Let'sGoZips94

Where is the heart-eyes emoji when you need it? I think I'm in love. By the way, to everyone fretting about this kid's size, DJ Cooper (whom thrived under Groce) was 6' 175 lbs... in boots and soaking wet. Let's see what the kid can do.

Anything around 6' is solid, average height. His body looks like it has some maturing yet to do, so I'm not worried. Get him in a college weight room, and let him go to town. I'm most excited about his selflessness and vision on the hardwood. He looks like a real facilitator.

Canton is working on building up the HoF and surrounding area. The plans for the retired player village will be a HUGE economic boost. They're also aiming to host the NFL Draft in the upcoming years (which is where it should be held EVERY year in my opinion). Nearly every penny they put into the area is well-warranted in my opinion. Not sure Akron would have NEAR the ROI if they built a new arena. Now, if the program starts winning some of these NCAA Tourney games and such, then we'll talk.

Amen.

If that's the type of player we target, I'd want to use 4 years on him. It was an honor to have all 3 in an Akron uniform. They all represented the University VERY well.

Anybody have any insight on who Groce is still in contact with?

Bummer.

I would agree... if this were Noah Robotham or Antino Jackson. Neither of those guys had the physical tools to take over a game or make a real impact around the basket. Their impact was either via a pass/assist or a jump shot, and neither one had exceptional vision to earn them the title floor general (Robotham was a floor general his freshman year, but was never the same after his injury). Malcolm has the physical tools to take over a game inside the paint. He can drive and has the physique to bang with the bigs, still putting up the And-1. In the sense of a true floor general, I would agree with you that enough team chemistry cannot be built in a single season for a floor-general-PG to have a real effect. We'll see what he brings compared to the rest of the MAC, but put me on the side that says he'll be a game-changer.

Here are his 2014-15 Game Log stats. He had multiple double-digit performances against bigger schools. Who knows what the reason was for the statistical decline the following season, but the kid can play. Oregon St. might be a lower program performance wise, but they play MUCH better competition and have actually won some big games. As far as the writer's claim that he has MAC First Team potential, this kid is a physical 6'2" guard coming from a major conference. We're talking about the MAC here, which just had a mass exodus of talent, and is already a middle-of-the-road mid-major conference at best. Who knows what he's been doing since the 2014-15 season, but to predict he's a potential First Team MAC player isn't far-fetched.

This was a HUGE get by Groce.

And with the mass exodus of talent in the MAC, I think I'd rather hold the remaining scholarships for 2018-19. I think we'll be quite competitive this year with the roster he has assembled, although I still want to add Duvivrier (or however you spell his name).

Very cool video.

With Aaron Jackson leaving, we have a spot for Duvivier, right?

Wow...

It's not just that some of us wanted to make the tournament, it's that we expected to make the tournament. For some of us, the ultimate goal is the NCAA Tournament, and preferably an NCAA Tourney WIN. Barring injuries, anything short is a failed season in my eyes. The regular season wasn't locked up until late February due to us leaking oil. And by "struggle to lock that up" I mean not only did we leak oil down the stretch, but we didn't blow teams out. Too many close games for my comfort. A win is a win, but we struggled to win a lot. Our front line was Big Dog, and only Big Dog. Kwan faded further and further towards the perimeter as the season went along, and became "3" happy. He didn't have much of a post presence - eventually not having much of a presence at all. I think we'll be just fine moving forward. Again, the reason you noticed Big Dog so much was because of the day-in-day-out same old Dambrot strategy - inside/outside. He fit that system well, but that system didn't get us very far.

Praying he and Ivey don't tear their ACLs having a dunk contest.

I don't think anyone is trying to downplay Big Dog's importance to the team last year. The point that is trying to be made is Big Dog was the best player on a team that LARGELY underachieved (due to the coaching/style of play) in a conference that was down, a conference in which we didn't win the MAC Tournament, and struggled to win the regular season title. If Dambrot were still here, yes, he would be a huge loss. But with Groce, Big Dog's production can easily be replicated due to a different style of play. With Big Dog/Kwan, we didn't make the NCAA Tournament once, and struggled in the MAC Tournament. Whether that's due to coaching, surrounding talent, etc., who knows.

So we have 1 scholarship available for Malcolm Duvivier, if he so chooses to come here?

You wish.

Unbelievable. Groce

Incredible. Loving what Groce has done, and thanks to Dalton, we still have 1 more scholarship!

Another scholarship for Groce.

He's a dimer.

Heck of a get.

I like it. What's interesting about Groce's approach, is he's targeting talent that is both still available out of high school for whatever reason, and talent that is looking to get out of the shadows of larger programs. You see this more with football programs than you do with basketball, but it can be even more effective in basketball due to the lesser number of bodies on the roster/greater impact ratio.