Let'sGoZips94

We are, which is interesting. They just announced the recruiting class the other day, and now we have this offer go out. Is someone not happy with Ali Ali returning? With Ali Ali coming in, does that bump someone out of a rotation spot based on style of play? When you look at the roster, we have 2 incoming freshman, so unless one of them somehow decommits, their scholarships aren't opening up. Tribble/Freeman/Dawson are seemingly locks to return. Hunter/Scott/Thornton are transfers who would have to sit out another year (Scott & Thornton are incoming this year, so I guess they could technically decommit? I don't know how that would work). Prather Jr/Lyles/N Johnson/T Johnson are the sophomores/redshirt freshman that can freely move and aren't seemingly locked into returning based on their limited time here. Does Ali Ali push Lyles down the bench? Are one of the guards unhappy/looking for more PT? Interesting situation.

He has offers from Drake, Austin Peay, VMI, and UIC. I'd be surprised if all 4 of his interest were walk-on offers, and I'd be even more surprised if we offered him a walk-on vs 3 scholarship offers. The excitement on Drake's board seems to suggest he's a scholarship offers for them. 6'7" southpaw listed as a guard. Looks somewhat raw but malleable with a solid foundation. Athletic, can shoot, and can finish at/above the rim. His academy was top 5-10 in the country as of February 2023. The tweets describing him are an athletic 3&D guy who plays strong above the rim on both ends. https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18608063/638f57a72aa6b80a3848657f

Ask the person that followed up a similar sentiment with a story insinuating those who don't think a certain way in this situation are lesser people for it. Convenient how that person's similar sentiment and follow-up post weren't called out - just mine. All good. Go Zips.

It's only "hurtful" because people choose to let a word "hurt" them. Being offended is a choice. Then how do you (being a general term) get more people to be offended? Tell them they're wrong and a lesser person for not being offended like you. That is absolutely herd mentality. I brought up Saudi Arabia, their vast array of investments in US companies, their laws against gay rights (punishable by death), and the lack of outrage vs this situation where a word was used. I brought up how this word appears in songs, movies, comedy shows with little to no outrage. I was laughed at and told my angle of the discussion is ridiculous. It's hard to take serious a situation that has so much variance when someone can choose to be outraged/offended/practice empathy. P.S. "Sensitivity Training" is the biggest indoctrination crock of 💩. "Think like this or else"

Correct. When I watch movies like Blazing Saddles, I laugh, or when Rap God plays during a workout, I listen to it, and I'm not going to pretend to be offended just to save face with the herd mentality when it's said publicly. All for agreeing to disagreeing and moving on. Go Zips.

I struggle to believe that apology is authentic. How often do we see this song & dance? Person says something that offends a group of people, mainstream media & the mob come after them, company forces said person to release a statement with an apology, time passes, and the MSM/mob eventually move onto the next thing they decide to get pissed about. Rinse & repeat. The first post literally insinuated he may not be in the Hall of Fame because of this if he wasn't already inducted. Several posts stated that whatever punishment he receives is warranted. Others called him a bigot, which is an overused & cheapened term at this point. Furthermore, being offended by what Huggins said is ok. Telling others they have to be offended is not.

Ignorant would mean he's not educated on or aware of the situation, which is doubtful being a college basketball coach. What if Huggins just doesn't give a damn what he says, because being offended is a choice people make? I have gotten several PMs from ZN members who share similar points of view as I do, whether it be agreeing that the Huggy situation is overblown or that the herd mentality of a singular thought without accepting any other viewpoint is nauseating. I just wanted you to finish whatever you were insinuating about me. Seems to be potentially ban-worthy, so I'm intrigued. Go Zips, man. That's our common ground. Oh, and KSUcks.

It's damn good to be on this list again.

I'm assuming JoeMo is holding the program to a higher standard where they actually maintain the turf properly. Are we getting new endzones?

Then why say it in the first place? Pretty cowardice to not finish that thought and duck behind the cover of "being respectful". Right because nowadays, a word is basically murder and hypocrisy is the accepted approach to life. Do as I say, not as I do. Gimme a break.

No no. Finish that thought. Telling of what?

He said a word. He wasn't campaigning for the rights of gays to be taken away or for gay people to be murdered for being gay. The same word is used in popular rap songs. The same word is used in movies & comedy shows that many people have laughed at, including on this board. It's a damn word that people are suddenly up in arms about, while they stay silent about legitimate human rights violations in the world that are partially funded through companies Americans support. The hypocrisy in the outrage is hilariously evident. When I heard what Huggy said, I laughed. Does that make me a bad person? I'll let God be the judge of that when the time comes. But I know that if human rights for gays or a gay person were being threatened or assaulted, I'd be one of the first people at their defense. I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin and moral compass. I am tired of the crusade against free thinking, and am done being complicit with silence. Excuse me for being able to distinguish the differences and having the cajones to point all of this out.

