Captain Kangaroo

I watched a few of his on-line videos during lunch, and then watched a few of Antino's highlight videos afterwards. Virshon's are 70% assists/30% shooting. Antino's were 85% shooting/15% assists. Virshon appears to be the first pass-first PG we've had in a while. Maybe since Abreu? Not in the mold of Antino or Noah whatsoever. He shows he can throw down some nasty dunks, so he has the athleticism and hops to play at the MAC level for sure. I look forward to seeing what he's got this fall.

If the fan of any MAC basketball program frets over a listed 6' point guard solely because of his height, they are following the wrong conference. Hey...in his bio picture he looks like he's 12 years old, so maybe he has a little growth left in him?

As far as fun Zips-related reads in May go, that one will be tough to top.

Along with the incredibly important "Akron University" or "The University of Akron" concerns, I think we really need to make sure he knows Zippy is female. That's paramount. Those are the the top two concerns regarding Zips Football, if you ask me.

HUDL videos show Schuyler is one enormous dude... USA Today All New Hampshire First Team Certainly looks like he's worth taking a flyer on as a PWO. With a year's conditioning, he might look pretty good at nose tackle?

If that's the case, then I agree with you. If, after redshirting, we don't get a minute out of the kids, it's probably because they were a mistake. If they don't have the talent, it's best to part ways and the Zips should extend the scholarship to someone that can play. If he is lamenting losing Peter Agba, BJ Gladden or Ty Dalton, I don't get it either. He should be lamenting Dambrot's sub-par recruiting. That's the issue.

I'm not sure I understand the emoticon. By the time Dalton was shown the door at UA he didn't have many options. To go to a JUCO and play one year, then transfer to a 4-year school to play 3 years, is his best option. If he couldn't play for the Zips this past season, and Groce didn't want him, obviously he isn't being recruited by UCLA in 2018-19. But he'll get a chance to showcase himself at the JUCO level, and ultimately end up at a MAC-level program somewhere out west. Good move for him.

I would say Utomi and Olijapoke are redshirted kids who should make an impact @ UA before their time is up. Kwan would have been better off redshirting.

Old Friend Brian Wickstrom

I think opinion of the guy with 27 posts will prove-out to be much closer to the truth than some of those who's posts number in the "thousands."

He's not a transfer. He quit. And there's no spurn...the Zips need to move forward. Noah was given plenty of time to make his decision. He elected to leave. If he came back, and Groce was cool with it, great. Noah's a solid kid, and my #1 all time post game interview. But I doubt anyone would be doing backflips if he returned. His body of work over 3 seasons shows he's an average MAC guard. I'd rather see Patton develop.

IMO - Groce was really fair in giving underclassmen time to digest the situation/changeover and make their stay/leave decision. If Noah chose "leave," I don't know what level of groveling would be necessary for him to return, but my guess is - pretty high. The apparent lack of interest in his services speaks volumes. Either that....or he's just ready to move on from basketball. He had his opportunity to remain #zipforever, and he passed. I wish him well. But we move forward....

As starved as we were for a big to spell Dog this past season, if this kid had a seat next to Ty Dalton he was apparently not an "early bloomer." I thought he was a non-qualifier, but if he redshirted, his grades and test scores must have been fine? #godukes

I don't know that it's his decision whether or not to return?

He apparently played in 4 games last season. Who knew?

You've led the horse to water. Will he drink? I'll guess - no.

Thanks, Malcolm! See you in the fall! Woo hoo!

We are talking about grad transfers. They already have their degree from the MAC or Horizon school.

I seems tough enough to sign three to five players with quality D1 talent when you have a full season to recruit. Groce is being asked to fill...maybe 8 scholarships...and his talent pool is tiny because he got the latest of starts. If we can get to the max allotted scholarship count with quality D1 players in 2017-18, great. If we don't, we're loaded for bear, scholarship-wise, in 2018-19.

He could have been run off the team. Or, he could have been given a frank assessment of his basketball future at the MAC level (his PT last season would be similar the what's in store for him in 2017-18 @ UA) and been given the choice of staying or leaving. Nice kid. I wish him well.

Too bad his brother was a decent basketball player. Wish he played the tuba or something...

It really seems like mid-major basketball programs are becoming a minor-league system for the "majors." I blame the "Sports Management Degree." Before the "Sports Management" degree became en vogue, you'd annually be sweating-out a few key basketball or football player's grades/eligibility. Now, not only are the players grades fine, but they're graduating in four, and sometimes three years? What a paradigm shift... In football, the transfer rules seem to favor mid-majors, as the bulk of the grad transfers are P5 benchwarmers looking for an opportunity to see the field any way they can before it's too late. In basketball, the transfer situation is predominately reversed. Mid-majors are getting the shaft. Of course, only if you've recruited good players.

Is Brian Bell?

Ok Malcolm, we need ya! Whatcha waiting for?

I went to State College 3 times to see the Zips. I had a blast each time. Many fun on-campus bars. There was one that sold cases of Rolling Rock bottles...you bought your "box-o-rocks," and opened them yourself on an old-school wall-mounted opener that was strategically placed on a post next to each table. Man was I hungover the following morning...one of my all-time worst ones. We tailgated in a field that was like the Rubber Bowl lot, but 100X larger. You could set up tents...kettle deep fryer...friends could all park together...it was great. They gang-rape you for on-campus hotels at Penn State...and usually mandate a 2-night stay... but if you split it between a few couples or buddies, it's not so bad. Well worth the extra cost to stay on-campus and party there at night. I don't know if I'll go this year...but if I do, it'll be a good time.