akzipper

The loss of Nate hurts, but did any of us expect him to be the MAC player of the year going into last season? Did anyone expect Freeman to become the GOAT? On paper I think a lot of people will be sleeping on the Zips. But I have faith that the coaches know what they are doing and we'll be better than last season. Just need some guys to keep getting better.

Well they picked a guy with the most Akron name ever. Can't be mad about that. Experience at Miami (FL) and South Florida is encouraging.

What is that, a city for ants?

Super scary. I knew of at least two guys in my hometown that passed away on the court during games. A silver lining is that it raised awareness and thankfully defibrillators are practically everywhere now. I remember when it happened to Bronny James, there was a article I was reading that said that basketball players are the most prone to having heart issues. Due to their height and the sudden bursts/energy used when playing the sport.

Duquesne was arguably one of the worst teams in a mediocre A10 last season. Edwards or the Jack Harlow looking guy are the only ones worth looking at.

I've mentioned it a million times, but it's just like the current MLB structure and being a fan of the Guardians. But so much worse. They will never win a World Series going against teams with payrolls 2-3x higher. Sure they can luck into the playoffs and maybe make a run every few years, but it will never be enough. Just like the Zips can make the tournament, but can never compete at the same level. In the end the "have nots" bring in talent, develop talent and those guys just get poached. But unlike professional baseball, we never get a return on our investments. We don't get compensation or the ability to trade a player for more capital. The system is beyond broken and nobody will say a thing because only the big schools matter. But I'll always be a fan even if I know we'll never have a fair shot. I'd rather cheer on my school than jump on a bandwagon of some school I have zero connection to like 90% of college sports fans.

Not only bank accounts, but how can you blame a guy for wanting to play in front of a real fanbase in a real arena? Look we all love the Zips. But if we're being completely honest playing 90% of the home slate each season in front of a few thousand fans has to be deflating. These guys go to a bigger school and they get to experience a Akron-Kent crowd almost every game.

Not going to lie, after the past few days I've honestly considered avoiding this board for the foreseeable future. I feel like whenever I open up this page it's more bad news. I wanted to be excited about the upcoming season.

The fact that Instagram posts are being deleted means they know something. One guy left and they are all following suit because a team that looked like an easy pick to win the MAC is now spiraling. Part of me wonders if the writing is on the wall and these guys know Akron's ceiling in a first round exit or are the just chasing money.

I'm a bit concerned that only 6 of the "Back to work" images are still up on the ZipsMBB Instagram. Young and Tavari Johnson's specifically have both been deleted. I think a lot more dominos are still yet to fall.

Just another MAC school building a new arena while UA does nothing. Maybe the JAR will get a fresh coat of paint or some new lights in the next few decades to make us proud.

Kent State extended a mediocre coach and got a wave a media praise and recognition. At least 20 articles I've counted that covered it. Akron gave the MAC coach of the year a 10 year extension and not a peep. Makes sense.

I have nothing positive, and will never have anything positive to say about Kent or Ohio U.

I'm glad I'm not alone here. I keep seeing those "I'M BACK" graphics and felt like I was missing something. I honestly couldn't understand why they are hyping this these guys up so much. They are returning 5 guys from a team that was barely above .500 in MAC play. Looks like maybe one scored in double figures. Meanwhile we returned basically our entire team.

Love the "according to who?" This clown obviously doesn't know who he's talking to 😂.

They really put the MID in mid-major program. I guess they are happy with 2 tournament appearances in 14 years.

Fordham had a really cool campus and feels very ivy league. Weirdly random but there is a soup kitchen across the street that I volunteered at when I was in high school. I think the A10 is going to be a one bid league for a while, but it's definitely good anytime someone can get away from the stench that is Kent State.

This led me down a wikipedia rabbit hole of former Kent coaches. Last season Geno Ford won 8 games coaching Stony Brook and Jim Christian won 3 games all season coaching Canisius. Hopefully pinky takes a similar career path as these two awful individuals.

I could get on board with this too. A Freeman #25 would be nice too. But I'm sure that money would go to him and not the collective. My track record with buying jerseys for NE Ohio sports teams is like a curse. Most of my jerseys are only relevant for like one year max before the guy is off the team. I wouldn't wish that on a Zips player.

I've always wanted a jersey and I'm really temped to buy one. Just not sure which player to choose. Nate Johnson, Tavari Johnson, or hope for some longevity and go with Young.

This is the only opening that worries me. Maybe OSU down the line. Thankfully as of now I don't see Groce's name anywhere when it comes to the WVU search. They seem to be zeroed in on the HC's from Wake Forest and North Texas.

I agree completely. Our OOC home opponents are boring and MAC schedule isn't much better. When the most exciting opponent is NKU, there's definitely a problem. I'm just not sure how to fix that. Which schools are willing to play in Akron? I guess that's the biggest problem. Most Mids have trouble bringing teams in. Dayton is the only one I can think of that consistently stacks their home schedule. Somehow 10 of their first 13 games were all at home and those remaining 3 were in Hawaii.

Groce seems to put culture and character above all. I can't imagine him convincing practically the entire team to come back only to bail on his players. Not to mention the fact that the tournament loss, as much as it sucked, and his tenure at Illinois will probably turn people away. Having said that I never thought KD would leave for a lowly A10 program. So who knows. The only difference is he was convinced that his teams would be in the running for at-large bids. Which was never even close to the case. Their one tournament appearance was because of the conference championship. If Groce leaves it's for one of the "bigs" and an opportunity he can't pass up. There's really no excuse for us to not lead the MAC in attendance. Being 6th or whatever, and below Kent State is pretty embarrassing.

I still have a small inflatable Goodyear blimp in my basement that was a giveaway back when I was at UA. Pretty sure that's the only contribution I know of lol.