Let'sGoZips94

Just like he no-showed against UCLA? Didn't realize better competition came with different-size baskets... Saying his stats dropped dramatically because of the better competition isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. Edit: I'll back off now. I don't mean to be harsh towards Ali Ali. The wound of him leaving when we needed him is still open. Really hoping he has the mentality of having to earn his PT at Akron again.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, our 2023-24 roster is finalized. Guards Greg Tribble - 6'3" SR Tavari Johnson - 5'11" SO Ryan Prather Jr - 6'5" RFR Nate Johnson - 6'3" RSO Shammah Scott - 6'2" JR Kaleb Thornton - 6'0" SR Evan Wilson - 6'2" JR Pat Mayfield - 6'5" JR Wings Mikal Dawson - 6'5" SR(?) Ali Ali - 6'8" SR Marvin Musiime-Kamali - 6'6" FR "Bigs" (PF/Centers) Enrique Freeman - 6'7" SR Sammy Hunter - 6'7" SR Amani Lyles - 6'7" SO Darrion Baker - 6'7" FR Easily the deepest team in the MAC on paper, the main questions that will remain unanswered until the season starts... - Which guard(s) steps up to replace X's scoring production? Not necessarily all of it, but 10-12 ppg will be needed. - Does Amani Lyles develop into a solid #3 big man to spell Freeman/Hunter? - Does Hunter's shot develop into a more consistent, stretch-4 threat? - Does Darrian Baker, a McDonalds All American nominee, slot in as a Wing or Big (maybe under weight for a Big)? Does he contribute from Day 1? - What can we get out of Prather? 6'5" is amazing size for a guard, and if he produces, look out. - Does Ali Ali produce similarly to his 2021-22 stats? Do we see better ball movement like the end of 2021-22, or does the offense with the addition of Ali Ali revert back to Ali Ali backing down opponents with the occasional kick-out? I knocked the Kaleb Thornton transfer initially, but I did not realize he led the MAC last year in both assists and steals. He is the PERFECT PG for this team.

It's a pretty valid conversation. Breaking down how an incoming player fits onto this Zips squad is a key component to a fan forum. If Ali Ali went to Butler and came anywhere near his 2021-22 production, 1) he probably wouldn't be coming back and 2) that would validate your thought of experience & growing up equating to better production YOY. He didn't. Therefore, the door is open to question which Ali Ali we will be getting.

Which is why we need him to return to 2021-22 form. In 2021-22, part of what made Ali Ali productive was he had 241 2PA vs 118 3PA. In his other 3 seasons, he has taken pretty much an equal number of 2PA vs 3PA, with his 3 pt percentages being 23%, 34%, 40% (2021-22) and 25%. I will always root for Akron's success, which this year means rooting for Ali Ali to return to 2021-22 form (minus the possession killing back-down offense). It's very fair to have reservations about a guy who has had 1 standout year during a 4 year college career, left your program when you needed him, and is coming back with only 1 year of eligibility. Go Zips.

6'6" 310 lbs. Sheesh.

If you can guarantee me a 13 ppg player on 40%+ shooting from 2 & 3 (even upper 30s for 3 pt percentage), I'll take Ali Ali back. If he returns to 7 ppg on 40% 2 pt and 30% 3 pt (averaging out his 2020-21 & 2022-23 seasons), I'd rather take my risk on a transfer that could be here for more than one season and most likely put up similar or better numbers.

X was a 13 ppg player in 2021-22 with 2 other 13+ ppg guys on the team. I don't think X took a significant leap in 2022-23 - he just had a more prominent role thrust upon him. He largely answered the bell. Ali Ali, for as big of a step he took in 2021-22, regressed mightily in 2022-23. Whatever the circumstances may have been, he only has 1 year out of 4 of being a prominent DI basketball player. That's a fact. We need another year from him like 2021-22. That's all I'm saying.

We won 3 out of 9 under Dambrot. We never really sniffed a W in the Big Dance in the 3 appearances we made (Notre Dame wasn't good). The 7 straight Finals appearances were a blast, but coming up short twice as often grew old.

We have 13 scholarship guys. IMO, Kamali is the only redshirt candidate. Even then, I wouldn't redshirt anyone. Transfer Portal eliminates the redshirt potential for me. Ali Ali coming back only works if he is as efficient as he was in 2021-22 - and that's his outlier year by far as a D1 basketball player.

