clarkwgriswold

Uh oh, the Beacon let GT write about the Zips again. I'd forgotten just how unfulfilling and incomplete his articles could be. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2024/04/16/akron-basketball-transfers-james-okonkwo-josiah-harris-seth-wilson/73347283007/

Nice summary. The good news is that if the newbies are worth a damn they won't be around long. Has Reggie Bass found his 7th landing spot in 7 years yet?

The MAC Coach of the Year lost 10 players.

Niederhauser to Penn State.

Some highlights-

There it is!

I think Tavari and Young are more natural point guards while Scott and Young are combo guards. Groce's confidence in Scott certainly grew as the season would down and I suspect that will continue into next season.

i guess there's always a chance that someone currently on the team sees the new acquisitions and their impact on their playing time and opts to bail.

I have it on good authority that it is KJ Walton, having qualified at 32 years old for his 8th year of college basketball.

Going from a place that prays for your salvation to a place that prays for your death every time you lose.

Interesting article on here on the different portal approaches- https://247sports.com/article/the-cost-of-winning-inside-the-nil-approaches-of-the-basketball-teams-that-fared-best-and-worst-this-season-229902614/ It cuts off at some point for a pay wall, but interesting article up to that point.

As bad as the UA has been on UA sports, it has actually been substantially better in the last year with guys like Beaven, especially on the major sports. The news is generally 48 days late but the reporters have done better.

They're probably planning a personal visit.

Follow up- minutes after receiving the call I received an email informing me that the Zips Athletics Day of Giving is only 9 minutes away! LOL.

Hurley is not going anywhere. Maybe they can go get Bobby! I'm not sure where Kentucky goes. The job doesn't have the panache it once did. It also takes a special personality. T.J. Otzelberger from Iowa State could be a prime candidate. Maybe Stan Heath.

On the engaging the fans level, I received a very nice thank you phone call today from Evan Wilson on behalf of the program thanking me for my continued support. Nice touch. I suspect the big donors like @NWAkron get calls from Enrique but I very much enjoyed getting the call from Evan.

Yes, and I've never quite understood it. I had no problem with the women's time. I understand it may have had better viewership than the men's for the first time in history.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Mr. Pinky also lose his associate head coach Julian Sullinger with his nephew Jaylen Sullinger jumping ship in the portal.

Thanks to CBS and the NCAA for scheduling the national championship at 9:20 p.m. ET on a weeknight. Sounds like the same guys negotiated this that arranged the MAC weeknight football schedule.

I'm not sure that in the day of portal, the new transfer rules, NIL, etc. Calipari's Kentucky formula works any more. I heard him in an interview a while back talking about how when Dajuan Wagner and his parents came to him after his freshman season to tell him he was going to come back for his sophomore year. Calipari knew John Lucas and the Cavs were going to take him early if he declared and he told the Wagners he should not come and take the money and he tore up his contract documents right in front of them. Wagner than went on the Cavs and experienced the intestinal issues that ended his short career. That's Calipari's experiential basis to push kids to leave early when they can. He uses that same philosophy to draw kids with promises they can move on quickly to the pros. As a result, he's now sending inexperienced 18 and 19 year olds onto the court to face experienced men some of who are now 23 and 24 years old and he has not adjusted. That adjustment may now happen at Arkansas.

Agreed. They have 8 national championships since 1948 but expect one every year.

Makes me wonder when the NCAA investigation of Kentucky basketball will become known. LOL. He's really good at bailing right before the storm.

That's really what it's about- the atmosphere and experience. The entire area around the game is electric, almost a festival of college basketball feeling to it. There's a buzz in all of the restaurants and public areas. I remember walking the streets with my son in Indianapolis before the Florida/UCLA national championship game and we saw a small crowd starting to gather in front of a hotel and wandering over to see what was up to end up watching the Florida team come out of the hotel. I told my son then and there they would win as I'd never seen a calmer and more confident looking team going into a big game.

I've been to National Championship games in the old RCA Dome and Ford Field. The experience is really cool but the actual watching of the game isn't great unless you are somehow near the floor, which is unlikely for most.

Yikes, looks like Gheorghe Mureșan procreated.