wadszip

Below is from WalterFootball.com after he declared. True, that was before most of the other underclassmen officially declared. At the same time, WalterFootball is pretty thorough, so I'm guessing they knew there was going to be a ton more early entries before making this projection: Jerome Lane, WR, Akron Height: 6-2. Weight: 212. Projected 40 Time: 4.57. Projected Round (2017): 3-5. This is a surprise. Jerome Lane has physical talent, but I'm not so sure he'll be able to separate from NFL cornerbacks, and thus he could slip in the 2017 NFL Draft. Lane might be able to sneak into Day 2, but he's likely an early third-day selection. Considering that Lane is just 20, there's no real reason for him to declare for the pros. The Verdict: Bad move

http://realtimerpi.com/college_Men_basketball_rpi.html I would say that's nailing it.

Yeah, that one is tough. The Bobcats are close enough to the top 100 where a win could vault them back in. At this point, while stuff like that won't make-or-break Akron's at-large chances, it could have an effect on which tournament line the Zips get put on if they do win the MAC tournament. Plus, while I don't think NIU is a real threat, a loss there would also drop them two games behind the Zips (and we have to go to DeKalb). So, I'm also rooting for OU. On the other hand, if Ohio loses, the Zips have a 3 game lead in the East at the 1/3 mark. So, won't be heartbroken if NIU does win. The other game that I'm looking forward to and will watch is WMU-Buffalo. I'm for sure rooting for WMU there. A Buffalo loss and the Zips have a 4 game lead on them (so even if Buffalo were to somehow sweep the Zips, would still have to make up two more games). Plus, since WMU is one of the two teams we play twice in cross-overs, they are one of the two West teams that helps Akron if they do well. Begrudgingly, EMU is the other.

Figured I would share this. I've been keeping track of every game MAC teams have played and using the KenPom rankings (personal preference). I think everybody who follows realizes this Zips team still hasn't reached its full potential (KD has been saying that for weeks). Still, how much better Akron has been compared to the rest of the league (both in and out of conference) is clearly evident. BTW, these numbers were updated through Thursday night, so didn't include movement from the dozen or so games played last night (though I did include EMU since I saw they still stayed in the top 100 despite the loss): Top 100 wins: The MAC now has three (which is awful; I think Akron alone had 3 by this point last season). Anyway, those belong to Kent State (Texas), Akron (Eastern Michigan) and Buffalo (Eastern Michigan) Top 150 wins: The MAC has 12. Akron leads with 4 (EMU, Ohio, Marshall, Georgia Southern ... UC-Irvine is at 152 btw). After that, Buffalo at 2 (EMU, Weber State) is the only other with more than one. Top 200 wins (I readily admit that I hate going down this far, but that's how poorly the league as a whole has played): The MAC has 43. Akron has 10 (or nearly 25 percent). Next highest is Toledo and Ohio with 5. If you look at the league's overall top 25 wins (this also includes conference games), the Zips have 6: No. 2 EMU, No. 6 Ohio, No. 8 Marshall, No. 9 Georgia Southern, No. 13 UC-Irvine, No. 25 Mercer. Toledo, and somewhat surprisingly, Kent, are next with three ... though after Texas, the Flashes' other two are No. 22 Wofford and No. 24 Ball State. In summary, the Zips own 33 percent of the league's top 100 wins; 33 percent of the top 150 wins; 23 percent of the top 200 wins; and 24 percent of the league's overall top 25 wins. Granted, these numbers are fluid, and aren't anything that is going to put this team in at-large territory, but just shows the amount of separation between Akron and the rest of the league. It's something I plan to continue to keep track of, so will periodically post updates if there is interest.

Speaking of bad local media. Did anybody listen to Joe Dunn's show yesterday? I admit, I rarely listen to 1350 on my way home, but since the Zips were playing figured I would turn it on and see if they were talking Zips, which Joe was. He had Elton Alexander on as a guest and it may have been the worst interview I have ever heard (it was cringeworthy even listening to. ... btw, Joe was the only reason I kept it on because he was asking good questions, just the responses were mind-numbingly bad). At one point, after Elton, incoherently, rambled on and on about how poorly MAC teams have performed (something I don't entirely disagree with, as a whole the league was disappointing this year OOC), Joe asked which teams have been the most impressive. Elton's answer: Bowling Green, lol! Joe knows the league as well as anybody and handled the interview like a pro, but he had to be thinking, "I'm interviewing a freaking moron."

