2018 Offers

[akronzips71]

Coaches will be watching the Rec Center very closely.

 

[zippy5]

1 hour ago, akronzips71 said:

Coaches will be watching the Rec Center very closely.

 

We have one open scholarship on April 16th, it'll be okay. Duvivier announced he was transferring May 14th last year.

[kreed5120]

There are still a lot of players looking for a home. Worst comes to worst I don't mind going into the season with a scholarship available. There are typically a few players looking to transfer mid year. Having a scholarship available played a part in Toledo being able to land Willie Jackson when he decided to transfer from Missouri.

[Hilltopper]

There are 2 open scholarships.

[Captain Kangaroo]

48 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

We have one open scholarship on April 16th, it'll be okay. Duvivier announced he was transferring May 14th last year.

If programs like Colorado and Rutgers are still picking up meaningful players as of yesterday, I'm pretty confident Akron's remaining scholarships will be used on decent talent too.

[LZIp]

11 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

If programs like Colorado and Rutgers are still picking up meaningful players as of yesterday, I'm pretty confident Akron's remaining scholarships will be used on decent talent too.

and Memphis and Georgetown, among others. I think my reason for being disappointed is I had my hopes up that we were getting a pretty nice player when Parrish was seemingly pushed out. It seems we've mostly struck out (with the current only outstanding offer being Alvarez). Here's to hoping they can save face and close the class with 2 nice high school recruits.

[zippy5]

7 minutes ago, LZIp said:

and Memphis and Georgetown, among others. I think my reason for being disappointed is I had my hopes up that we were getting a pretty nice player when Parrish was seemingly pushed out. It seems we've mostly struck out (with the current only outstanding offer being Alvarez). Here's to hoping they can save face and close the class with 2 nice high school recruits.

Maybe we got Parrish's "replacement" in Roscoe and/or Banks and he didn't have much PT in his future

[NWAkron]

2 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Maybe we got Parrish's "replacement" in Roscoe and/or Banks and he didn't have much PT in his future

We don't know that anyone pushed him out.  Might just be a kid changing his mind.   But still a disappointing situation.

[Let'sGoZips94]

According to the 247Sports page that @NWAkron(?) previously shared, we only have 1 outstanding offer left, which is Neftali Alvarez. We'll see what he does (he'd be one helluva get), but look at who we've lost out to. Rutgers, South Carolina, Xavier, Northwestern, Bucknell, and Colorado (I don't count Duquesne because I'm assuming those "offers" by Akron were made under Dambrot). All P5 schools and a Bucknell program with quite a bit of tournament notoriety in the last decade. The recent exodus of Akron players (Patton, Cotton, Parrish) is not a fluke/accident. They are re-tooling/upgrading, and I'm sure they have players in the pipeline that we don't know about. 

 

The sky is not falling. 

Edited April 16, 2018 by Let'sGoZips94

[Let'sGoZips94]

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article208965349.html

 

I will say I'm not sure how much this connection is helping WSU since he hasn't committed to be a Shocker yet. Also...

 

@OntheRadarHoops: 2018 Miami Christian (FL) guard Neftali Alvarez @alvarez2neftali has picked up an offer from UTEP

Edited April 18, 2018 by Let'sGoZips94

[akronzips71]

Didn't we have a Florida "Mr. Basketball" on the roster for four years?

Played about 5 minutes total.

[Illini Zip]

3 minutes ago, UAZippers said:

Tyler Cheese signed with the Zips!

 

 

 

I have to be the first to say it because it makes me laugh; Cheese for three! 

 

[Illini Zip]

Another south-paw too. Both Roscoe and Cheese are lefties. Lefties balance out the motion and attack on offense. Also, they can be a scouting nightmare for opponents.

[akronzips71]

At least he is used to playing in an empty arena.

[roopride]

So what do you guys think about this signing?  Two years left. We need a point guard. Is this a plus ot neutral signig?

[akronzips71]

NOT a point guard

[Hilltopper]

1 hour ago, akronzips71 said:

NOT a point guard

Looks like he can play the point.

 

"2018 Suncoast Conference First Team selection, Cheese ranked second on the team in scoring (15.1 points) and led the squad in assists (6.6) this season. His 6.6 assists per game ranked second-best in Region VIII and ranked 13th in the nation. He scored in double figures 21 times during the season, including scoring a career-high 40 points (13-of-26 shooting from the field and 13-of-15 from the charity stripe) against IMG (Jan. 5). The owner of only triple-doubles (2) in program history (vs. IMG on Jan. 5, 2018 - 40 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists; vs. Central Fla. on Mar. 3, 2018 - 36 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds), Cheese scored 793 points during his career at FSW."

 

 

 

[clarkwgriswold]

I saw something that described him as a combo guard.

[Let'sGoZips94]

15 hours ago, roopride said:

So what do you guys think about this signing?  Two years left. We need a point guard. Is this a plus ot neutral signig?

 

This is what the signing, along with the other commitments thus far, says to me. 

