72 Roo

I'm trying to be a nicer, kinder 72. It's a constant battle. Being a smart ass is so much more fun.

Do you need a hug?

Thank God you clarified that B & G. Up until now I thought that UA was orchestrating the invasion of Ukraine.

Yeah, I did say he would not find a better situation. I was wrong. Butler is better for him if he's willing to work. I think he left because he thought he could do better. He did.

When Ali Ali entered the transfer portal I posted that I doubted he would find an overall better situation than UA offered. I decided to revisit my opinion by rating all the issues that I could imagine which go into a decision to enter the portal. For those of you who find my posts the highlight of your day (no one that I know of) I"ll cut to it. I believe Ali bettered his situation and I was wrong. Here's how I rated the issues to transfer. Conference/Competition - Better, he's in the Big East Facility - Better, Hinkle Fieldhouse, capacity 9,200, great history, avid fans Coaching - Equal to Worse, Groce sought Ali out, Matta is more focused on rebuilding and has no commitment to him. He's a "filler" for Matta Academics (as if Athletes care) - Better, Butler is a fine private school Proximity to Home - Better, Family can easily get to every home game Playing Time - Worse, Matta will not give him 31 minutes per game Team Chemistry - Same, Ali will enjoy wherever he is. He doesn't build chemistry , but he's not a cancer in the locker room either NCAA Playoffs - Worse, Butler is a dumpster fire and will take a while to rebuild NIL - Probably Better, Butler has the attention of the Indianapolis market. More opportunities will be there vs Akron Pressure to Perform - Greater at Butler. He will be expected to contribute now. There will be no excuse to evaporate like against UCLA Girlfriend - I have no idea if she is transferring to Butler. If so it's better for him Post Graduate Opportunities - Better, He is an Indiana guy playing at an Indiana school. The alumni/business network there will be better for him. That's how I see it. You may not agree. You may know better. But today was a slow day so this filled some time. Can't wait for football, soccer and basketball. Go Zips!

Perhaps I'm cynical, but I don't expect much out of the holdovers on DLine from last year. Joe is going to expect a whole lot more than they are accustomed. I hope they make the transition. If not the portal can be their friend.

I about crapped when i heard Joe say the DLine was actually getting after it. How long has it been that we had zero line pressure? I love that he is getting guys in that can create pressure and force the QB out of his comfort zone. The future looks bright. IJWT.

If ever there was half-hearted praise this is it. The Zips can do better. When they do they will receive better praise that is not tongue in cheek. Earn it Zips! You can, and should, do better.

Damn. Did we play well?

He did play and did quite well until he came up against the famous kryptonite defense of coach Lex Luther. It was ugly. A little known fact is that on Luther's staff was a young rookie assistant called Satan. After learning all he could from Luther Satan changed his name to Sabin and the rest is history. If you want facts you will find them here at ZNO.

Lots of folks disagreeing with me. That's OK, but I'm still not convinced that BVP is good for us. Groce does best when guys are in his system 2-3 years. I don't believe he helps us that much. In fact I don't think he is quick enough to play in Groce's trapping ZeeFence. Keep helping me understand the error of my ways. We all want the Zips to excel. On second thought, the hell with excel. Let's kick everyone's ass!

I hope not. We can do better, especially considering he's a one and done.

B & G, you are spot on. Ali is a good talent , no doubt. At Akron he was under the protective arm of Groce who knew his strengths and weaknesses. Groce was addressing his areas for improvement while giving him lots of PT. He's not going to get that somewhere else. Your post captured reality. BTW, he was not offered before entering the transfer portal. That tampering which can get you heavy sanctions by the NCAA. No coach is going to risk it.

I've been told she is not returning. She and Hanna are the poster couple for underachievement. Guthrie will invest when he has the right leadership in place at each program.

I did not see a notice that Hanna was fired. It was common knowledge that Hanna was gone after this season. He was a guy that was not well liked in the athletic dept. He never owned his performance, always blaming others and circumstances. Guthrie had tired of his act a long time ago, but gave him time to change his (Guthrie's) mind. Hanna merely reenforced the decision to part ways as soon as possible. Any change is a welcome change, but Guthrie tells all his coaches that if you can't consistently get to the top three in the MAC your job is not safe. I like those expectations.