This was simply a bad matchup for TDM since Ty Toney has a good five inches and at least 70 pounds on him; even Magnum has a good 40-50 pounds on him ... I know TDM is listed at 155 (find that hard to believe, probably in the 140s) and Magnum is listed at 180, but he looks bigger than that, probably more in the 190s. I know people are down on Josh, but he at least matches up physically with EMU's backcourt, which is why he was still getting a lot of PT, despite his continued struggles. I was wondering about attendance myself. I agree it looked slightly bigger than the OU game, so it had to be at least 3,500; but too many empty blue seats for it to be in the 4,000 range. 3,600-3,700 was my guess as well. Edit: forgot to refresh my screen, so see the number has been posted. My eyes didn't deceive apparently.

To put that in perspective, Barberton H.S. had 1,154 students last year per the Ohio Department of Education. Barberton is a DII team in Ohio. Those 6A and 7A schools would all easily be D1 Ohio teams ... for example Cuyahoga Falls has 1,407 and is D1.

Lunardi has Akron back in as a 12 seed matched up against Duke in Salt Lake City. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

The higher the number, the bigger the schools. Since Florida has 8 divisions, being in 4A is in the middle.

Good points. I was just thinking of guys who could get over the rim and Quade is the only one who came to mind. I guess Harney could as well (and body wise he and Jimond pretty similar), but Ivey is already way better in every aspect as Harney was ... and Harney was no slouch, he just never lived up to lets say his "Ivey-type expectations". Quincy could get to the rim similarly, but he is one of the guys I thought of when blowing layups. Maybe it's just me thinking "why the hell aren't you throwing down?" but it seems like he blew more layups (including on fast breaks) than anybody in Zips' history, despite the fact he was so athletic. It was really maddening ... though, I still really liked his game and his willingness to stick through his transgressions, so don't want to hate on him to much. The Quade and Poke comparison is spot on. Poke definitely has those pogo legs and that thin build. Let's hope he can develop a more rounded game than Quade. If so, he has a chance to be a solid player. But if nothing else, he probably can give a Quade-like contribution, which is very livable as a role player.

LOL, at the same time, a nice problem to have. How many years have we seen a perimeter player at (below) the rim blow a bunny of a layup. For the first time in the KD era, we actually have a guy who will finish at the rim with a dunk (a perimeter guy at that). ... Though I agree that call was laughably bad. Jimond is essentially the athlete that Quade Milum was (sans 3 inches) but with an overall game that his lightyears ahead of anything Quade ever showed.

People gave up on Kwan on here way too soon. Yeah, his numbers where underwhelming his first three years, but the ability was evident. What has made Kwan so dangerous this year isn't, IMO, that he developed an inside game. It's that he has absolutely refined all aspects of his game ... a scary thought. Kwan actually always had a decent inside game and always had that face-up ability where he could either shoot over you or put the ball on the floor. But it was his outside game, which he relied on too heavily (and the reason so many were frustrated with him), that made him such an enigma. But he has now put all the pieces in place. That has come with him improving from the 3-point line, while at the same time not forcing that shot. Now, he is almost unguardable. You sag off him on the perimeter, he's going to shoot over you with a very high percentage. You respect the three and try to bring a big man on him to take that away (because he will simply shoot over a smaller guy) and he is putting the ball on the floor either pulling up for a mid-range shot (which he can get off over anybody in the MAC); take it to the rim; or collapse a defense and find an open man. This team still revolves around Big Dog, but Kwan is easily a close second as far as providing a mismatch. If this team continues to get this type of play out of both of them, with the added athletic dimension that Jimond has brought, I can't see how anybody could say with a straight face that this isn't the most talented team in school history ... especially since Antino, Noah, Josh (and now Utomi) are guys who can kill you from behind the arc. I hope tonight was the night where everything finally started to click. If so, look out.

Antonio Campbell got hurt, too, in that game. Announcers were saying it didn't look good.

I have the same feeling. Next week is going to be when it really sinks in.