 

Groce noticed a huge deficiency in the back-court last year. Whether it be skill wise, character/personality wise, leadership wise, who knows, but there was a void. When you look around college basketball, guards dominate March. We have good size/depth in the front court, and the experience will come. However, we lacked the guards last year. I used to dislike JUCOs, especially when Can't State was essentially a DI JUCO team, but in today's college basketball landscape they are a necessity. Can you build a program with freshman guards? Absolutely, but there will probably be a drop off for a couple of years due to the room for physical, skill, and maturity growth. Groce isn't in the business of a multi-year drop off. He is in "win now" mode. We had our off year, and still nearly made it to the semi-finals of the MAC tourney. By going heavy on the JUCO route this off-season, he has by-passed the multi-year growth process, and let someone else work with the JUCO kids to grow physically, maturity wise, and skill wise. 

 

With these 3 commitments, our back-court now looks like this...

 

Jackson (5-8)

Hester (6-3)

Roscoe (6-3)

Cheese (6-4)

Ivey (6-4)

Banks (6-5)

Utomi (6-6)

Toles (6-6)

 

Wow. Find me a MAC squad - aside from Buffalo - with that kind of size in their back-court. The best part? They're all play-makers. I'm not too familiar with Jackson's game, but Toles, Banks, Roscoe, Cheese, Ivey, Utomi, and Hester all have nice, well-rounded, aggressive games where they can get to the basket or shoot it from outside. We're becoming a matchup nightmare in one off-season, assuming these guys play to their perceived potential based on their highlight videos. 

[NWAkron]

36 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

This is what the signing, along with the other commitments thus far, says to me. 

 

Groce noticed a huge deficiency in the back-court last year. Whether it be skill wise, character/personality wise, leadership wise, who knows, but there was a void. When you look around college basketball, guards dominate March. We have good size/depth in the front court, and the experience will come. However, we lacked the guards last year. I used to dislike JUCOs, especially when Can't State was essentially a DI JUCO team, but in today's college basketball landscape they are a necessity. Can you build a program with freshman guards? Absolutely, but there will probably be a drop off for a couple of years due to the room for physical, skill, and maturity growth. Groce isn't in the business of a multi-year drop off. He is in "win now" mode. We had our off year, and still nearly made it to the semi-finals of the MAC tourney. By going heavy on the JUCO route this off-season, he has by-passed the multi-year growth process, and let someone else work with the JUCO kids to grow physically, maturity wise, and skill wise. 

 

With these 3 commitments, our back-court now looks like this...

 

Jackson (5-8)

Hester (6-3)

Roscoe (6-3)

Cheese (6-4)

Ivey (6-4)

Banks (6-5)

Utomi (6-6)

Toles (6-6)

 

Wow. Find me a MAC squad - aside from Buffalo - with that kind of size in their back-court. The best part? They're all play-makers. I'm not too familiar with Jackson's game, but Toles, Banks, Roscoe, Cheese, Ivey, Utomi, and Hester all have nice, well-rounded, aggressive games where they can get to the basket or shoot it from outside. We're becoming a matchup nightmare in one off-season, assuming these guys play to their perceived potential based on their highlight videos. 

Always appreciate your optimism.

[Captain Kangaroo]

17 hours ago, akronzips71 said:

NOT a point guard

Why NOT?

[Illini Zip]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

This is what the signing, along with the other commitments thus far, says to me. 

 

Groce noticed a huge deficiency in the back-court last year. Whether it be skill wise, character/personality wise, leadership wise, who knows, but there was a void. When you look around college basketball, guards dominate March. We have good size/depth in the front court, and the experience will come. However, we lacked the guards last year. I used to dislike JUCOs, especially when Can't State was essentially a DI JUCO team, but in today's college basketball landscape they are a necessity. Can you build a program with freshman guards? Absolutely, but there will probably be a drop off for a couple of years due to the room for physical, skill, and maturity growth. Groce isn't in the business of a multi-year drop off. He is in "win now" mode. We had our off year, and still nearly made it to the semi-finals of the MAC tourney. By going heavy on the JUCO route this off-season, he has by-passed the multi-year growth process, and let someone else work with the JUCO kids to grow physically, maturity wise, and skill wise. 

 

With these 3 commitments, our back-court now looks like this...

 

Jackson (5-8)

Hester (6-3)

Roscoe (6-3)

Cheese (6-4)

Ivey (6-4)

Banks (6-5)

Utomi (6-6)

Toles (6-6)

 

Wow. Find me a MAC squad - aside from Buffalo - with that kind of size in their back-court. The best part? They're all play-makers. I'm not too familiar with Jackson's game, but Toles, Banks, Roscoe, Cheese, Ivey, Utomi, and Hester all have nice, well-rounded, aggressive games where they can get to the basket or shoot it from outside. We're becoming a matchup nightmare in one off-season, assuming these guys play to their perceived potential based on their highlight videos. 

 

I would add that even with the revamped roster that Let'sGoZips has laid out nicely, I bet Groce is still going hard at Neftali Alvarez. We have one roster spot left and the room for one more true point guard. Jackson is undersized and Banks is oversized. Both have a roll to play depending on the opponent, but a spot still exists for that dynamic difference maker. Come on Alvarez!!

 

I would still take a true freshman big to red shirt if it's the right one.

 

 

 

[kreed5120]

With the size and depth we're accumulating in the back court I'd have to believe the plan is to play Utomi at the 4 for 10-15 minutes per game.

[clarkwgriswold]

Not holding my breath on Alvarez.  He's going to end up at Wichita State.

[NWAkron]

15 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Not holding my breath on Alvarez.  He's going to end up at Wichita State.

So let it be written.  So let it be done.