wadszip

I know this wants a great Arkansas team, and I know that Arkansas (even with the 27 wins, SEC title game appearance and NCAA round of 32, last year) hasn't been the powerhouse they once were. But as an overall program perspective, this was a huge win. Arkansas is easily a top 25 all-time program when looking at NCAA tourney history: Total appearances: 30 (tied with Arizona, Georgetown and Illinois for 15th most) NCAA wins: 41 (22nd all time) NCAA Final Fours: 6 (tied with Cincinnati and Oklahoma State for 10th most. NCAA titles: 1 (without adding it up, probably only 30 or schools have won a title) From a program prestige factor, this is easily the No. 1 win in the KD era (and I'm guessing the best ever for UA). Funny thing is, this team can top that on Sunday if they can somehow beat Villanova, which has just as rich of a tradition, and is top 10 caliber this year. For Villanova: Total appearances: 34 (tied with Notre Dame for 9th) NCAA wins: 47 (tied with Goegetown for 13th) Final Fours: 3 (tied with a bunch of schools for 27th) Titles: 1 (like Arkansas) Note: Villanova had a fourth final four vacated. The Zips are one game away from doing something pretty historic, beating two of the game's all-time programs (both are easily top 25 all-time), on the road, in a span of five days. I don't know about anybody else, but I would easily trade this type of opportunity every year vs. two home games against SWAC or MEAC schools. BTW, here is some national pub from the Arkansas win: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25380564/arkansas-finishes-out-rough-day-by-losing-to-akron-in-fayetteville http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/arkansas--dreadful-day-includes-losses-on-and-off-the-floor-144904159.html Both CBS and Yahoo felt it was big enough to report on with columnists. True, the topic was how the loss to Akron capped a dreadful day for the Razorbacks, who lost their version of LeBron James (Malik Monk, hometown top 5 national recruit) to Kentucky earlier in the day. Both articles were also quick to point out that Akron was very underhanded, too. And while Arkansas was the focus, it shows how high up the food chain they are to get national basketball stories in late November, even though I'm sure their fans don't want to read it.

I will add this. This win is getting more attention than normal (mainly in SEC country) because Arkansas lost out on 5-star hometown recruit Malik Monk to Kentucky earlier today. Arkansas fans are in pure meltdown mode on Twitter and Kentucky fans have picked up on it. It's also funny that at least one person (I'm guessing maybe a Kentucky fan) thinks that Akron has now beaten Arkansas in both football and basketball this year. Hey, lets not correct him.

Hopefully, I can watch the replay if I can get into the watchESPN app tomorrow (do they still archive games for a week?). So I relied on French to bring this one home. I'll echo everybody on the game Antino had, and the player his is becoming. He and Robotham are on a fast track to being the best backcourt duo in school history. I can't wait to see them together (Williams coming off the bench). I also have to give praise to Kwan. I questioned if he should continue to be a perimeter oriented big man who relies on threes. He hit two early that set the tone and had the big one late (followed by the mid range jumper) to help seal it. Those four shots were huge. Arkansas may not be very good this year (though still hanging at 101 in the KenPom rankings after the loss), but that is a very tough place to play, and Akron really outclassed them while extremely short-handed. BTW, Akron is up to 55 in the KenPom rankings, and a good showing in Philly would probably move Akron up a couple spots even with a loss (Villanova is No. 3). A win and the Zips will jump into the top 25 there (and maybe the AP/coaches polls.) It's going to be a tough task on Sunday, but regardless, you have to love the direction this team is headed this year and where the program is going. It took longer than some of us have wanted, but KD is building something special. Also, Akron got some twitter love from Fran Fraschilla. He tweeted it wasn't an upset and KD got a 10 year contract for a reason.

That hurts. Well, Josh Williams is going to have to solve his turnover issues very quickly because he and Antino are going to have to play a ton to break the Arkansas press.

Anybody know how the SEC Network operates. My cable company offers SECN only in standard definition. My channel guide shows a Penn State-Tennessee women's game is on at 7. Does the SECN offer different programming between their standard and high-def channels? Also, anybody with a link to a stream, could you post it?

