Captain Kangaroo

Tavari stepping up. Shammah and Lyles holding their own. Everyone else is not playing well enough for us to win this game.

Zips Get Big MAC Sandwich

The Beacon en fuego! ✍️🔥

Here's the viable back up big that @NWAkron has been clamoring for...go get 'em John and Bud.

An Akron expert offers their game thoughts

Two things that stood out to me - Alex Adam’s is giving it another go. Spring game on Friday night?

I think Kent-Miami basketball just became a rivalry?

Seeing all these portal transfers make me sad for the MAC, and sad for the state of college basketball. Year ago Don Ohlmeyer famously said "The answer to all your questions is money." Sucks what greed and money do to just about everything good. For whatever inexplicable reason the planets aligned and the Zips got John Groce and Bud Wentz at the precise time we needed them, or we'd be in the same boat and everyone else. So grateful for those guys. But it all can come crashing down at any second, and we'll be like Buffalo and Toledo...losing our best players because they're chasing a couple quick bucks rather than getting a meaningful degree and making lifelong friendships with college teammates. The bulk of the portal transfers are pure basketball mercenaries majoring in eligibility. Kowalczyk spoke the truth...it'll be interesting to see where these guys end up in 20 years...with the $38,000 in NIL long gone, and no college degree to fall back on. For every decent MAC player that ascends to a P4 school with success, there are 15 who sit the P4 pines eagerly awaiting the season's end and the chance to transfer yet again.

Please let San Diego State win by 25 tonight.🙏

By a factor of 10X!

As a brief Zips Hoops history lesson - The 1986 Zips led by Bob Huggins played Michigan in Round #1 of the NCAA Tourney. Zips were a 20 point underdog, and Dick Vitale predicted we'd lose by 40. Michigan was led by future NBA'ers Glen Rice, Roy Tarpley and Gary Grant. The Zips countered the 6' 11" Tarpley with Russell Holmes, a 6' 3" football player brought on to to basketball team because Huggins was hamstrung on players. In fact, three football players were needed to fill out the 1986 Zips roster! The Zips lead at halftime 32-30. I enjoyed some ice cold Hudepohl Gold as I watched from Annadale Avenue on a 19" tube TV. The Zips lost 70-64, but played a great, highly competitive game. The 2025 Zips team is in much better shape to compete with Arizona. Our interior shortcomings can be overcome by great coaching and player effort...just like in 1986. Shock the World!

Way easier to move if your stuff is already boxed up. 🤓

It is fun. It'll be packed with Zips fans. Like Clarke said, the band, cheerleaders and dance team usually shows up. The bad news - Tough to get a seat...tough to get a beer...really really loud... If I were you I'd go. Leave, if you get too hungry or thirsty.

Why are the school sections not established and published once the 8-team field is set? It seems to be a crapshoot when you buy tickets...am I near the Zips section, or not? Am I missing something?

I think zipmeister hacked someone’s account?

The legend has grown over the years 😀…he shoved him. Still pretty shocking to see a player forcibly shove his coach. My favorite exchange- at the end of an Akron-Kent game Kyrim Massey clocked Jami Bosley with an elbow at mid court as a ball was being inbounded. Bosley was laid out on the center court logo, and no referee saw it. The next season Massey went up for a 3 on his first shot of the game and Andrick “accidentally” rammed his fingers into Massey’s eyes. An 8-month delayed payback. Ahh the good old days..,now you get T’d up for saying “You can’t guard me” as you jog down the floor after a made shot.

If he’d stayed with the Zips he’d have probably seen fewer minutes than Marvin. Robert Morris seems like a perfect fit for him.

Evan - Waved a great towel. Embraced his role as an energy guy on the bench. A very underrated shooter when given the chance. He'd have have seen PT in Groce's Akron Year #1 and acquitted himself well. Decent all around player for a walk on. Fun kid to root for. Seth - Short, streaky, stocky 3-point specialist. Unwavering confidence in his shot. Not such a great defender. If the Zips were to get in the Big Dance, he'd need to go on a heater if we are to have any chance of winning a game. Good 1-year portal addition. Isaiah - Good blue-collar player. Jack of all trades. Decent rebounder, decent 3-point shooter, decent ball handler. Confident, veteran presence. Good attitude. Gets into trouble driving the lane...not as good a ball handler as he thinks he is. Doesn't necessarily finish at the rim all that well. Never lacks effort. Never sulks.

Ok, Clark Jr…😀

I think you can find a live stream on YouTube or maxpreps.

7?

I like him quite a bit, but he's the prototypical 6' MAC guard. In his last 8 games, he's scored in single digits in 7 of them (6, 5, 3, 4, 10, 7, 4, 3). I can't believe any competing program is beating the JAR door down with a wheelbarrow of NIL money just yet. If he goes, it's because we have a bevy of really good players in front of him. It's sorta like the NY Yankees, if you think about it?

If Harris returns, there will not be many game-minutes remaining for anyone else in 2025-26. Harris would take the minutes from Gray's departure, and the others will be fighting for Seth's minutes. In addition, someone like Nate Johnson could get some P5 interest if he has a nice tournament. I have to believe there will be some portal departures.

Gave up 63 in the 2nd half? Gotta be some sort of record?

Shammah Scott should get more than a handful of votes.