72 Roo

At the pre-season basketball event on campus in the student union Bowen and Josh spent a lot of time with me during the early cocktails portion of the night. They were both extraordinarily nice, positive and kind. No pampered jock attitude from either. I became a fan of both. I wish Josh had found a home here, but he is moving on. I wish him well and regret it didn't work out at UA regardless of the reasons.

This was a great year. Thanks and appreciation to all involved. As we look to next season there is one thing to keep in mind. The Zips keep metrics on every practice. Before he got hurt Mahaffey consistently graded out the best. He may solve the guard/wing issues we have for height, athleticism and scoring ability. No doubt, though, we need a 6'10"+ presence in the paint and more height at PF. Groce will solve it. He knows all of this and more.

He's being called on to sacrifice for the team. NWAkron, take it like a man!

The talk in Cleveland by guys who are super closet the program, like Bud, was that a big was headed to Akron. No one would say who, but hey said we are very close to getting him. Stay tuned.

This a good post that shows your support for the program. Nonetheless it is headed for a rebuild again. Losing Mobley and possibly Brown adds to the loss of a foundation to build on. Compounding that is the questionable return of injured players and players with personal issues and you have little consistency, chemistry or culture. Groce caught lightning in a bottle when he brought in 9 new players, but his culture and tradition were firmly established and unchanging. Ryan does not have that advantage. I hope he rights this ship, but it is no knock on the program to cite reality. We welcome being proved wrong.

Like it or not we are already there in seeing players chasing money and forgetting about the benefits of staying at UA. It is called football.

Toledo is toast. They lose too much talent and are left with a coach who has not been able to adapt and make Toledo a good destination for transfers. Any good high school players he gets will eventually leave in the portal after they have developed into players.

Goodbye next season. Welcome another rebuild and a below .500 record overall and few wins in the MAC.

It is clear, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the road to the MAC championship now goes thru Akron.

Anyone having trouble accessing their tickets purchased thru Gozips.com. I have a receipt from the site but do not see where I can go to see the tickets. Supposedly they are sent electronically, but I have yet to see them in my email or in my Seat Geek account. Are they being sent tomorrow? Any help would be appreciated. Go Zips!

That is information that is privileged due to the donors requesting anonymity. I will honor my commitment to the source and not go into specifics. Regardless, there is a concerted effort to do something, anything about the JAR.

I agree that the JAR needs upgraded, but I don't think that is needed to keep Groce. He knows Camden Stockton is working to line up donors. Regardless there is no money to get the job done now. To do the job right the estimates range from 30-40 M. A new arena starts at 60 M so why do the upgrade at that level? Instead there are some donors who are being lined up who will give 5-10 M to make basic improvements to the present JAR.

There is genuine optimism when you look at this schedule. But the MAC has got to have its head examined to have put one of the best rivalries in the conference on November 11, a Tuesday night. You would think that they could learn from the basketball rivalry and put this game in mid-October so it could be allowed to grow. Before you get all excited and jump on me for UA and Kent being two dismal programs I get your skepticism. Yet despite two poor teams the game is well attended, the rivalry is intense, these are two big alumni bases and the Wagon Wheel trophy is the best in the MAC. What I'm saying is that this game has greater upside than most traditional rivalries in the MAC. Give it a chance with a better date. That's not too much to ask.

I realize when you play with all gas, no brakes you risk turnovers, but tonight was ridiculous. That cannot be allowed. Nate and Tavari seemed to be sleep-walking like they didn't care which led to unforced TO's. 18 total in the game. 13 in the second half. Even my hero Shammah made a bonehead unforced TO. Just score on half of the second half TO's and we continue the rout of the first half. Please John, coach this crap out of the team.

I have been critical of the state of our track program, but winning an indoor championship proves me wrong. Congratulations to coach Kendra Reimer-Gonzales for capping a good season with a championship trophy. Well done.

Do you think Joe would take him back considering our crying need for DT's? I don't know how I feel about it. On one hand I want to say you have already told us you don't want to be here, but ......

Sad to say, but my wife did not even recognize who Enrique Freeman is. The family had to do an immediate intervention. She can accept cards and limited visits, but no phone calls, at the Zippy Home for Tranquility and Serenity. If you see her say hi and be kind. She has a lot of inner Zipness to awaken. As for me and the family, we are too busy to visit tonight. We'll be at the JAR.

Clark I know you are speaking of his potential this year, but i can't help but think he is a great candidate for NIL money in the portal. He is an emerging post player who we may not see in the MAC next year.

Got to agree with this. No doubt Nate is a super talent. He should be 1st team All MAC. But that doesn't excuse him from the outright carelessness he has with the ball. He has far too many unforced TO's. He has to work on this area of the game if we are to play beyond the MAC championship game. Better teams will take advantage of his TO's and turn them into points. That could be the difference in a big dance game.

Arth's greatest claim to fame was that at John Carroll they beat Mount Union. True he had a good record at JCU with one year being outstanding. That's not a pedigree of winning. When he got to UTC he was out of his depth already.

While I feel George is a fine person who no doubts loves UA I have a huge concern regarding an ability to hire coaches. George and Williams made the hire of Arth. That should tell us a lot. When they were a few weeks from announcing their hire I asked him what are you looking for? He said they wanted someone who would energize the community and someone who would bring excitement to the program. I asked how about someone who had a track record of success and experience. He said their choice would have all that. We all know what we got.

It's already there.

I watched the entire game to see exactly what state of condition this team was in. I get that they are dealing with unprecedented injuries and player issues, but they don't play good basketball. I don't equate winning basketball with good basketball. I was focused on how they played and what they were coached to do. Neither were impressive. Maybe they can turn it around next season, I hope so. But I saw nothing in this game that indicated the program has a solid footing.

This is hilarious. Perhaps if you stated it 20 more times it would sink in. The MAC is stupid, but not that stupid. They have no incentive, and every negative outcome, if they let NIU minor sports back in. And, oh by the way, there is the small matter of being legally bound by their own contract with members to be barred from even considering this. Ain't gonna happen.

The cupboard is no longer bare when it comes to the women's team. Now coach Jen has to show that her coaching can make a difference. If that happens we will be competitive in the MAC, which is our next step, of many, up. I hope it happens.