Zippy87

Obviously doesn't mean Eric is staying, but it's good to hear and I hope it means he is considering returning. Were any other past or current players in attendance?

Ford mentioned the program needing to do a better job of making meaningful connections to the community. They also said they'll be having a golf outing again.

I took it as a different player, as he also mentioned getting a commitment this morning earlier in his press conference.

Coach Ford just mentioned in his welcome presser that he is leading the recruitment on a handful of players and that one is visiting campus today.

4 spots left, and this is a general idea of how we might currently look: Halligan/MMK Henderson Burton/Barre Head Staveskie/Perkins

Looks like a solid rotation big. With 6 potential open spots heading into portal season, not every one is/was going to be a high-impact player. 4 spots remain.

Max Burton from Western Michigan has committed to the Zips, per his IG

We got another one.

This is a player I'd be all for targeting. Local kid - Wadsworth graduate. High character. Scored 18 against Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. Averaged 10 per game and shot just under 40% from 3PT.

I looked through the accounts Coach Ford follows on Twitter and found these players he follows who I believe are all in the portal. It may give us some clues on some players we may be pursuing. Brayden Gross (Walsh) Iyran Francis Jr (Gulf Coast State) Sean Register Jr (Eastern Florida State) Donovan Hill (Saint Leo) Cooper Kesler (College of Southern Idaho)

I know things can change quickly in today's college hoops world, but I'm going to assume the players with eligibility remaining who aren't in the portal are returning. Returnees who saw the floor last season would include MMK, Halligan, and Barre with Head, Henderson, and Perkins returning as well. I'll also assume for now that Jones, Ladd, and Christion will stay and redshirt. MMK and Halligan are both culture guys, and I think they'll bring a lot of value in making sure the Akron culture Groce/Ford built continues forward under Ford. I think MMK in particular can be a valuable rotation player if he continues to add strength and develops more offensive ability. Halligan is going to give you defense and energy, ideally off the bench, and will hopefully improve his spot-up shooting from the outside further over the summer. Barre is a bit of an enigma - he's shown the ability to be an impact player in small samples here and during his time at Duquesne, but there were also times where he looked lost. I'm hoping a (hopefully) fully healthy offseason + time with our big man whisperer in Coach Ford will at a minimum give us a Barre who can rebound and provide interior defense. He certainly has the size and athleticism to do it, and everything I've heard of him is that he is an excellent young man who works hard. Head was fantastic at Lipscomb as a freshman and I think, at a minimum, can be a solid contributor. I was surprised he redshirted last season, but hopefully a year in our system as a redshirt will help him hit the ground running next fall. I'm excited to see Henderson and Perkins, and think they'll both contribute as redshirt freshmen.

I imagine this will move slower than previous years for mid-majors like Akron. Many players are going to hold out to see if someone will overpay like K State did with Nate first, and then once that P4 money dries up, they'll come back to offers from schools like us.

It may be telling to see which players are in attendance.