be to build something sustainable.

https://x.com/ThePortalReport/status/1913593363929911522?t=AXJINVvX93oNYB5p-xgqUA&s=19

I have, you just made a poor original claim and won't concede that. It's all good. Go Zips indeed.

Any player who isn't a true post player who can't shoot outside of the paint is going to be limited offensively. Can he slash and score some buckets at the rim? Sure. Can he do what Nate did in the MAC Semis or Championship? I highly doubt it. Suggesting there isn't a big drop-off offensively from Nate to Evan is just disingenuous IMO. We can be optimistic but still realistic.

You keep saying Nate was inefficient but are suggesting a guy who can't/won't shoot outside the paint and shot 38% at the FT stripe is going to come close to his production.

MMK shot 69% last year. Do you think he's close to the offensive player Nate is? Nate has a solid mid-range game and is a respectable three-point shooter (33% career). Evan hasn't shown the ability to score beyond shots close to the rim. He wasn't much different in high school, either, so this isn't a "role" situation. Listen, I share your optimism. I think Evan will be valuable and that the coaches will find players who can fill in some of scoring we're losing. But there's just nothing to suggest Evan is going to be close offensively to Nate. Shooting 67% in limited minutes on limited attempts isn't convincing.

Evan was a poor offensive player last year with a low usage rate. He isn't a plus shooter and never has been. Now, will that improve? Of course, especially against lesser competition in the MAC. But I think it's heavily discounting Nate's offensive game to suggest Evan will come in and be close to that (I don't even expect Evan to play a similar role).

I am with you in the overall thought process here, but I'd be stunned if Evan is only slightly worse offensively than Nate. I'm expecting a sizeable gap.

If Tavari confirmed? I haven't seen it official.

Sharron's is still on Twitter

I've heard it hits schools in waves. One guy gets paid (Okonkwo in our case) and then another guy hears the number and thinks, "Damn, what could I get?"

Yikes.