1981 grad

I remember the Red Panda performing at the Jar and she was amazing. I know we have had a lot of volunteer dance teams at the Jar, but can anyone remember any other paid performers that came in at half time.

I was always curious where Sullinger would land and he landed at Furman. They were a 13 seed in the tourney and upset 4th seeded Virginia last year. https://furmanpaladins.com/news/2024/5/10/paladins-welcome-anderson-sullinger-to-mens-basketball-program.aspx

Great video!!! Interesting that this was his first dunk in a college game and he was a junior. He indicated that he exposed himself when he made the dunk. If he is going to take the next step forward, he needs to expose himself more. Watch video of Tribble. He exposed himself about 5 times a game. Need to see more of what is on that video for him to get playing time next year. I hope he does it. Seems like a great guy!!!

How high is Enrique's ceiling? After watching Akron B ball for 25 years, nobody is even close when compared to improvement from year 1 to year 5. Enrique is quick to the ball for a man his size, athletic, and picks up new skills remarkably well. Can we see the same jump in years 6 through 8? If so he could be an NBA player. It was interesting to watch him in the NBA scrimmages where he did not face a triple team every time he touched the ball and was surrounded with equally talented players. He played the wing and made some nice 3 pointers. Remember, that is not a skill set he had last year. I think playing every day with good coaches that can improve his skills he might be on a NBA team in a couple of years.

They had him playing out in the wing away from the basket. Cannot rebound from there.

Tried to watch Freeman but the ESPN coverage was a joke. When Bronny was on the court the camera was on him and his dad. When he came out, they cut away from the game with interviews and graphics. Unfortunately, Freeman was not in at the same time as Bronny so only saw a few glimpses of him playing. Pretty much a waste of time.

Playing against Bronny and Lebron is in the house.

I thought back in the day athletes got easier jobs like watching the grass grow. Maybe that was just at the bigger programs. (lol)

I stand corrected. Thanks for the history lesson. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2023/11/10/bill-turner-dies-akron-zips-basketball-nba-warriors-trail-blazers-lakers-nate-thurmond-gus-johnson/71487067007/

Great video. So we did not win our first NCAA playoff game but maybe he will be the first Zip to wear an NBA uniform. The callup could not happen to a nicer guy. Congrats to Freeman.

Great to see him stand out with a pressure filled environment. Will be curious if he stands out at he next level.

I just read about Hardman. The good: all academic player with a great three point shot. The bad: His defense kept him from playing more time at Ohio State. Basically, another bench player with limited minutes coming from a big program to Akron. Glad to see Groce getting some shooters on this team.

You knew we would have one more Zip enter the transfer pool yesterday. Player choice or Groce's decision? I would guess the latter.

You and I are on the same page with regard to Groce's misses on the transfer pool last year with regard to Scott and Thornton not being the scorer we needed and now a clear miss with regard to Darrion. However, I am hoping he is learning from his "misses" from last year. I agree it is a waste of a scholarship from last year but it is a good move to cut your losses and bring in a player that has a better chance to help the team this year.

If I am Tavari, Prather, or Nate and I see who Groce is bringing into the program to compete for my position, I am going to elevate my game this summer knowing that getting court time next year just got a lot harder.

I do not know why everyone is upset. I think this late it is the coaches call and obviously he picked the player that he thought would not get to see the court.

The transfer pool closes May 1st. How do you tell a student to leave when he will not have time to find another program? Does Groce find him another program?

All season long Scott could not make a layup, Thornton could not make a foul shot, and neither could hit the 3 ball. We made March madness because of our seniors and some good play from Tavari in the quarter and simi final. Also, the brain fart from Kent in last seconds also played a role in getting to the tourney.

We just lost our 4 best players to graduation including the MAC player of the year and the players that remain from last year were underwhelming. (Scott, Tavari, Johnson, Prather, Lyles) There is no way anyone can predict how good we will be next year as West Virginia Transfer U. With the transfer pool, this is going to be the new reality. I was so disappointed with our transfers last year (Thornton and Scott) that I am just wary of relying on new transfers. Lets hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

I am not sure this is current but not exactly a long list for Jalen's talents: Ohio State Loyola Chicago Virginia Tech ECU

These guys are bench players from a power five conference who rarely saw the court. I am just not sure if I am thrilled to get guys who failed at a bigger program no matter how highly sought after they were after high school.

We can only go up considering the transfers from last year. (LOL)

On the survey please complain about the loud constant "music" during the football games that overpowers the speakers. Hate it!!!!!

Multi year contractual is an interesting issue for players but I do not think that will solve the problem. If a player leaves and breaks the contract, the new team will happily pay off the old contract to get a star player. However, if a coach signs the player to a contract and he sucks and the coach wants to move on, the school will be stuck with the player or pay him for not playing.

It makes sense to me in that if you are a talented MAC player and you can earn some money and fame transferring to a bigger program, why not sell your talents to the highest bidder. Essentially, Ali went to a bigger program after his success at Akron. However, I think we have found out that a talented MAC player does not equate to success in a bigger program. You also have players who believe they will get more playing time in another program and transfer like Deng Riak. I thought Tavari Johnson might be one of these players and I am glad he is staying with Akron. (thus far). Unfortunately, I think many of these MAC players might be overestimating their talents and can wind up with no division one offers and go to a division 2 program.