Never appreciated the excuses for his failure to take us to the next level. Did not appreciate the state he left the program in. Did not appreciate the ceiling he put on Akron when he left for Duquesne. Absolutely appreciate the level to which he elevated Akron basketball, but the way he spoke (bitching about the JAR, MAC 1-bid league, fans, etc.) made it seem like Akron had the ceiling instead of Dambrot. Time is proving that the ceiling was actually over Dambrot, not Akron.

Gotta do something to boost program morale when you're paying the coach $1M+ per year to deliver subpar/mediocre results. After all, KD's Participation Trophy case is quite large.

@catdaddyp Thank you, as always, for the in-depth & insightful breakdown of the spring game. We are doing a live-in 1st floor house remodel with 2 kids under 4, so I completely forgot the game was on Saturday (I also can't believe that was the last weekend of April already). Would much rather have been at the Spring Game. - I'm glad to hear Linguard looks the part. As long as it took for our OLine to gel last year, our RBs didn't do their part in making things happen on their own. We need Linguard & this RB group to make things happen while our OL continues to develop. - Also glad to hear that our secondary seems to be much improved. That was our biggest weakness on defense last year. WAY too many big plays given up in that level of the D. - Do we have any impending pass-rush/DL help incoming?

By way of the MAC?

Is this a high-level transfer? Awful lot of secrecy and hype.

Does this cover their trip to Puerto Rico?

Why hasn't he committed to Akron already if he's coming back? Paperwork?

Pat McAfee is a gazillionaire now because of YouTube. I'm not sure how much revenue he generated from YouTube specifically, but providing a free show that everyone with internet can access has attracted such a crowd that his sponsor deals have been in the $100M+ range. The MAC has the 2nd largest non P5 TV deal that ends after the 2026-27 season. I do wonder how lucrative that deal is, being paywalled behind cable/streaming/ESPN+ subscriptions, vs a deal or independent movement to go to YouTube. Hell, all ESPN+ is anyways is a platform where the University's broadcast can be seen. I don't know if the TV deals include equipment or funding for equipment, but it's an interesting avenue that could be explored.

He and Emoni Bates will be competing for the MSBOTY award - MAC String Bean of the Year.

Bass? He picked the perfect school for this then. Pinky once again doesn't even have to recruit. "Looking for a school with low academic and character standards? Look no further than Can't State." Good luck to Bass memorizing the colors in Crayola's 64 box of crayons. Hopefully he's at least better than his classmates and doesn't eat any.

32% from 2. 32% from 3. Averaged just under 13ppg on a garbage CMU squad where he had plenty of opportunity. It's a decent fill, but nothing earth shattering. OU added one of Creighton's benchwarmer guards.

Exactly. He left; the others didn't. He had the opportunity to be part of the unfinished business crew with their sights on winning a Tourney game, and he chose to leave. His attitude and hero ball were part of are struggles for much of that season. Technicals, stupid fouls, poor shot selection, etc. There was a shift where it came together for an improbable run, but his contribution to the problems reared its ugly head in the UCLA game. He wasn't in that game mentally. 36 minutes produced 5 pts on 2-10 shooting, 1-4 from 3, 1 PF, 1 TO, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 AST. Not sure I've ever seen a more pedestrian game line from any star of a team in the biggest game of the season - ever. His play the ENTIRE UCLA game was awful. Nobody is pretending we weren't excited at the prospect of returning that 21-22 squad in its entirety prior to him leaving. But excusing his decision to not be part of Akron basketball, then citing stats with a rose colored look at the season that include a lot of head-scratching struggles - including from Ali Ali - is equally as weird. Also, outside of the one year, he hasn't come close to averaging double digits scoring. For all we know, that one year could be an anomaly and he could be a very average basketball player. To me, it's not an "obvious" decision to want him/welcome him back.

We have different definitions of John Groce basketball at Akron. We have had 2 beloved home grown guys - Freeman & Tribble. Otherwise, LCJ, X2.0, X1.0, Cheese, Banks, etc., all came from other programs and finished their careers here. @Captain Kangaroo hit the nail on the head. If he is back at Akron next season, he needs to be more mature, humble, a better facilitator, and 1000% bought into Groce Ball. His "hero ball" plays need to be left at Butler.

I think Memphis should draft Emoni. I think JA Morant would be a good mentor.

Is he a grad transfer? I wonder if Balls is a landing spot for him. Stay close to home, their coach saw him first hand in the tourney (even though he no-showed), and he'd get instant PT.