Zippy87

Gray did shoot a respectable 30% as a sophomore before struggling as a junior and then rebounding as a senior. Evan has never really hit outside shots in his collegiate career. I'd rather they focus on developing some inside scoring ability with him - he could be a taller version of Tribble (minus the 3s) on offense, slashing to the rim.

I'm not moving any goalposts. You brought up Drake to support that size wasn't an issue. I noted they were much bigger overall, adding important context IMO. Size wasn't just an issue against Arizona this year. St. Mary's was basically the same.

Drake's starting lineup: 6'8" 6'6" 6'5" 6'4" 6'3" Akron's starting lineup this year: 6'8" 6'3" 6'3" 6'2" 5'11" The smallest player on Drake's entire roster was 6'3". They had good size throughout their rotation.

Baltic and Keely were both 6'9" (I know, it's close enough) but moreso, I hesitate to believe what worked in 2012 will work in a post-NIL environment. P4 teams have realized the best path to winning now is to combine the blue chip prospects they've always been able to get with upperclassmen who establish themselves as stars at smaller programs. The result is more complete teams than the groups like OU faced to reach the Sweet Sixteen. I do agree getting a higher seed would be huge - but I also think having at least sufficient size and rebounding is vital to knocking off a top seed. The fact that they're adding Evan instead of someone with more size is still somewhat worrisome to me, but it also shows me a big vote of confidence in further improvements from Okonkwo and Lyles, and Brisco being able to play some impactful minutes next season.

Agree to disagree. You absolutely need good post play, and Evan isn't guarding someone like Tobe Awaka on Arizona. But maybe Brisco can.

A few thoughts on Evan: - Seems like a high character young man, so I'm sure he will fit in with our established culture. - I worry about his offensive game. I've only seen highlights, but 22.6% career from 3 Point territory and 52.3% from the FT stripe would've been at the bottom for us this year. - But maybe we don't need that much offense? He looks like an elite defender, and that's something I'm not sure we had this year. He'll get to know Suder (and players like him) well. - My biggest concern is what he is not - and that's a post player (unless they play to convert him). I know the coaches are smart and know it was an issue against better teams this year, and just running that back isn't good enough. So I'm taking that as them being high on Rich Brisco and their believing in him as worthy of playing next season.

Makes me feel a little better knowing we got a really tough draw.

I'm sure they can afford it, but the question may be if it's wiser to have extra scholarships or put that money into the other players.

We've let them off the hook twice - the NIT OT game and the regular season loss at the buzzer.

I think I saw she had an injury that led to surgery, can't recall specifics though.

I've seen some discussion about current walkons getting grandfathered in, but can't confirm that anywhere. I've also seen some debate on if mid-major schools will even use the extra scholarships, as it will obviously incur extra cost and commitment.

I've been reading up on the changes to the scholarship limits and one thing I found is that the roster cap is 15, including walk-ons. So, while it's true that Akron is able to offer 15 total scholarships, they can not have both 15 scholarship players and walk-ons. Given that Halligan posted that he was returning, I believe that means we only have 2 roster spots available. 1-N. Johnson 2-T. Johnson 3-Okonkwo 4-Lyles 5-Scott 6-Young 7-Hardman 8-MMK 9-Mahaffey 10-Brisco 11-Perkins 12-Henderson 13-Halligan 14-? 15-? Source: https://www.2adays.com/blog/ncaa-scholarship-and-roster-limit-changes-for-2025-26-what-athletes-need-to-know/

You definitely have to go back several years to find wins like this: 2016-17 - Houston 2015-16 - Arkansas 2014-15 - USC and South Carolina 2012-13 - Penn State 2007-08 - Florida State

I think this is a really underrated point. Quad determination is a huge factor now in scheduling.

https://x.com/CBBcontent/status/1904277478769901776?t=d1eeRXjIpr2v_nwCVlV-LQ&s=19 Not a MAC player, but I would love to have this kid. He was an absolute menace against Alabama in Cleveland.

I always assumed part of the redshirt process was being respectful to the players in not burning a year of eligibility if he's not going to see the floor.

https://x.com/ThePortalScoop/status/1903522204295594331?t=YwHrLZy1K_IGhT5-ZG14FQ&s=19 Interest in Ayden Carter from Walsh.

https://x.com/jakelieberman2/status/1904249981135106442?t=jqHTPb_MYdN63HMf4_w3nQ&s=19 Rumored Interest in Aidan Rubio.

I'm continuing to update the original post here for those who are interested.

I won't pretend to know who is/isn't willing to come to the JAR or if any of these opponents would interest people. Cleveland State,Youngstown State - If we are going to play a Horizon League (or similar level) team, let it be regional foes. If nothing else, you'd potentially draw more road fans. Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton - I'm guessing none of these schools will play us, but maybe if we offered a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1? Duquesne - Obvious connections to the staff there and I think would be a good, competitive game most years. All in all, the options are unfortunately probably pretty limited.

Of the opponents below, who were fans going to have strong interest in going to see? Ohio Wesleyan Lamar Omaha Alabama State Northern Kentucky Suny-Brockport South Alabama South Alabama was it for me, personally. Now, I went to most of these because I'm a Zips hoops junkie, but the reality is that this non-conference home schedule wasn't moving most fans, and certainly not the average fan. It didn't help that three of the games were in one weekend, either.

Not to rehash old discussions, but his father had a significant impact on this decision, too.

I think this is a leverage play. Groce knows cuts are coming at UA. I'm betting he wants to avoid complacency from the program in regard to that plus support of the Collective and the program in general. UA took KD for granted for a long time, and I'm sure JG saw that play out. I'd be stunned if he left now, personally.

Kind of wondered if this was the case. Seems like a great young man and I didn't see anything to suggest any animosity from either he or the team. I wish him well.