1981 grad
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Posts posted by 1981 grad
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With Nate I guess "show me the money" beat out "teamism" It is obvious that Okonkwo decided to leave because he had another offer. Like Okowkwo, I thought we would see Nate landing immediately. Now I wonder whether he decided to test the market. If he does not have a landing spot, coaches will see the same thing that was pointed out by another poster, he has struggled against good teams. Ali Ali also struggled against elite competition before he transferred and never made it at the next level.
Even though he left Akron, I would like to see Nate be successful but he will need to work hard to be successful at the next level. His three point shooting will need to improve and he must eliminate those crazy passes that we have seen from him the last 3 years. His defense is good but he will be playing against quicker players almost every day. The "Where are they now" thread looks like it will be busy next year.
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19 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
There was only one tweet mentioning this and it was an Ohio State fan. I replied to the tweet asking where they got this information and they haven't replied yet.
I just looked at this profile and he has been battling injuries his entire career at Ohio State. High risk and high reward if he can stay healthy.
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48 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:
This is my thoughts as well. His agent behind the scenes likely gathered a few offers and Okonkwo picked whichever one he thought was best. A deal was most likely in place before he even entered his name in the portal. It's also likely why the Memphis reporter broke the news he was entering the portal. His agent probably reached out to Memphis to see about getting a offer. Someone on staff passed the news onto the beat reporter.
It would seem unlikely we would force him out. He was a productive player, particularly on defense which Groce loves, for us and his game was still developing offensively. Besides it would be a poor look for us to force a guy out this late in the recruiting process when we're promoting a team culture.
Proven quality bigs are in short supply in the portal and cost a pretty penny. They all will find their way onto a P5 or high major roster. My best guess is we'll target someone under the radar who wants an opportunity to play and prove themselves. Parks from OSU is still available I believe. Some speculated we had interest in him earlier before we signed his his teammate (Evan).
If a player wants out after commenting how much he loves Akron and appreciates the opportunity to play for Akron and competing in the NCAA tourney then he not the type of player we really want to keep. The agent makes more money if his player makes more money so the advice was probably get the most money you can since this is your senior year.
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2 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
Big 12 poached him.
Much tougher competition than in the MAC. He is really going to have to improve his game to get significant playing time. Only time will tell.
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Does anyone on this board have a clue on what happened in the last few weeks. Here is Okonkwo's quote in the Beacon at the end of March:
“This season has been so much fun,” “I am so thankful to the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity to go out and be myself and bring the energy that is unique and bring hustle plays. I love doing that. I can’t thank Coach [John Groce] enough for the role he has given me. I will forever be in debt to him for that.”
“I plan on staying here for as long as I possibly can,” “I love it here. I have no reason to leave. The coaching staff here, the atmosphere, it is everything you could want in a place. I am so thankful I came to Akron.”
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If this is his decision to chase the money, it is a bad decision. Look how much Freeman improved from year to year under Groce's tutelage. I thought Okonkwo's game improved a great deal as the year progressed. Early in the season his offense was weak and he did improve as season progressed. He also became tougher under the boards. I was really looking forward to seeing how much better he was going to be during his senior season. This will be his 3rd team in 3 years.
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We need to schedule Duquesne and have a home and home series with them. Lets honor Dru Joyce!!
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In Bud we trust. Will the administrator please remove this topic for the next decade.
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On 3/28/2025 at 12:08 PM, Illini Zip said:
Zips add Evan Mahaffey.
Is Zachary Halligan a walk on and I saw that he played a little in 23-24 but not last year. I saw that he is a local guy but curious why he did not play last year considering we had numerous blowouts.
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Just now, clarkwgriswold said:
I just got a text from a buddy of mine who is a bog PCCC booster who told me Senderoff has turned down the Fordham job. I guess we'll see.
I may be in the minority but I hope he stays. Superman has his Lex Luther, Batman has his Joker and the board has Senderoff.
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Since the g league is done, what happens to the players who are under contract like Freeman? Do they just practice with the Pacers and no more game competition?
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Senderoff might feel this is the right decision because he does not have a budget for players that Groce has and cannot compete with Akron and now Mass that has an even bigger budget for players. I know that people on this board hate him but he always had his players playing their best basketball in Cleveland. Last year as the 8 seed they were a brain fart from defeating us in the final. I just wonder with their coaching change will that result in another MAC team that goes downhill. The basketball rivalry with Kent was always great because each program was consistently good. If the program goes slides to the basement like their football program, our sellouts with Kent might go the way of the Acme Zip game.
