Zippy87

Never know with our Athletics Department 😂

#25 might be hanging in the JAR when all is said and done. Incredible story.

If Akron reaches the MAC Championship, I believe we'd have 23 games left. Going by season averages, Freeman would add 414 points and 299 rebounds, which would place him 4th all-time in points and 1st in rebounds.

Since I can't find any kind of media guide from Athletics, I used on older one and added our more recent players to the rankings. Let me know if anything looks incorrect!

Getting good ticket deals while helping a UA alum is a win-win!

I will never, ever criticize a person or group trying to improve their community. Certainly, the I Promise can improve its effectiveness. The same can be said for the public school system as a whole. The LeBron James Family Foundation has worked to do that and invested heavily in doing so, but anyone who's ever worked with at-risk students knows it's not typically a quick-turnaround. Most students entering the school were two or three grade levels behind their peers. Most live in poverty. Many have experienced trauma. And his foundation is working to break the generational cycle those communities experience. "But I heard he doesn't tip well!" If you're always looking for the negative in things, you're likely to find it. For anyone interested, here's a good article on what the school offers and what's planned in the future. It's really cool to see what they're trying to do. https://andscape.com/features/lebron-james-promise-to-akron-gets-more-ambitious/ Now, back to the KD thread. 😉

"His crying on the court" - tell me one NBA star that doesn't complain to referees "Chinese affiliation" - this is a slippery slope to go down, many of us are "affiliated" to Chinese products "Plethora of off days he takes" - he's played 25 of 27 games this year at age 39, averaging 34 MPG He left Cleveland in a shitty way. He made amends by coming back and winning us a championship. Again, for most it's politics or race and those other things are just excuses. As for the school, they offer counseling, health checkups, food pantries, clothing, tutoring, and even housing. They also help parents who didn't graduate earn a GED. It's true they've had turnover, which is true of most schools who serve inner-city, at-risk kids. It's an absolutely grueling job with a salary scale that doesn't meet its requirements. Teacher burnout is very real, especially post-Covid. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/ohios-teacher-shortage-as-schools-look-at-vacancies-teachers-fill-in-the-gaps.html I'm not sure if the school will be a long-term success or not, but the motivation behind it - to lift up the most at-risk kids in the city - is a noble one.

If he were doing this for publicity, he would've picked the highest performing kids and boasted about the results. He didn't. Students who graduate high school aren't failing. For some kids, just crossing that stage with a diploma is a monumental success. Having access to a college education takes that even further. Also, the school features wrap-around services to not just support the students but also their families, so they're very much aware support goes beyond 8 hours a day. It seems some just don't like the guy (likely because he left or because he doesn't like a certain politician) and that's fine. But I hate seeing people knocking that school. It's going to change the lives of many. I love this video.

I'm pretty sure she does! I received an email with it and she said to go ahead and share out to others.

The I Promise school is for kids who are at-risk. Judging them against "regular schools" is never going to work. Progress looks different with an at-risk population - it's more about growth than it is hitting ODE's subjective measures. And each of those kids will have an opportunity once they graduate to attend college. They wouldn't otherwise. His foundation is literally changing lives for yhe better.

Nostalgia is a helluva drug in the GOAT debate! I said it in my earlier post - LeBron is tight with KD, but he considers Dru as FAMILY. It's a much different relationship. Bron isn't going to be actively involved helping KD. He would be with Dru. Most young players today grew up watching Bron in his prime. I'm not saying Duquesne would become a top basketball school, but he has pretty significant influence with kids today and would be motivated to help a man he considers a brother.

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You can bet that LeBron James will throw his influence behind Dru in a big way. He's tight with KD, but Dru is like a brother to him. Recruiting is different when you have the GOAT to support you in bringing in talent.

Do any of our players have NIL deals? Would love to support some of them but I have no idea if any of them do.

Honestly, the athletic department should already be marketing the hell out of him with him getting $ from whatever they do.

Our Team Shop wasn't even open last game, I'm not holding my breath (although I agree!)

Does anyone know if he has any NIL deals that aren't Barstool? Would love to support him and get my son something of his favorite player.

Hoping this will be an opportunity for Prather and Lyles to get some minutes and for our guards (including Tavari) to work to polish some things. We need at least solid guard play to make any kind of run this year.

I'm hopeful. We really need Ali and his ability to create offense if we want to make a run.

I'm hoping it was some kind of staffing issue but I also can't fathom not being able to pay a student minimum wage to be there for 3 hours.

Makes sense. I'm hoping to see more of him soon. I have no idea what he can do but if he is truly an elite shooter, well, we really need that!

Quick thoughts from attending the game: - Enrique is an absolute beast. Going to go down as an all-timer for this program. 8 turnovers but still, we don't win without him. - Groce basically trimmed down to a 7 man rotation. Lyles got 2 minutes and Tavari got 3. Every other minute went to 7 players. - We have six scholarship players not contributing to the team right now - Lyles and Tavari (both seeing decreased minutes), Prather (not sure why he isn't playing), Baker and MMK (redshirt), and Ali (transfer waiver denied). - Prather Jr. dressed but didn't see any action (again). Groce called him an "elite shooter that can create opportunities for himself and his teammates with his playmaking skills" when he signed. Why can't he see the floor at all? - I hope we aren't giving up on Ali. Haven't heard anything on it and am hoping they haven't stopped fighting it in any way possible. - The Team Shop was closed today. Maybe there's a good reason I don't know about, but not having a team shop open while people are actively Christmas shopping is beyond embarrasing for the department.

Of our 6 (real) games so far: - FIU is the only opposing team we've outscored in points in the paint - Tavari Johnson, Kaleb Thornton, and Shammah Scott have combined to average 4.8 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.8 TOPG