Let'sGoZips94

KJ Walton is one heck of a get. 54% FG because he gets to the hoop. Massive change of pace guy for this offense. The men's basketball program is way more efficient. Men's Basketball: $4000 raised for 0 National Championships. Men's Soccer: $20k+ raised for 1 National Championship. Final Fours are even more daunting in efficiency...

Not to get off-topic in this thread, but this is exactly how it should be. Coaches can leave a program without having to sit out the next season, so players should be able to as well. The one-time cap is nice as well in preventing the constant transferring of an individual athlete.

Bud Light's got you covered.

According to Gainesville and Kentucky fan articles, the transfer sit-out rule has been waived for at least one more year. So we should see Mr. Castaneda on the floor this fall for the Zips, dressed, and dropping buckets in-game.

So never?

I would've been pissed had the Browns hired Jeff Fisher instead of Stefanski. Accurate comparison.

If he's a good ref then his Akron games need investigated for the amount of crap that occurred.

Big get. Groce loves his guards, and this kid looks like the type of player that will thrive in Groce's system. LCJ posted this transfer to his IG. I wonder if they know each other? I'd still like a 6'7"-6'8" Stretch Forward transfer, but we are going to be an absolute unit next year with our guards and front court.

This is Groce's first legitimate class. Other years have been littered with transfers, but this is his first true freshman class. I'm stoked. I think the program is the healthiest it's been in years talent wise.

Criminal how badly he was robbed in 2019-20 of truly showcasing himself on the national stage.

Perfect summation of the situation. Do we know the transfer/open-roster-spots situations around the MAC? I'd imagine teams like Buffalo and OU won't have much room to add without some end-of-bench turnover. I don't care what PCCC does as long as they have Pinky at the helm. Toledo will return to obscurity with their veteran roster departing (keep an eye on any shady tactics from Coach K).

Can we add a Vander Plas - that stretch 4 that is a serious threat from deep but also isn't afraid to slash and drive to the basket?

I would like to think the inevitable Transfer Portal craziness this offseason has our coaches focused on adding more developed talent. We have a young backcourt and frontcourt next year (basically the team is younger), so adding an upperclassman transfer from a P5 school could provide additional leadership and skill. Duvivier comes to mind when thinking of those attributes and qualifications. Oregon State to Akron, and he kept Akron more competitive than they should've been with that roster in Groce's first year. The roster is WAY better now than it was then, but the same type of boost could be found.

Not one I saw coming. I really liked Marshall's hustle and attitude.

I saw this thread get bumped and thought it was going to be a departure post. Incredibly good news. 5 more seasons means 2-3 trips minimum to the Big Dance, and probably 3-4 NCAA Tourney wins in there. I have no doubts.

Question. Would marketing rise to the level of the athletic programs (i.e. soccer and basketball success), or would the athletic programs drop to the level of our marketing department? Because our marketing department is atrocious.

2019-20 was stolen from us. Not surprised whatsoever by this from OU. Boals is a helluva coach, and Preston/VP are a phenomenal 1-2 combo. This is why so many of us spoke so highly of the Boals hire and OU, @NWAkron.

Love it. Sucks to suck. Path of least resistance for the Zips.

In the Buffalo game thread, I believe someone said they aren't sure what Buffalo's weakness is. I didn't want to jinx anything, so I kept my mouth shut, but I almost responded with Whitesell. Buffalo is the most talented team in the MAC and should barely lose a game in the MAC, let alone lose by double digits. He's a mediocre coach at best. Wow. Buffalo got in on pedigree from their NCAA tourney performances the last few years. Amazing. Someone took a Dambrot OOC schedule and made a postseason tournament out of it. What a waste of time for BG, especially with Turner, Diggs, and Plowden being seniors (usually you can justify a tourney like this if you're trying to get a young group more experience).

2 seasons ago, LCJ had support with Cheese, Banks, and X. As much credit as we give LCJ for these past 2 seasons, this past season exposed how important Cheese and X especially were. With that being said, Clarke is now the PG. He looked good this year in his semi-limited time, and I'm excited for the future of this program with him at PG. I think he'll have more help than LCJ had. We'll have more size and more scoring production with next year's lineup. One can only assume that Bondaogo will be the center until he graduates. That's 7 ft. vs 6'7" Reece, and shifts Freeman to the PF position, which his height fits better (6'7") and gives him an advantage in my opinion. Ali (6'8") is your starting F at 6'8", Trimble (6'2") is your starting 2G, and Clarke is your starting 1G. That's pretty formidable height wise, and you have scoring threats with 4 out of the 5 positions guaranteed (no idea what Bondaogo is like on offense). Your bench is deeper than it was this year. Wynn is probably your 1st man off the bench. He really came on at the end of the year, and can spell 2 positions - guard and forward at 6'6". Tribble is your 2G specialist (similar to Banks - lock down D, effort, and some scoring here and there, especially as a slasher) and Dawson is probably your 8 or 9 man. I like Marshall a lot, and will be your first PF/C off the bench. The X Factors are Currie and the incoming class - Mitchell, Johnson, Kalle. Does Currie show up, leave, or stay hidden at the end of the bench? I think the 3 freshman can all come in and contribute right away, throwing a wrench potentially in my above projections. Mitchell and Johnson scored at will in high school - will that continue at the DI college level? What is Kalle's game like? No matter how you slice it, I think we'll be more talented, bigger, and deeper than we were this year. I'm very excited, and believe we will be at the top of the MAC with OU and Buffalo.

Whoa... Slow your roll. Sincerely, People who like summer and warm weather

Wynn. 100%.

Face-guarding, weren't they?

I don't think they did. They had M'Balla on the ball, meaning he wasn't guarding the basket, and by the looks of Ali and the play development, it looked like it was LCJ 3 or bust. I never saw Freeman or the other big in the game make any move toward the basket.