Don't rule it out that Kwan getting a shot at the NBA. It's not about the numbers with him, it's about what role he could bring to an NBA team; and as Channing Frye is showing, a 6-10 guy who can stretch the floor and knock down 3s is a very valuable commodity in the current landscape of the NBA. And Frye didn't become a 3-point shooter until he was 26 years old. Kwan is way ahead of Frye's development in that regard. Plus, even though Kwan is a senior, he is still 21 and doesn't turn 22 until August, so he's essentially the age of a lot of juniors and even some sophomores. That's not even considering he was like 6-2 up until his senior year, so it's not a huge surprise why it took him until his fourth year in the program to take off. I'm not saying that he will be drafted because that's still highly unlikely. But he is definitely (along with Big Dog) going to get a Summer League invite. I could see him showing enough to get a camp offer. In fact, I think the team that is most likely to bring him on in Summer League would be the Cavs. And since the Cavs only have like two total draft picks in the next four years, they are going to continue to try to develop an undrafted/low 2nd round guy who gets cut (IE, Deandre Liggins/Jordan McRae), especially since they need a player or two like that just for salary purposes and lessen the luxury tax bill. If nothing else, the Cavs could stash if in Canton and continue to develop him to be Frye's replacement down the road, since a LeBron James team is always going to have a 4 who can step out and hit 3s, and Frye is going to be a free agent after the 2018 season and will be 36 years old. Maybe by that point, a guy like Kwan could give the team 70-80 percent of what Frye could, but at a fraction of the salary. I'm just using the Cavs as an example since it's up the road and is a team where somebody like Kwan could fit. Here's some food for thought: http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/621/p1 Above is the list of the the nation's 3-point made leaders per the NCAA. The cut-off is 34 made; Kwan has 33 so you can safely have him as the next person up who would be on the list. There is only one player taller than 6-10 on that list ... Arizona freshman Lauri Markkanen, who is a projected top 10 pick in this year's draft. After that, there is just one player 6-9, Arkansas sophomore D.J. Hogg, who draft express has rated the No 74 draft prospect (though draft express has Hogg listed at 6-8). After that, there is a five or so guys listed at 6-8, including Ohio's Kenny Kaminiski. http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/143/p1 Here is the leaders by percentage (you have to make 2.5 per game to qualify; Kwan is at 2.1 so isn't on the list). But his percentage of 42.9 percent would rank No. 39 in the country. Granted, I'm sure there are others who are also close to qualifying who would push Kwan down a bit if eligible. Still, I think if you put it at 2 made per game, Kwan would easily stay in the top 75. Bottom line, Kwan has developed into a pretty elite 3-pointer shooter at the college level, and is at the elite of the elite when it comes to players 6-9 or taller. Again, there he has just two peers in Markkanen, a sure-fire lotto pick and Hogg (likely drafted when he declares, I'm guessing after next season since the 2017 draft looks deep and the 2018 draft not as much. P.S. since I mentioned Big Dog. I absolutely think he also lands on a Summer League roster, but not sure if he can make a team in this NBA landscape, where back-to-the-basket post players are being phased out unless they are elite rim protectors (which Dog isn't). The one thing Big Dog has going for him is his passing ability. That would be the reason he has a slim chance at making an NBA roster. If nothing else, I could see him going to Europe and being a monster over there for one of the top tier teams. Actually, one final thing for anybody looking at stats to try to determine whether somebody could play in the NBA. Look no further than former Kent State center John Edwards, who managed to play in 65 NBA games over two seasons despite averaging 2/3/7 points per game in his first three yeas and then 13 points per game in his "breakout" senior season. Was he drafted on college numbers? Not a chance, but it was that he fit a role ... in his case as a 7-footer in the mid 2000s where just being 7-foot put you on the radar. In Kwan's case, him being 6-10 with a 3-point shot currently puts him in the John Edwards realm as far as what NBA teams are now looking for.

That clip does sound promising. However, I've become less optimistic after seeing that OSU wants him, even if it's as a walk-on. Unfortunately, OSU can make a pretty strong case that he could get playing time and end up on scholarship seeing that Joe Burger (also a LB) went there as a walk-on and was a four-year letterman, who eventually wound up on scholarship. Plus, he's from one of the most affluent schools in the state, so I'm going to guess that his family has the means to be able to afford OSU's tuition if he wants to go there. I hope I'm wrong on this, because the kid is definitely a great football player.