Welcome to ZNO. At Akron, we haven't had to worry about losing guys to the NBA early like Arkansas, but we feel your pain about losing guys to off the court transgressions. Counterfeit money is a new one that hopefully doesn't catch on (our problems have been drug dealing and domestic disputes, well and early season school-led academic snafus). This Akron team, though (knock on wood) seems to have guys who have their stuff together. This should be a good game. Mike Anderson is a coach who seems to get the most out of his players. So despite the questions, I expect to see a tough team that won't quit. Akron has had pretty good success against SEC teams recently (outside of one ill-fated game against South Carolina two years ago). And this may be our most high-major ready team. But we are a bit short-handed as arguably our best player, Noah Robotham, is still recovering from a torn ACL last year. But this team is deep (for a mid major) and Robotham's backup last year, Antino Jackson, has looked liked the Zips best player so far this year. He will have a huge responsibility of being the guy who can break the Arkansas press. The other ball handlers are freshmen who, while talented, will never have seen pressure like Arkansas will present. Plus, one of them Jimond Ivey was hurt in a meaningless 70-point blowout of a D3 team (anybody know his status?). If Akron can get stops (or break the press off buckets) it seems it seems like we will have a definite size advantage in the half court. Our wings are all in the 6-7 range, and three bigs that go 6-10 and 6-11 (though one is more perimeter oriented).

While a 15-point win is a bit surprising, the fact they couldn't dominate a D3 team without Fowler, like Akron did, isn't. CMU has very good top end talent, led by Chris Fowler. But hey aren't nearly as deep as Akron, which could've played the walk-on from Manchester, the ex-manager and the last three scholly players off the bench for 40 minutes and still beat a D3 school by 15. Once Fowler is back, CMU will have their three-headed monster of him, Rayshawn Simmons and John Simons, that could beat anybody in the league. But it seems like they will have to rely heavily on those three to have a shot at winning the MAC. In basketball, though, having three great-to-very-good players (for the MAC level) will keep them near the top. Luckily, Akron's top-end talent can hang with CMU, and Akron's depth is way better.

I'm sure this has been rehashed on here, but McCollum wanted to go to Akron, but the Zips only had one open scholarship, which went to Zeke Marshall. That was back when KD refused to go over the scholarship limit. KD has publicly admitted not letting a player like McCollum in was a mistake he wouldn't repeat. (Hence why Akron is two scholarship players over the limit right now for 2016). Btw, here is a hilarious photo of McCollum in the state tournament his freshman or sophomore year in HS. The big guy behind him is Kosta Koufos (now with the Sacramento Kings). http://i.imgur.com/PPAQaWI.jpg

Great add. It seems like this rule really benefits guys who, for whatever reason, can't stay at a school for more than a couple years. See Dylan Ennis. He went to what, three different high schools. Was committed to Akron. Then went to Rice, then Villanova and now Oregon. That guy can't stay put anywhere. I'll

This is all the breakdown I'll give on this game. Worthless.

