Let'sGoZips94

Hate these types of takes. Go look at the first page of this thread. The MAC is being DECIMATED by the Portal. Who knows who comes back eventually, but at the moment, Miami OH is the favorite and then it's a bunch - A BUNCH - of question marks. The only returning players so far from the All MAC First, Second, & Teams are Elmer and Skaljac. Trust in Ford and Wentz.

With the announcements from Young and Mahaffey, here is what we're looking at... Graduated Amani Lyles Shammah Scott Evan Mahaffey Tavari Johnson Portal Eric Mahaffey Sharron Young Returning (for now) Chabi Barre (6'10" F; R-Jr) Rich Brisco (6'8" F; R-Fr) Ognjen Stankovic (6'8" W; Fr) Josh Henderson (6'5" G; R-Fr) Marvin Musiime-Kamali (6'6" W; R-So) Zach Halligan (6'5" W; R-So) Cody Head (6'3" G; R-Jr) Bowen Hardman (6'3" G; Sr) Tai Perkins (6' G; R-Fr) HS Incoming Devan Christion (6'9" F) RJ Jones (6'4" G) Jashawn Ladd (6'4" G) Some thoughts... 1) It'll be interesting to see if any of the HS commits de-commit, which would be risky for them in the NIL/Open Portal landscape 2) In terms of maintaining the culture, Halligan and MMK are the most important. They've each been here ~3 years, they know the expected effort, they've seen what the program can do for players, and they seem to be great teammates. 3) What's currently remaining is actually quite respectable. There are several question marks of course (skill, experience, etc.) but that's pretty good size - especially in the backcourt - with several scholarships to offer still.

Got my hat today. Very high quality and comfortable. Looks nice.

After seeing the video, this is the least shocking result.

Bingo. There's so much focus on the money that's spent, but the actual issues occur with the free movement and lack of compensation for schools that have their players plucked. Until someone with the power has the moral cajones to put aside personal financial gain and fix the fundamental flaws with the transfer portal, the money will continue to be spent at absurd rates. However, that rarely translates to any sort of guarantees. The Guardians have the lowest payroll in baseball and just took 2/3 from the Billionaire Dodgers - the actual Billionaire Dodgers, not just what Senderoff sees in his nightmares. System, culture, and coaching are the most important components. Always have been, always will be.

Depends on who the coach is.

Interesting. I don't know if I'd blame that guy for spreading the rumor. I don't think he's the one that started it cause I heard the same thing from a couple other people (except the Europe part).

I think the only way I could see that mattering is if they have an opinion on how Groce was treated by Nemer/the admin at the end, but they were probably going to follow Groce anyways.

Not sure where Nemer was or if this has any effect on the players, but I also heard that he was not at the QF/SF games. Have not confirmed that, nor do I know exactly what effect it has had. Interesting that Ford seems so excited about the job and donations are allegedly hot despite a potential rift in alignment.

The direct University fund.

The issue is nobody is going to do a damn thing until they can figure out how to not limit their financial gain with the much needed structure.

The admin needs to make sure they stay out of Wentz's way. Embrace what he wants to do because it obviously yields results.

Wouldn't mind him.

I like that he left the door open to return to Akron. The system is broken with the Wild West, lawless Portal environment right now, but I don't fault the players for capitalizing on the $$$ out there right now. What Eric is doing is the prudent thing to do. Here's to hoping he decides Akron is his best option, although I would not be surprised if he follows Groce.

Pretty crazy that all of the FTRC gear is as affordable if not more affordable than most Akron gear and is typically better quality. Plus, the Fear the Roo logo has always been a favorite of mine.

They were $30 + shipping. Didn't someone say they had over 1000 orders? That's $12k+ based on your cost-per-hat number. Not too shabby.

Bummed about that. He was a disaster for them.

Don't fully disagree but Perry is very talented. Showed a lot of promise. I do wonder if he could be a target of ours. Same high school as Nate Johnson.

Big blow for Miami OH. Elmer and the Euro are the only key pieces left.

Another one from OU.

Wonder if this could be a Portal target. Played for Dustin's brother, looks like he plays defense AND can shoot.