Let'sGoZips94

Roster is full with Evan.

He has been averaging a double double in the G League. He'll be fine.

I'm only guessing that's where they have us based on drawing Louisiana in the first MAC/SBC game.

Akron posted some photos showcasing Evan practicing. Awesome to see him out there. Wonder what the "experts" think of Akron now that he's back and there's familiar experience on the roster. Are we still middle of the road in the preseason rankings or did we jump up? I think we would've been ok in terms of leadership/culture without Evan because the HC was promoted from the existing culture, but having Evan certainly completely fills - if not overfills - the culture/leadership bucket. The MAC has to be pissed. Hopefully blood isn't thicker than intelligence. Turning down the type of money Eric got would be Kent level stupid.

Eric got paid big $$$. No surprise, no hard feelings.

Chabi Barre 6'10" Max Burton 6'10" Devin Christion 6'9" Buddy Hammer 6'7" Evan Mahaffey 6'6" Ty Pence 6'6" Colin White 6'6" MMK 6'6" Josh Henderson 6'5" RJ Jones 6'5" Zach Halligan 6'5" Cody Head 6'3" Exavier Wilson 6'1" Tahj Staveskie 6'1" Tai Perkins 6'0" Nasty size, depth, roster flexibility, and experience. Amazing job by the staff.

Yes.

So... Evan Mahaffey is back?

Is this just now being announced?

I had to click on his bio to see if the birthdate was 198* to make sure I was thinking of the correct Eric Gordon haha.

Garvin Clarke is also on the Bahamas team, which is stacked btw. Edgecombe, Hield, and Eric Gordon in addition to the 2 former Akron players. Enrique's squad handled them with ease.

UNLV is such a good OOC home game. Should be excellent football weather and hopefully we surprise people this season. It's Joe-Bowl or Joe-No-Mo this year. Give me 7 or 8 wins. Go Zips.

Double double. Ho-hum.

Akron gets the 3rd worst team from the SBC last year. Glad this is our road game.

We're not at all gutted, we retained one of the best assistant coaches in the country as our HC, and have quite the financial support. Groce absolutely left Akron in a much better spot than KD did.

Which is partly why I feel Minnesota did him such a disservice last year. 2 straight years he has averaged a double double in the G League. He can clearly play. Get him PT in the NBA so he can establish himself more.

I understand that which makes me believe additional scheduling challenges have occurred across the board.

This isn't the argument. Since the start of the challenge in 2023-24, here are the schedule results for Akron... Q1: 1 (James Madison, and we were a Q3 W for them) Q2: 1 (Arkansas State, and we were a Q3 W for them) Q3: 2 Q4: 2 How does this boost the resume for top teams in either conference? That's the whole point of this agreement and Q1/Q2 teams are getting Q3 wins at best. Miami OH got Q3 (Marshall) and Q4 (ODU) opportunities this past season; Kent got 2 Q3 opportunities (Troy & Southern Miss). There are better ways to utilize those 2 dates, especially late in the season when NET is more solidified. The current format blows. The Bracket Buster constantly had multiple top 100 RPI teams participating; someone high up needs to figure out how to revive that.

I don't think not liking the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge is "talking down" to the Sun Belt. In its current format, it has yet to suit either conference. When the Sun Belt has had top 50-75 teams, the MAC's best teams have been ~100+. When the MAC has had top 50-75 teams, the Sun Belt's best teams have been 100+. For the challenge to be beneficial, the top teams each year need to consistently be in the same range for NET. Taking up valuable dates in November & February is expensive for the resume. If the extension allows for conference expansion discussions, that works for me. Otherwise, this is puzzling. Or circumstances changed. Would've love to be a fly on the wall when these discussions were taking place.

Maybe there was truth to that?

Odd. MAC/Sun Belt Extend Challenge Through 2028-29 Season

Delaware marketed the crap out of themselves in the game and I believe even had a contest for those who used them in dynasty. Akron could afford to do the same.

He's gone, but these guys are here. Significantly bigger this year. Very much looking forward to seeing this squad in action, but I will gladly be patient so we don't rush back into the crappy weather seasons.

The hype was warranted to an extent. Helen Keller could see there's raw, natural athleticism/ability with his game. The issue, like I believe Hilltopper said, is he wasn't coachable. Good luck at Manhattan, Big Stank.