I brought up this topic in the CSU thread, but didn't want to bog that down after the game. But wanted to reopen the general conversation. And I'm not against the rule. Different sport, but Akron has been one of the biggest users of the rule in football (though I'd bet the rule helps mid majors in football a lot more than it will help mid majors in basketball). Anyway, for basketball, I just did a quick Google search of "top grad transfers college basketball". Looks like bleacher report made a list back in May. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2451006-ranking-the-best-graduate-transfers-for-the-2015-16-ncaa-basketball-season Here is the breakdown, and how the move ranks simply based on conference prestige: 20. Max Bielfeldt: Michigan to Indiana ... Lateral move. 19. Derrick Gordon: UMass to Seton Hall. Slight step up. 18. Sterling Smith: Coppin State to Pitt ... Mid Major raid. 17. Mark Tollefson: San Francisco to Arizona... Mid Major raid. 16. Tyler Harris: Providence to auburn ... Lateral move. 15. Jermaine Ruttley: Florida A&M to Arkansas Little Rock ... I guess step up, but Mid Major to MM. 14. Eli Carter: Florida to Boston College ... Lateral move 13. Trey Lewis: Cleveland State to Louisville ... Mid Major raid. 12. Durand Johnson: Pitt to St. John's ... Lateral move. 11. Like Nwamu: Mercer to UNLV ... Obviously a step up and UNLV and the MWC conference is good enough to count this in the Mid Major raid category. 10. Ricky Tarrant: Alabama to Memphis ... Maybe step down by conference names, but more lateral than anything. 9. Anton Grady: Cleveland State to Wichita State... Step up,but a Mid Major raiding another. Though, WSU is pretty much a high major now as a program. 8. Rafael Maia: Brown to Pitt... Mid Major raid. 7. Shonn Miller: Cornell to UConn ... Mid Major raid. 6. Adam Smith: Virginia Tech to Georgia Tech ... Lateral move (a future engineer?). 5. Dylan Ennis (remember him): Villanova to Oregon... Lateral move. 4. Rasheed Sulaimon: Duke to Maryland... Lateral move. 3. Mike Thorns: Charlotte to Illinois... Mid Major raid. 2. Damion Lee: Drexel to Louisville.... Mid Major raid. 1. Sterling Gibbs: Seton Hall to UConn... Lateral move. Looking at this, its a pretty mixed bag. Yeah, Mid Majors took it the hardest (I'd classify 9 of 20 as Mid Major raids), but Mid Majors make up half the teams. Then there was the one low major to mid major move. The other 10 appear to be lateral just based on league prestige. So it seems that Cleveland State was just unlucky to be on the losing two of two of the top 14 grad transfers. It doesn't seem like a trend that will affect most mid majors, especially the good ones, like Akron. With that said (and maybe why I thought it was more detrimental to mid majors), three of the top 14 are Cleveland HS kids. Trey Lewis (who actually started off at Penn State), Anton Grady and Shonn Miller. If anybody has read what I've posted over the years, I'm leading the charge that Cleveland is among the top 10 areas for HS basketball recruits in the country. But a lot of kids go under looked. That's changing as the area has something like 9 kids going to high majors just in the 16 class alone. But you could still see high majors continue to poke around at the kids they have missed on in this area. Plus, expanding it to Cleveland-Akron-Canton, CJ McCollum is also still fresh on coaches minds. Everybody, including KD, missed on him. Luckily, that miss for Akron has changed KD's philosophy a bit. He has said he won't let that situation happen again ... And probably why he is two scholarships over the limit. And two of the four players in this class are Cleveland kids... Eubanks and Jordan Davis (started at Garfield Heights before going to Timken/McKinley in Canton ... which is also McCollum's hometown). BTW, McCollum is averaging 22-4-3 this year for the Trail Blazers. It's early, but saw a graphic the other day that he and Damian Lillard were the leading points scoring backcourt in the NBA. FWIW, Lillard (Weber State) was also a mid major draftee.

You pretty much summed up my thoughts.I will add that Kwan needs to pass up on being so trigger happy from three. He's a decent shooter for a 6-10 guy, but no good enough to continue to hoist up 4-5 a game. He averaged nearly 5 a game last year and put up four more tonight that all missed. When you are a low 30s guy from out there, not the best idea to Be that relient on what is a low percentage shot for him. Josh Williams really struggled with over dribbling, but with this being his first game. Im not too worried. But Antino really needs to dominate the ball when he is in the game. And Antino was clearly the player of the game. Personally, he was an after thought for me when he signed with Robotham already in the class and Josh Williams waiting in the wings (Josh committed a year before Antino). He opened my eyes at the end of last year, and looks so much better this year, early on. The guy is going to be fun to watch for the next three years. He looks even quicker this year and can finish around the rim, something our guards have historically not been able to do in the KD era. Really, this was a mediocre performance outside of a 10 or so minute stretch in the first half against a team that is going to be bad. Hardly a game to be excited about, but they still somehow won by double digits. But that was only because CSU was putrid (one of the worst stretches I've seen in a while) in that same 10 or so minute stretch Akron played well. Luckily, there is Hiram to work out some of these issues before they head to Arkansas.

Thanks. I knew he transferred, but wasn't sure of the details. Definitely not a grad raid. But he was around the same period where, even if it was, the early years of the rule.

