Let'sGoZips94

Everyone in the MAC is beatable.

Sure but he was more of an offensive threat inside the paint than almost any center we've ever had. His layup and floater abilities were phenomenal.

Meh. That team was uninspiring. They beat a Houston team that didn't want to be in the NIT, kind of like the Akron squad that played Green Bay in one of those non NCAA/NIT postseason tourneys and lost. That team actually exposed Dambrot's lack of coaching ability, as Big Dog was constantly found out by the 3 pt arc. To get back on topic, it's 3:28pm and...

Rome never made it to the league because he was a 6'6" post player with a very limited jump shot (at best) and a 60% shooter from the charity stripe. I don't really think much of Rome as a basketball player; his legacy to me is cemented by being one of the two key foundational pieces that made Akron basketball what it is today. Forever grateful for he and Dru's services. Maybe the 3rd best player on that team, but man was he clutch. He had the ability to do it all whenever it was needed - 3 pointer, drive to the basket, mid-range jumper, etc. I don't think you're off-base at all. Freeman has the walk-on factor that really elevates the perception around his legacy. He doesn't necessarily need overall team achievements for people to think highly of him; his journey is impressive enough. Easily one of my favorite Zips of all time. Aziz is as good, if not better than Zeke at this point in their careers. Aziz could be really special come his senior year. It'll be fun to see him and Kalle develop alongside Freeman. Our front-court is going to be a force for several years. We will be set up to accomplish more than any Zips team ever has. Zeke was really under-developed by Dambrot & staff. It wasn't until Zeke's national recognition grew and he got better off-season help that he took jumps to the next level(s). Zeke was a highly-touted recruit, obviously, so he needed team accomplishments to cement his legacy. That 2012-13 team was special. It's the only team to fairly compare the 2019-20 team to. Zeke was a huge piece of that, but if we didn't win multiple MAC Tourney Titles with Zeke, his career would've been viewed differently. The lack of NCAA Tournament success takes a bit away from him (somewhat unfairly).

Duh, should've known it was Freeman. I tell myself his number will be in the rafters someday, yet neglected to think of him (partly because he hasn't been on noteworthy teams). Good call.

Is Cheese the 2nd Top 10?

And the best we could do was KJ Walton? Oof. In other news, Ohio State lost tonight. Beautiful.

60%

How has Convo attendance been?

I figured this would be his next move. I believe he interviewed with LAC a couple years ago. Thanks to that not working out, we suffered through another season of two of crap, which allowed us to hire Joe Moorhead. Really wishing Tom well. DI HC wasn't his calling, but maybe he'll catch on in the NFL. He seems like a big brain, considering Manning & Staley think highly of him. Also glad to hear the University is saving money. Any idea how much is being saved?

What in the wide wide world of sports is that type of PCCC logic? I think this team pulls this one out on Friday. No way do the stats from the last matchup occur again (minus maybe the turnover differential). FG: AKR 35.2 - KSUcks 46.3 3PT: AKR 16.7 - KSUcks 40.9 REB: AKR 29 - KSUcks 40 Does KSUcks bring their band of degenerates to stand in one of the upper bleacher sections? Or do they spare us their presence and further show that traditional college basketball atmosphere is endangered?

What's the criteria for this? Akron is the only G5 school in sight, and I didn't get the impression the K & P were highly regarded nationally (I was impressed personally). I'm not complaining, as this graphic will make its back-channel rounds and showcase Akron.

Anyone else notice Wynn get the ol' head rub by Groce after that defensive play? There's a reason this team plays hard for Groce. He loves these guys. Glad to see Wynn finally start to get it in recent games. Keep it up. Friday is a biggee.

Groce is lucky he doesn't have hair already. It would've been gone with this season if he did. A win is a win is a win. It's 10:07pm and Can't State Still Sucks.

This is a complete lapse in basketball IQ. RUN THE DAMN BASELINE TO INBOUND THE BALL AFTER A SCORE!

