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Captain Kangaroo

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Everything posted by Captain Kangaroo

  1. I was speaking to a friend of mine who coaches at the Divsion 1 level regarding the transfer portal. His opinion was - 1.) It sucks. 2.) You combat it with "culture." If the kids like the staff, and like their teammates, they are much less likely to exit your program. Ball State has no culture. They've been floating in mediocrity for over a decade. Maybe Sparks landed there because the extra year of COVID eligibility meant fewer available scholarships at the P5 level? I don't know...but why would you your prime years in Muncie when you are getting scholarship offers from programs guaranteed annual trips to the NCAA's? I see a lot of #2 with Groce. I can't see Enrique ditching Aziz and Ali to chase glory at Xavier, or some other higher-conference program. The Zips players all seem to like each other. They've bought into Groce's culture and system. They're all growing, excelling, having fun and winning. Why leave? You can't bat 1.000 when recruiting 18-22 year old kids. For every Xerius Williams there's inevitably going to be a Trimble. But batting .750 overall is possible if you're consistent in your approach. And not desperate. Groce is too confident in himself and his system, and his contract situation, to be desperate and load up on mercenaries. From the ashes of the Great Dambrot Exodus he's built an OUTSTANDING program. I'll digress for one moment and mention recruiting "stars" as the pertain to the Zips - Ali and Enrique are arguably our most talented players. Neither was recruited by any D1 programs. ZERO! People go gaga over transfers from Florida...St Johns...Wake Forest...Missouri...there's usually a reason these guys are free agents. Groce recognizes talent like few other coaches I've seen. And places that talent in the best positions for team success. Sincere Carry is a tremendous basketball talent, but I really doubt he'd have been anything but a disruption had he played at UA. No player will ever admit they're a "me-first" guy...but it's pretty obvious when a player cares more about playing time, personal statistics and adulation than the good of the team. And, which coaches tolerate those antics. I'm keeping my March calendar clear for 2023. I fully expect the 2022-23 Zips to be dancing. 2024 is promised to no one. If Groce were to be lured away, a lot of the team could follow without penalty. I hope that doesn't happen, because the sky is the limit with Groce captaining our ship, and our "super-sophs"... soon-to-be "super-juniors"... inevitably improving. Enjoy the Zips one-year-at-a-time, as the fan of any successful mid-major should!
  2. It is way to soon to discuss Guthrie departing UA. He just got here. His most-visible accomplishments so far are marketing some $7 beers in the JAR and filling a hundred or so otherwise empty JAR seats with students. That's Doctoral-level thinking when compared to Larry Williams or Tom Wistercill, but pales in comparison to the re-branding and stadium construction we saw in the early 2000's under Thomas and Waddell. Those guys accomplished some major stuff, and were ready to move on to bigger and better things. Credit for hiring Joe to coach the football team should be tempered. Joe's agent reached out to UA expressing his interest in the job. I do credit Guthrie for swiftly recognizing his good fortune and sealing the deal. I guarantee if Joe's agent had called Larry Williams, Williams would have hung up the phone and still paid buyout money to secure 3-win Tom. The best recent Akron AD's did something major in order to matriculate to the "next level." For Guthrie to make that leap he needs to fill InfoCision to a reasonable capacity every Saturday (17-20k = "reasonable"). If the football team wins ("wins" = 9+ wins, like Toledo has done 11 times in the past 22 seasons), a 10-12k Tuesday night crowd in November game should also expected. The days of 500 butts-in-seats has to be over. I like Guthrie. He seems hardworking, intelligent, personable and genuine. He's not the typical phony, hand-shaking stuffed shirt. He has great synergy with Gary Miller (another desperately-needed breath of fresh air @ UA). With all due respect to the tasks of keeping Groce happy, and getting soccer back to its deep NCAA tourney runs, rallying the community to support Akron Football and making the corner of Spicer and Exchange rock & roll on fall gamedays is Guthrie's measuring stick for success. I hope he can do it. I'll have a beer on ice waiting for him in Lot 9 when he does.🦘🏉🦾
  3. A simple Field Turf Life Expectancy Google search yields an answer of "8-10 years." If anybody thought it would last 25 years, they really slacked off on their research.
  4. Shaka loses by 32. Awesome!
  5. No doubt, he is “Mr. March.” 💪🏼
  6. I continue to marvel at how Dawson, Tribble and Clarke elevated their games over the course of the season. Wynn’s contributions also grew. The 60 game-minutes we lost when Trimble and Walton departed were never missed.
  7. My Groce comments have aged like fine wine. 🍷 🦘
  8. Ali, X and Freeman. And two schleps.
  9. Before I respond, is the MAC office monitoring this thread?
  10. Who is Dambrot rooting for tonight? His old Duquesne star, or his alma mater?
  11. If anyone is in the Phoenix area and wants to join a Zips Watch Party, pm me. First of the Zips 10 finals appearances I’ll miss. Hoping for a west coast round 1 NCAA tournament game. 😄
  12. Bad news for the MAC - No seniors on this Zips team.
  13. The guy knows how to get his players peaking when it counts. Great game by the Zips. Offensively and defensively. Total team effort. Amazing poise in both tournament games. Kent is a different animal. I see them rolling OU. We’ll have our hands full tomorrow. But in JohnGro I trust! 😄
  14. The cbssn site worked fine. Just like the tv channel.
  15. With a name like that, he had to be recruited by a guy from Pittsburgh!💪
  16. Scholarship players is one thing, starters is another. Amazing how Dawson and Tribble have stepped up as duty called. They went from doing the things that don’t show up in the score book, to doing the things that do show up in the score book. If we can pull this off I think they are the difference between a lost season, and a championship season.
  17. Penny for Trimble and Walton’s thoughts today.
  18. Kent shooting 27% from behind the arc. Why can’t they do that against us!
  19. If so, it should remind you of being a fan during the Coleman Crawford years. Miami has no chance.
  20. If you wanted a rout, you got one. Miami ain’t no Buffalo.
  21. Dru Joyce lll sighting in the lobby. Good to see him supporting the Zips!
  22. Wish we could play through contact better.
  23. Buffalo moving the ball and getting open looks. Akron isn’t, and aren’t.
  24. Does Ali know he’s allowed to pass?
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