I agree, this is a game Akron should roll.I will kind of agree that Cleveland State, overall, hasn't recruited " too well", because if that was the case, they would have studs waiting to replace the three players they have lost. Who knows, maybe they do, but that is something that will be found out down the road. It may just unlucky that three of the best kids they've gotten the past four years have left. But that doesn't change that it is easier for high majors to poach moving forward. I don't think Gonzaga or Wichita apply, considering we are still at the infancy of the grad transfer rule. Of course Gonzaga isn't going to lose anybody. They've essentially been a high major for the past 10 years, well before the grad transfer rules took effect. While Wichita State may be closer to CSU (or Akron). It's still light years ahead when you look at the program's history. WSU has two final fours, four elite eights and six Sweet 16s, spanning decades. They also draw 10,000 plus a game. They are much more a high major program, especially since Gregg Marshall really revived it, than Akron or CSU will be in the foreseeable future. You're talking multiple runs in the NCAA tournament over the next 5-10 just to get close. And since Grady, after three productive years at CSU, decided to leave there for WSU shows that the Shockers are considered a step up. What I'm saying is you can't use established mid-majors as the barometer of the grad transfer effect. You have to look at schools like CSU and Akron (schools with some success, who have players teams may want, but programs that arent established enough on the national stage, before we can really tell how much the grad transfer rule is hurting those programs.) So far, it has really hurt CSU (not even counting Forbes). Akron is an unknown, but this team's entire young backcourt looks to have the potential of being sought after down the road. I do agree KD has built a culture where it will be tough to lure anybody away, but we just don't know. Really, I'm not worried because I think this group, especially the youngsters, have a chance at doing some program-changing things. But you never know. I'm sure CSU thought the same two years ago when they had Forbes, Lewis and Grady "locked up" for two more years. BTW, even if Akron does get poached, you still have to go after the best players possible. No way am I advocated they step back recruiting because down the road a guy may transfer. In fact, I had been a harsh critic of KD in the past for not going the BPA available rout. The program (and winning and stability has made it easier) has been getting a better brand of players the past four or five years.

I debated whether or not to post this, but will in hoping it stays civil. But you thought the UA budget stuff was a mess, does anybody want to walk into this mess: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14078494/missouri-tigers-football-players-strike-embattled-tim-wolfe-resigns Only reason I'm posting this is because I chatted with my Mizzou grad friend. He believes this is a real issue that the university must address. Probably too late since Akron is full, but I wonder if Jackson, especially if his family plans to move to Columbia, wants to potentially walk into this ... And that's not even counting Kim Anderson's short leash.

I'll cheat and say Josh Williams. Think he will average 6-7 ppg. Seriously, of the returnees, I'll also go Jake. I can see him getting into double digits. Williams may chip into Antino's numbers, who would be my No. 2 choice.

Not sure what's so funny? Cleveland State recruited three kids who now are all at top 25 programs due to their play at CSU. Actually, Lewis began at Penn State, but was a CSU target out of HS, hence why he transferred there after his freshmen year.

I agree, Tree would have been KD's first "star". I really thought he was in line for an 18-10 season and potential MAC POY. It's a shame he didn't get to finish his career over what was a minor incident. But he had a checkered past, so I don't blame UA for taking its stand. Oh well, another in a long line of what could have been.But I'm extremely high on the future of the program. The past, well, its just the growing pains that schools like Akron have to deal with. Despite all the setbacks, KD keeps winning and now looks like he has a program on the cusp of being a true MM player.

I do think not ever relying on a star has helped so far against having a grad transfer. But the grad transfer provision is still very new (last four or five years) and you best believe high majors will continue to try to use it to get immediate help. It would be interesting to see how many mid majors lost players due to the provision in recent years. I believe Seth Curry (Steph's little brother) used it to go from Davidson to Duke a couple of years ago. Maybe I'll try to look it up. Overall, I don't have a problem with the rule (Akron's football program has been one of the biggest examples of using the exemption). But in basketball, it will likely benefit the bigger schools more than the mid majors. But I think KD has built enough of a culture here where Akron isn't automatically going to get raided, if say Jimond Ivey blows up for the next three years and has "options". KD is loyal to UA and I think that rubs off on the players.