Good! The university and the city have much to gain by cleaning up Exchange Street and making it more friendly for the public. Look at what Kent has done with redeveloping their main drag. It is very nice and a destination for people after work and weekends. Exchange Street could be the same with forethought and imagination. The university has so many events that can draw people. With a nice Exchange Street with shops and restaurants those people will stay. The street improvement is the first step.

You are probably right about Gross. As far as our John Groce is concerned he has already turned done offers.

Catdaddyp, I love the position analysis you are providing. They are first class and addictive for any Zip junky. FWIW I'd like to offer one suggestion. Can you include the player's year and if he is returning or a transfer. There is such needed and welcomed change to our roster I am unsure of which players are new (high school and transfers) and which are holdovers from previous years. Just a thought. Thanks for joining the board.

B & G, you overlooked the TE position because for years our coaches have overlooked it. This coach is determined to use all his weapons. In Joe We Trust.

I liked Aziz as a person and teammate. I liked the potential in Aziz. Groce knew his capabilities and I thought Aziz would figure more into our plans for 22-23. But I am also sure Groce had a meeting with Aziz and explained that more playing time would only come with significant improvement. I think Aziz took that into account and decided he wanted to play more and the transfer portal gave him his opportunity to find out where that might be. I'm thinking that he will find a starter's position with a lesser team and lesser conference or he will be a backup at a P5 and get little more PT than he would have with us. This is a time when we have our mojo shaken, but as I've said before it also presents opportunity, opportunity to get better. Groce knows that. He will take advantage of the scholarship openings to find a big that can move, play ZeeFence and score. I'm OK with that. The sky is not falling. We've taken a hit, but we can emerge better.

I was still basking in the afterglow of NCAA tourney qualification and an almost/should - have win. Then this gut punch came around. How could any player reward Groce with telling our coach he deserves better? This is selfish. This is the product of bad advise. This is already yesterday's news. I'm over it and looking forward to what Groce does to fill the spot. Ali will land at a bigger school or one that will supposedly give him more publicity. But will he get better? I doubt it. Groce developed Ali. John tolerated his back-downs, his 15 seconds of dribble-dribble, his turnovers and his immaturity. Why? Because Groce was the best teacher to coach him out of it while also giving him playing time. I don't think Ali will get either at another school. I feel bad for Groce most of all. He was rewarded with ego driven selfishness. But out of this arises opportunity. Opportunity to put together a better team, one that buys into being a Zip. One that loves teamism and ZeeFence. Our program will continue to get better with better talent, facilities and fans. All Ali wants could have been achieved here. Bad advise leads to bad decisions. Now he will live with it. Ali can do whatever he wants. So he did. Ali who? I already forgotten. In Groce WeTrust!

BVP was always a pain to play against, but I think we can do better, especially for a one and done player. I think the staff can find a better addition. I guess we will all have to stay tuned.

Catdaddyp: "Its pretty clear this staff is targeting mobile quarterbacks. My concern is the ability to hang on to him as more offers are likely to come if he has a big senior season." First, welcome to this site. It's good to have you. No matter the sport there is a lot of passion for the Zips here. Your quote above tells me you are well on your way to becoming a typical Zip fan in that despite our success we start worrying about what can go wrong. We are working on expecting success no matter what as soccer, track, swimming & diving and basketball programs have shown. Give us time with football as we have been thru great trauma. But we will get there. The journey is shaping up to be fun. In Joe We Trust.

Add to that exodus women's volleyball, a case study in mediocrity. Addition by subtraction again.

I enjoy reading the Captain's posts, even when he takes issue with me. This last one was super until he wrote about Groce being lured away. I truly hate to think of him leaving. He is a perfect fit for us. But he needs to do what he sees best. Until then I will try to appreciate every season we have him, but Lord would I love to see him here for a long time.