Hey, that's Mr. Group Of Five Bottom Feeder to you, pal.

Can we play this one with head lamps? Asking for a friend.

I think it's the eye test for me. The quality of basketball in the MAC isn't very strong this year (heck, college basketball in general is harder to watch than usual). I don't look at Buffalo like I did a few years ago - capable of consistently beating teams outside of the Top 10. Toledo and OU aren't on that level either. The bottom of the MAC is as bad as I can ever remember, too.

The free throw shooting from that team... They were destined... They were the Chosen Ones... 😭

I didn't know where to post this, but this is somewhat of a "where do I expect Akron to be" thread... Caris LaVert just got traded to the Cavaliers. The 6'6" Columbus, OH, product will be a home-team player in Ohio for what was almost the 3rd time in his career. I say almost, because he signed his NLI to play for Groce's OU team before decommitting when Groce left for Illinois. Groce, at OU, had 3 NCAA tournament wins in 4 seasons. Following the 3rd win (which resulted in a trip to the Sweet Sixteen), Groce was hired by Illinois. That Sweet Sixteen team returned in 2012-13, and was poised to add Mr. LaVert to that already-successful squad. When he was hired away, I told my dad, "Thank goodness. Groce was about to build a dynasty at OU." COVID killed the quick momentum Groce had rebuilt at Akron. We were poised to make a run in the 2020 NCAA tournament (assuming we would've won the MAC tourney) with that incredible squad led by LCJ, Cheese, Banks, and X1.0. We had the guard last season in LCJ, but lost the supporting pieces (I'm assuming COVID put a damper on the recruiting process as well). Now we have some nice pieces, but are young and lack that killer guard. I think this upcoming recruiting class fixes that issue, and we'll have this same team for a couple years because of the COVID eligibility rules. Given this information and what we're seeing this season, "progress" to me looks like getting back to what we were building with the 2019-2020 team, which was similar to what Groce had built with his DJ Cooper-led squad at OU. That squad was able to land a commitment from a player of Caris LaVert's caliber. I want to see that here (plus the NCAA Tourney wins).

EDIT: I just realized I put this in a football thread. I apologize. There was a "Progress" thread I thought for basketball, and when I searched for it, this came up. Thought it was the basketball one. I was wondering why Moorhead was mentioned in a basketball thread, but figured it had something to do with overall success for the University. Whoops. Post has been moved to a basketball thread. Happy Monday. (Insert vintage tomato hitting face emoji)

This. I actually like the JAR from an atmosphere standpoint. The low ceilings and closer crowd create a LOUD environment when the JAR is hopping. The upper level seats on the sidelines could easily be brought in, connecting them with the lower level seats. I'd be interested to see how they bring the endzone seats closer in the upper level. One of the even bigger questions is how do they work around the support columns in the corners? Is it as simple as not including corner seating? Can the support be re-engineered? Ditching the awful bench seating in the upper level would certainly reduce capacity from 5500. However, how many of those seats can be regained with connecting both levels, especially in the endzones and maybe corners? Can we get to 6-6.5k with the JAR's footprint? I'd love to talk to a stadium engineer to see what they think is possible. Keeping the JAR means the city loses out on some events, similar to what Canton is able to host. But that's the city's problem. Long story short - I like the JAR for a college atmosphere. Just make it better (if possible).

A new arena could happen if football turns around (both performance and attendance). Until then, I'm with @1981 grad - I don't see it happening. COVID killed college basketball as a whole, especially Akron & the MAC.

Expanding on @NWAkron, Miami used to have a strong, consistent basketball program under the late, great Charlie Coles. He was always on the sidelines wearing a red sweater. But the sweaters didn't stop there. They were a staple in Cleveland for the MAC tournament, as it was a sea of red sweaters worn by older Miami fans during Miami's inevitable quarterfinals appearance in Cleveland. Brick U is my nickname for the school, to further demonstrate the amount of money involved with that school. Harvard of the MAC.

15 pt. game. What's the T for?