Zippy87

Bud is the main driver, but I think the success certainly helps. I have donated many times to Akron basketball. I have never contributed to Akron football. I am sure I'm not alone in that. I'm also sure Bud wouldn't be as likely to drop so much money into the program if he wasn't seeing results on the court.

I would love to "barely" be a billionaire. I don't think LeBron is going to pay for an arena. His financial investments in Akron are almost exclusively in at-risk youth and their families, which I think is pretty cool. But if he wanted to, he absolutely has the money/connections to get something done. I just don't think it is on his future agenda, and that is OK.

LeBron is a billionaire.

I think they need a veteran scorer. Assuming they return, I think Sharron and Eric will both improve in that department, but expecting either to become "the guy" next year may be a big ask. As @LZIpnoted, they may be able to go after an immediate contributor or two with some of the senior NIL agreements coming off the books.

Anyone know what section Zips fans will be in Thursday?

If Hardman doesn't get an extra year, we will have two openings. We obviously have no idea who will stay/go from the current roster, but I wouldn't be stunned to see Barre move on. Let's assume for a moment that everyone returns, though: Mahaffey/MMK Halligan/Stankovic Barre/Brisco Head/Henderson/Groce Young/Perkins RS: Ladd, Jones, Christion ...with two roster spots available to go portal shopping.

Akron Out: Eric Mahaffey, Sharron Young, Bowen Hardman, Connor Groce, Rich Brisco, Ognjen Stankovic, Jashawn Ladd In: Tahj Staveskie (Incarnate Word), Max Burton (WMU), Exavier Wilson (Kansas State), Colin White (Ohio State), Ty Pence (Illinois State) Known Offers: Mason Costello (Indian Hills) Ball State Out: Davion Hill, Armoni Zeigler, Preston Copeland, Kayden Fish In: K’Jei Parker (UMass), Trey Lewis (WMU), Aaron Fine (Purdue), Kamden McGilveary (Dynamic Prep), Javion Guy-King (Central Arkansas), Kai McGrew (Fishers), Jaden Smith (Saint Joseph's), Babatunde Durodola (Temple), Jazz Henderson (Texas Tech), Sean Burke (Vermont) Bowling Green Out: Johnea Donahue, Mayar Wol, Jaxon Pardon, Javontae Campbell In: Trey Simmons (Frostburg State, D2), Zach Howell (Drury, D2), Juan Cranford Jr (EKU) Tristan Beckford (USF), Christ Essandoko (South Carolina) Buffalo Out: Daniel Frietag, Ryan Sabol, Mikhail Pocknett In: JJ Frakes (Oregon), Drew Steffe (Southern Illinois), Jalen Pitre (Tennessee State) Central Michigan Out: Will Ashford In: Brock Mendoza (Pima CC), Tyre Acuff (Detroit Central), Jayden Hackett (Milwaukee Area Tech) Eastern Michigan Out: Mohammad Habhab, Godslove Nwabude In: Jaiden Martin (Parkland College), Kaden Johnson (Huntington), Jordan Wright (Oakland CC), Emanuel Richards (Longwood) Kent State Out: Rayvon Griffith, DeAndre Jones, Cian Medley, Delrecco Gillespie, Jahari Williamson In: Gods'Love Nwabude (EMU), Jaylen Smith (ETSU), Chansey Willis, Jr (Minnesota), Angel Montas Jr. (UMass Lowell) UMass Out: Bilal Osman, K’Jei Parker In: Jordan Clayton (Northwestern) Miami Out: Brant Byers, Trey Perry, Eian Elmer In: Stevie Elam (Milwaukee), Preston Copeland (Ball State), Rich Rolf (YSU) Ohio Out: Elijah Elliot, Jordan Fisher, Ayden Evans, JJ Kelly In: Kyler D'Augustino (IU Indy), Che Brogan (Centre of Excellence), Dusan Makitan (Borac BL), Kolton Mitchell (Idaho) Toledo Out: London Praytor, Phoenix Glassnor, Leroy Blyden Jr., Sonny Wilson, Tyler Ode In: Sean Jones (Marquette) Western Michigan Out: Brady Swartz, Hudson Ward, Carson Vis, EJ Ryans, Michael Sulaka In: Janis Jünemann (BG Göttingen), Augustinas Kiudulas (Colorado State), Ramere Draper (Claflin DII), Ben Johnson (Portage Central), G Rob Lee, Jr. (Lamar), Adam Harakow (Wyoming), Isaac Finlinson (Hawaii)

My predictions: UMass over Miami Toledo over BGSU Akron over Buffalo Kent State over OU Toledo over UMass Akron over Kent Akron over Toledo

Call me crazy, but I think UMass beats Miami in round one. Miami hasn't looked the same since Skaljac got hurt, and I don't think there's enough time for him to get even close to 100%. In his two games after missing the WMU game, Skaljac scored 18 points on 6/14 shooting, but was 1-8 from deep and had a negative +/- in both games. Tonight, Perry played a lot down the stretch while Skaljac sat.

Miami finishes the season with three straight two-point wins. Akron finishes the season with three straight double-digit wins. I like the way this is trending.

Suder's arm fully extended as he plowed over the defender and they call a block. Embarrassing stuff from this crew.

This was after Mark Adams called them the most mentally tough team in the country 😂

Mark Adams is rough to listen to.

Don't worry, they're giving Miami every other whistle.

Akron's path: Buffalo > Kent or BG/OU Miami's path: UMass > Toledo or BG/OU

You could take it the other way...they're currently undefeated and people are debating their at-large worthiness. If they lose tonight, there's much more pressure to secure their NCAA Tournament berth by winning in Cleveland.

Looks like the lower bowl is sold out, or at least close to it, by looking at our ticketing page.

This may be true of UA, but several "I Promise" students have graduated from Kent State. As of last year, 74 "I Promise" students were pursuing college degrees. It's also worth noting the school opened in 2018 to 3rd and 4th graders, and didn't extend to grades 1-8 until 2022. You're not seeing many college graduates yet because most of the kids aren't old enough yet, not because it's a failure.

It was wrapped pretty heavily last game, too.

Has anyone heard anything concrete on Bowen? Someone had mentioned (maybe in the recruiting thread) that he was going to try to get a waiver for an extra year. Edit: Zips posted an image of him on IG for senior night.

OU's spring break is next week. Hopefully the students show up for this one before taking off for the beaches. OU can be a tough place to play when the students show up like they're capable of.

Who do we think gets hardware next week for individual awards? I think Tavari gets Player of the Year. I don't think there's been a more complete player or anyone more valuable to his team than TJ. He'll obviously be 1st Team All-MAC. Amani probably gets All-MAC 2nd or 3rd Team. Shammah may get 3rd or Honorable Mention. Shammah may win 6th Man of the Year again. Evan should be in consideration for Defensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Defense. I would think Eric would get 1st Team All-Freshman. Alrhough Groce is the best coach in the MAC, Steele will get Coach of the Year.

Along with Frietag's status (if Buffalo makes it), this is going to be a storyline to watch next week. He obviously came back in, but he is seemingly playing less than 100%. It's one thing to play through an injury with a few days rest in between, it's another to play through an injury 3 straight nights.

Wild stat I just came across - CMU is 1-14 on the road this season.