It was definitely a needed wrinkle in the BG game, though part of it was a horrible coaching job by Kevin Huger. I'm not sure why he kept sending Lillard on the double team time after time when every single instance it came when Ivey was spotted up in the corner, leading to a wide open cut to the basket. I thought for sure after the first dunk, that would be the end of that, but BG kept doing the same exact thing and Akron made them pay for it. However, all that does is gives defenses something more to think about. Now, they are either going to have a play Dog man-up or send another player on a double, which then leaves one of our 3-point shooters wide open. I really believe Big Dog is the most valuable player I've ever seen at Akron. The mismatches he presents and all the different ways he can beat a defense by running an offense through him is amazing due to his passing ability.

There were five dunks in that game. Two by Ivey, the one by Poke on the oop, Dog and Kwan each had one. In years past, certain Zips teams have seemingly gone an entire season without five dunks.

I'm stepping out on a limb and will say he definitely saw at least one snap against Toledo!

Hughes is back at Missouri, but I'm told it's pretty much a certainty he is gone after the year. I guess there is the possibility that the new Missouri coach will be able to sell him on staying. But if Missouri breaks the bank like I was told the school is ready to do, the new coach may want a clean a slate to work with, especially since Missouri doesn't have one senior on the roster. IE, he will clean house and bring in his guys. Again, I was told, at this point, there is going to be at least two more transfers (one being Hughes). FWIW, Hughes was very close to not returning to Missouri after Christmas break. Again, I was told both he and Jackson cleaned out their lockers when they returned to Cleveland for Christmas. Jackson didn't report back and announced his transfer (though I believe he did return to Columbia, I'm guessing to finish out the school year). Hughes did report back, but it was a week later than he was supposed to, which is why he was held out of the Lipscomb game. But it looks like he will play out the rest of the season. BTW, if you are wondering why it is a 99 percent certainty Kim Anderson is gone. Let's put it like this, Missouri has lost games this year to Eastern Illinois, North Carolina Central and Lipscomb. Barring a miracle in SEC play, I think even the old guard Norm Stewart "money" supporters are going to lose faith.

I also really want to land Arslanian. I'm calling him the Waterboy. He plays just like Bobby Boucher did in the classic 90s football movie. With his wrestling background, maybe we can get some "power bombs, compliments of Captain Insano."

Hopefully, there is room for both of them, because both can absolutely help this team. However, if it's a one or the other, I'm going Jackson. He is more versatile in that he can play on the perimeter or in the post (though, the fact he has almost exclusively played in the post at Missouri is probably part of the reason he has already made the decision to transfer.) Plus, while I think Hughes has the potential to be a good shooter down the road, he has not shown to be one yet. He's scoring a lot of points because he's taking a ton of shots. He is shooting 26 percent on 3-pointers ... on almost 8 attempts per game. People were killing Kwan his sophomore year when he jacked up a ton of threes. Hughes is jacking up almost twice as many a game than Kwan did ... and shooting 7 percent lower on those shots. The more I look at the roster, though, it's a pretty safe bet that there will be room for both. There are three scholarships open for next year. One is going to Isaiah Williams, who is sitting out this year. The second will go to Jayden Sayles. The open scholarship could go to Jackson. After that, I won't speculate on who is going to transfer, but hardly any program in the country goes the offseason without somebody leaving, so I'm guessing a spot will eventually open up for Hughes.

Tim Rogers is definitely reputable, but it looks like he jumped the gun (if Jackson's mother is indeed disputing it). You can read my post from Sept. 23, 2015, for background on how I've gotten my information on Jackson (and Frankie Hughes). Outside of Kim Anderson still having a job (which he is for sure done after the season ... and supposedly Missouri is going to break the bank for a new coach to the tune of 3-plus million a year), everything else is playing out almost exactly how I thought/feared it would for him in Columbia. Still, the fact that Akron was runner up for Jackson and we know that Keith Dambrot isn't going anywhere, makes me believe that Jackson indeed will come to Akron. It just makes too much sense. It did back in 2015, but he fell for the allure of the SEC instead of situation.

Keith Dambrot also went on record by saying he would never make the mistake of passing on a player like McCollum again just because they were over the limit. You've seen this in recent years where the Zips have been "over" the limit until things were sorted in the offseason. Before McCollum, Dambrot never brought in a kid unless there was 100 percent a scholarship open at that time.

I called this one. Willie Jackson is transferring and word is Frankie Hughes will also announce he is transferring after the season. I expect both to end up in Northeast Ohio ... Which school is the question. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article123572539.html