Thing now get real from here out, starting with the opener against our OOC rival from up I77 (and the school I actually grew up rooting for before I went to the light and became a Zip. Now, I love beating them nearly as much as beating Can't). Anyway, Cleveland State is a cautionary tale, IMO, to what happens when you begin to recruit too well at the Mid-Major level. Cleveland State "should" have a three headed monster in Bryn Forbes, Trey Lewis and Anton Grady. Instead, they have nothing but question marks. Forbes, after a solid Sophomore season at CSU, transferred to Michigan State, where he was granted a hardship and played right away last year, and was a rotation player for the Spartans, and should be in it again this year as a senior. The blows kept coming as both Lewis and Grady, who are both hometown kids, took advantage of the graduate transfer rule and went to bigger programs this off season. Lewis, who averaged 17 points a game last year, will likely replace another Cleveland kid, Terry Rozier, in Louisville's backcourt. Grady, who statistically is one of the greatest players in the program's history, left to go to Wichita State. He was also a first team All-Horizon player who averaged about 16-8. Talk about a kick in the you know where. Hopefully, Akron never has to feel that wrath. But something you have to keep in the back of your mind. As for the current CSU team. It is one that Akron should roll. The top returner is Andre Yates, a solid guard from Dayton who transferred from Creighton. He'll have to pick up a lot of the slack from losing Lewis. After him in the backcourt, they have a couple other transfers who are eligible this year. The first is Myles Hamilton (Kenneesaw State). He was solid player at St. Edward in HS, and Im guessing will be in the rotation. They also got another transfer, Bobby Word, from Oral Roberts. Word put up pretty good numbers as a sophomore at ORU (8.5 points per game). Those three in the backcourt could be decent. In the front court is where Akron has a huge advantage. The only returnee with much experience is 6-8 Vinny Zollo. And since he is from SE Ohio, I'll compare him to Jake Kretzer, though Jake is much more proven. They have two 6-9 guys, but neither have much experience. Pat and Big Dog, and maybe Kwan, could feast down low. It will also be interesting to see which team gets more out of their SVSM freshman. Akron, of course, has Josh Williams and CSU has Jibiri Blount (who also is a nice prospect). Since Josh is starting, Im gonna go with Akron there. Plus, while I think Blount can be good down the road, I think Josh is more college ready. Barring any "typical Akron" early season shenanigans between now and next week, I think this will be a nice 15-plus point win against a team that still has a bit of name cache out in Can't.

While you always have to temper the excitement against an overmatched, lower division opponent. This was the game we all expected to see from this team. Not anything you can point to and say, "they really struggled in (blank) aspect". Even the FT shooting was solid, especially with guys who struggled last year (or guys being unknown) knocking some down. We'll see how it translates against Cleveland State, but so far, so good. And I will say this about Malone. They are a D2 GLIAC school (solid D2 conference) that won 11 games last year, who returned a lot, including the Christian Graves kid, who I believe missed all of last year. He was the GLIAC frosh of the year two years ago. They also had a senior transfer from D1 UIC. So, beating them by 40-something points is far different than what, say Miami did in their exhibition. Miami beat a school I never heard of before, Ohio Midwestern 90-24. Looking at the Ohio Midwestern roster it is all 6-5 and under freshmen and sophomores from Cincinnati (who I never heard of). I'm guessing it's the equivalent to a good D1 HS team. Malone is at least a semi-decent D2 college school. BTW, if Akron plays this well against Hiram (which is more of a Ohio Midwest caliber school), the Zips could win that by 80-plus... Not that game is any sort of measuring stick, just wanted to add some perspective to the difference between Malone and some of these other schools MAC teams will be playing.

I've seen this kids highlights before (dubbed the next Steph Curry). I knew new was from NEO, but just saw he is from Green. For one, DIG, needs to put in work to get him to Akron, lol. Secondly, was this kid born at City Hospital (Steph Curry/LeBron)? If so, he is probably a future NBA MVP.

Historically, not exactly the recipe for success for Akron (hence KD's equalizer comment). Though this team could be above average, if they get there enough to make a difference. Overall,like Zippy5 said, yay, more FTs. Isn't that what this rules committee was trying to eliminate?

Yeah, that's a huge loss for them. Guy is a Swiss Army knife. He does a little of everything. Hopefully, he is back by February. A fun player to watch, a 6-6, 250 pound point-forward. BTW, he would've easily been top 5 in these rankings.

Sex scandal and all, I still stand by what I posted over two years ago. Louisville is still a school to target for a game in the Q. Pitino has reinforced his commitment to recruiting NE Ohio by landing VJ King and Frankie Hughes, who committed after all the sex stuff came out. Louisville is still a huge brand with a national following, and the NCAA probably slaps them in the wrist (see the Miami football program). It would still be a great opportunity to get a marquee name in NE Ohio, and Louisville has even more reason to be willing to come up here with King and Hughes... And I suspect when its all said and done, Louisville will be a major player for 2017 PG Markell Johnson out of East Tech. Kid is a Terry Rozier clone. (And Johnson is a King James AAU kid). Though Michigan State is after Johnson and Tom Izzo recruits Ohio hard. Maybe that could be the new opportunity? I still 100 percent stick with the thought of getting a marquee game at the Q. We can't get one at the JAR, so use one of the program's advantages (prime recruiting location) and get a "neutral" game in Cleveland. I'd be willing to bet that one call to LeBron could get the ball rolling on something, especially since he's back with the Cavs, and now is heavily invested in UA.