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5 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
Not difficult for him to say because in his back pocket is an unlimited amount of blank checks he can write to any player he needs.
I agree with him and being in the tournament will probably be the highlight of the basketball careers of many of these players. They should enjoy the moment. I think the portal should not open after after the tourney. We had the same thing in football where a team could not play a bowl game because too many players had entered the portal. Makes no sense.
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40 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:
You definitely have to go back several years to find wins like this:
2016-17 - Houston
2015-16 - Arkansas
2014-15 - USC and South Carolina
2012-13 - Penn State
2007-08 - Florida State
The Zips have certainly came close. The UCLA game is a prime example. We also choked an NIT game against Ohio State that we should have won. I also remember a last second defeat against a really good VCU team at home when Zeke played. I do remember beating a Temple team during the NIT.
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3 hours ago, Zip JD said:
Glad to see this. I thought his lack of PT against good teams would have him looking. Unless he was on fire from 3, JG couldn't play him due to his defensive and rebounding issues. I will say he increased the intensity on the defensive side of the court as the season progressed and I think he can be a real contributor next year.
I am hoping that one year under Groce he can improve his game like all the returning players. Needs to get stronger, better defense, and rebound. Love how he moves without the ball and his quick release. He can be unstoppable.
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And Kent won their 2nd round game by 2 points.
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For those wishing to follow Kent, to hope they win and advance the MAC or those who hope they lose, well, because they are Kent. Here is information about the game: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/well-traveled-kent-state-visits-stanford-in-nit-second-round/
Kent's victory and the Zips clearly being outmatched against Arizona, am I the only Zip fan left wondering if we had lost to Miami and gone to the NIT, would we be making a run in the NIT?
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I hope all the players come back and that they improve as much as last year returning players. After the Arizona beat down, they have to get stronger on the boards. Hardman has to improve his defense. Okonkwo need to be able to finish at the basket. However, I thought his offense improved a great deal from the beginning of the season. Lyles has shown what a great rebounder against Miami, but he must improve on the boards against better competition. Looking forward to big improvements from this group.
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33 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:
I really enjoyed the Alabama St. game this year (SWAC) but I agree we need to scale back on the D-2 & lower schools. One per year. 1st game of the year. Home opener. Drill Walsh or Malone or Heidelberg or someone. But THAT'S IT. ONE PER YEAR.
I have said the same thing over and over again. Maybe they will listen to you.
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I thought for this game to be competitive we had to play our best game shooting well and we had to rebound. We did neither. How many times are you going to see a game where Nate played 36 minutes with 0 rebounds. And it was not for lack of effort. Arizona had the height but they were also athletic and were a good rebounding team and shot blockers. They did shoot well from 3 but many of those were wide open looks. The Arizona defense did not give us many open looks from the 3 line and we saw some forced shots.
The lack of rebounding has always been our weakness when playing quadrant one teams. (St Marys) The x and o can only go so far. As many of us had said on this board, we needed another big man who is strong on the boards. I also think Okonkwo and Lyles can improve their rebounding skills.
I really enjoyed watching the Zips play this year that set a team record for wins. I thought this team showed true grit coming back from 18 points in the championship game. I thought the first Miami game showed just how good the Zips could be when they are shooting the ball well. Most importantly, this team was smart articulate and played for each other. Really looking forward to next year.
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1 hour ago, Westie said:
Nate’s problem is he’s 6-3. If he’s 6-7 with his style, he could be effective outside the MAC. He still gets wherever he wants on the floor, but against this level of competition, no dice.
Nate did draw some fouls and did get to the foul line to score 13 points. Arizona was the best team we played all year. He had some good looks but could not hit.
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That is the 2nd three that Wilson has forced up. If it is not there he just needs to pass the ball. They are really guarding us well on the three line.
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We are down 10 and we were down by 12 in the Miami game so this team is certainly capable of coming back. Need to hit some three balls. About half the 3 balls were open looks while the other half were forced. We also missed some foul shots which we cannot afford and Lyles did not box out on a foul shot leading to 2 points.
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If we had the usual MAC refs we would have had twice the number of fouls. Letting the teams play. What was with that Grey shot with 9 seconds left. It looked like he had no idea about the clock.
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2024-25 Post Mortem and Looking Ahead to 2025-26
in Akron Zips Basketball
Posted
Does anyone else think it is weird that we have had 3 players jump ship after Mahaffey from Ohio State joined the team. Is it possible that he got paid more than the other players on the team and that upset the other players and they decided to leave. No idea if this is true but just wonder why everyone waited so long to enter the transfer pool.