Framing it this way is a Kent State-level thought process and reading comprehension. If you would like to have a legitimate discussion on a topic you originally posted about, with the insinuation that he wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because of this incident had he not already be indicted, I would love to partake. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to publicly discuss. Apparently, in today's America, it's enough to post a topic (ignorantly not expecting a different viewpoint to be shared), share an opinion, then incorrectly repeat the opposition's words and slap a "bigot" label on them to end a discussion. P.S. The Barstool guy, as I previously mentioned, got fired for reading rap lyrics with the N word in it.

What about this ain't it? Have songs like Rap God by Eminem not been blaring in locker rooms (and pretty much by every millennial/Gen Zer) since 2013?

Not much of a stretch, but that's precisely the point. The fake outrage over something this small vs virtually zero outrage as companies all over the place accept money from a country where being gay is punishable by death. Yes, you said he will probably be fired soon. In response, I posed the question if Akron should take down his banner? If what he did is egregious enough to lose his job over, should Akron being honoring him? How far do we go with this?

Should Akron pull down his banner?

Sure it is. AWS is one of their sponsors. Saudis are invested in Amazon. Therefore, there is Saudi money being accepted by the PGA. Then of course you have the advertising revenue from the TV network deals, which includes Saudi money. The PGA is absolutely profiting from Saudi money, however direct or indirect that may be. If this is such an abhorrent act, shouldn't there be equal outrage at the radio hosts? Or maybe the bubble of who is actually offended isn't as large as people are led to believe? Maybe, just maybe, we should get away from caring about words offending us.

"Oof" because I'm willing to go against the grain and call out hypocrisy and have a discussion on a fan forum where this "controversy" was posted? "Oof" because my post doesn't fit the trend of herd mentality, where it's easier to simply agree to be part of the larger group instead of taking a step back and analyzing the whole situation with perspective? Honestly, the first post mentioning this insinuates the man shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. Adolph Rupp is in the HoF, and what he actually stood for was a whole helluva lot worse than this one Huggins incident. Apparently you can. The radio hosts, while they did get somewhat awkward for a second, laughed and kept Huggins on. The one guy even called him the best.

The coaches are paid to win, and the players are paid $100k+ to do the same. Let's not pretend that "representing the university" is some righteous objective anymore. Kansas had Snoop Dogg perform during one of their preseason exhibitions, and he brought stripper poles & money guns onto the court. Alabama's best player was associated with a murder in which he provided the murder weapon, and was never even suspended. Listen to the songs played during warm ups, and Google the lyrics. If representing the university in an appropriate fashion was an actual objective, at least half of those songs wouldn't be played. Yes, and a popular figurehead at Barstool was recently fired by the parent company Penn for accidentally reading the N word as he live-read rap lyrics. I'm well aware of the status quo when it comes to being politically correct and caving to the cancel culture mob. The PGA sponsors disciplined Justin Thomas, while the PGA accepts Saudi investment/sponsorship money, where it's illegal to be gay. Hypocrisy. In fact, research the companies that Saudi Arabia has invested in. What's more offensive - a gay slur or doing business with a country where being gay is punishable by death? That's why this is an overblown controversy IMO. Huggins didn't physically harm anyone or commit a crime. And those who are offended by this are probably talking about it on a Saudi-funded platform (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). Here is a good illustration of the hypocrisy within the cancel culture movement.

Right, because the music & conversations that plays & are had in the locker rooms across the country is so Holy and pure. They wouldn't offend anyone, so people would never get angry. He said a word. Big freaking deal.

Overblown "controversy". The reaction-driven hypocrisy in these situations is nauseating anymore.

I know the transfer portal will be part of this, but 2024 will be one of the most important recruiting classes in the history of the program. 5 open scholarships + any additional departures. The health of the program going forward depends on the 2023-24 season results & 2024 recruiting class. OU and Buffalo are the cautionary tales.

You must have a helluva time taking questions at the t-shirt cannon convention. "NWAkron is a t-shirt cannon survivor. He is living proof that you can stare down these weapons of sports marketing war, and not be deterred from sporting events. Bud Light's Real Men of Genius recognized the inventor of the t-shirt cannon, but it's people like NWAkron who are the Real Men."

13.5 ppg last year for Balls.

Why was he a key factor in those games? He hit his 3s. He shot 40.7% that year from 3. His worst games occurred when he didn't hit from beyond the arc. Understandable. However... He's a career 34.9% 3PT shooter. If Ali Ali doesn't produce like he did in 2021-22, are people as excited about him coming back? If you remove 2021-22, he's a career 27.6% 3PT shooter. That's 3 years of sub-35%, with 2 years of sub-30% including this past year which was 25.5%. The ball and hoop don't really change, no matter where you play in D1 college basketball. If we get 35%+ 3 PT shooting from Ali Ali, wonderful. That level of game fills massive voids we had from last year. If we get 30% or less, his scoring seemingly comes from dribbling the air out of the ball and hitting layups/mid-range jump shots for 6-8 ppg. Where does that level of game fit on this team? My expectations are tempered. I hope Ali Ali is able to fire on all cylinders this year. I have my reservations. Does he try to hard & press during his comeback tour? If he struggles, has he grown enough mentally to not get as down as he used to?