Let'sGoZips94

You would be surprised. There's a reason the NBA is cozying up closer and closer to China - these international leagues are paying very well from top to bottom pretty much. Basketball is way bigger internationally than it used to be.

Guys transferring out that were fringe players these last 2 years to begin with, should point to the program moving in a positive direction. Directional Carolinas get me almost as excited as Directional Michigans, but NC Central is actually a decent OOC opponent with all of their recent tourney experience.

The Roo on the thumbs is awesome. The field is coming along very nicely as well. Wow.

This is one heck of an effort by the Zips.

Back to double digits after a couple quick buckets by WVU. Damn.

Every time I hear the WVU announcer say Sherman, I can't help but think...

Great, aggressive start to the 2nd half.

33-47 at the half. Not bad. Make a few more shots, cut down on the turnovers, and this is a game.

3 fouls on their McDonald's All American.

1350 on the radio is airing the Akron game. 1350 on iHeart is airing the Hoban game. Listening to the WVU radio on their website. Reece had a block then scored. The WVU announcer, "Blocked from behind, RUDELY, by Reece."

I'm getting premium content. Tried to sign up, it was charging me $0, but then wouldn't process the payment.

Outstanding comments from Alford. Very respectable.

This is about as accurate an assessment as you can make. Well said. When you look at the past couple of seasons, we've been a couple made shots away from flipping the records. The biggest thing I appreciate from Groce's teams thus far is their commitment to the defensive side of the ball. I think we took for granted last year what it meant to have a top 25 defense IN THE COUNTRY. It's an aspect of basketball that is quietly disappearing as AAU continues to promote offensive stat sheets over basketball fundamentals. Hopefully the shots fall this season as we continue to commit to high-intensity defense. We'll see tonight pretty quickly if this team has bought in from the get-go, or if we'll need 2 months of OOC basketball to develop the commitment to the fundamentals we've seen in recent seasons. If WVU doesn't get you amped up, sheesh. Wow. Thanks for that insight. I wonder if other coaches trust previous players to stay through a coaching change when they take over the program. I'd have to imagine Parrish was one of the key pieces.

It's about damn time.

Since you brought it up, let's spread some good vibes and listen to the joy in Frenchie's voice.

Speaking of which...

Quite the program Simon has built at Medina.

3 words will define this game. Conditioning. Composure. Effort. I'm assuming West Virginia will continue to roll with their Press Virginia defensive scheme, meaning we need to be composed enough to not turn the ball over a gazillion times. On top of that, I'd like to see us truly push the ball like we supposedly did against Malone and have done all off-season. We can't afford to get tired out; that will only lead to mistakes and mental breakdowns. Lastly - and this basically goes without saying - we need to out-effort WVU. Loose balls, rebounds, etc. The little things are a product of effort, and the little things are what lead to couches being burned on porches out of anger. X, Cheese, and LCJ are going to be MASSIVE key players. Get er done, Zips!

There really wasn't much on him. Very little-to-no recruiting activity, limited press, and his highlights were largely from earlier in his high school career. I think the general census on the board was that he might be a diamond in the rough, but that he was raw and would need developing - both physically and skill wise.

Who is standing out?

"Excitement is building." - @NWAkron (probably)

Personally, Akron football at this particular moment is unwatchable. The offense is horrid and the defense is porous. I don't know if it's a talent-to-scheme-fit problem or a coaching/game plan problem, but it's plain garbage right now. With that being said, when I watch Arth coach, he doesn't come off as a guy that will be complacent in his work. He has a lot of passion. I think the jump to DI FBS has come as a shock to him, but I also think he'll make the necessary corrections next year to change that. Bowden was fired because he became complacent and dug in. If I'm wrong, the football program and University as a whole are in deep, DEEP trouble.

Groce mentioned in one of the interviews with Chad that we're playing fast/uptempo on offense. Has anybody seen a practice? Are we playing an aggressive uptempo offense where we're constantly driving to the basket, or are we running down the floor and pulling up or kicking out for a jump shot? How's the shooting ability on this team? The roster make-up screams DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE with what looks to be some solidly built guards (size, control, speed wise), but our Achilles since Groce took over has been shot-making.

Same. It's hands down the best sports package available, especially for the price.

More like Christmas Eve. Today's Nov. 1st - the start of Christmas for some people. Not to mention NEO decided to dress as Winter/Christmas Season for Halloween. I love college basketball season, but I could easily do without the winter weather.