kreed5120 Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 18 minutes ago, 1981 grad said: 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. It's hard for me to fault the kid. I love my job, but if a recruiter reached out to me telling me they would double or triple my pay to do the exact same job for a competitor, I'd probably leave as well. That doesn't necessarily mean he didn't enjoy his time here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronAlumnus Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 Definitely not the worst of losses. Yeah they lose some height from an already small team but Okonkwo was the softest player on the team by far and didn't really bring much - I like Lyles more actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 1 hour ago, AkronAlumnus said: Definitely not the worst of losses. Yeah they lose some height from an already small team but Okonkwo was the softest player on the team by far and didn't really bring much - I like Lyles more actually. So did the coaches. Look who was in the game in crunch time late in the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewbrooman1 Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 On 4/12/2025 at 1:26 PM, 1981 grad said: 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. Totaling 4 schools in 5 years. Hard to root for a guy like that. See ya. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipsFan31 Posted April 14 Report Share Posted April 14 This is the money top schools pay. Is Utah a top school, no but probably has a decent budget. You can’t blame the kid for making life changing money if he invests it right! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 15 Author Report Share Posted April 15 I don't blame Okonkwo for taking the offer if the tweet @ZipsFan31 shared is even close to accurate. It doesn't make him a bad person, he is just taking an opportunity that may not ever be there again for him. Maybe he can play pro overseas, but I don't think that's a guarantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 26 minutes ago, Zippy87 said: Maybe he can play pro overseas, but I don't think that's a guarantee. I think at 58 years of age, I could still play overseas. 😁 There are pro leagues all over Europe (and Turkey, Russia, Israel...). If he wants to play internationally...and he's from England so he knows the score...he can make a 10 year career out of it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 16 Author Report Share Posted April 16 5 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said: I think at 58 years of age, I could still play overseas. 😁 There are pro leagues all over Europe (and Turkey, Russia, Israel...). If he wants to play internationally...and he's from England so he knows the score...he can make a 10 year career out of it. I'm sure he can play somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoopsFan03 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 On 4/12/2025 at 9:54 PM, dirtyolcrowe said: Wow!!! so we have UW-Milwaukee & Princeton at home and visit to Purdue. nice!!! Just watched a video talking about Purdue being a top 3 team next year. 3 main guys returning and a 7' 4" redshirt freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 It seems very premature with the portal still active and rosters still being finalized to rank teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 1 hour ago, HoopsFan03 said: Just watched a video talking about Purdue being a top 3 team next year. 3 main guys returning and a 7' 4" redshirt freshman. They were a top 4 team and had 2 guys over 7 ft tall (including Edey) when they lost to 16 seed FDU. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Don't forget, it's the UA Day of Giving. Get in and donate something to the basketball program. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) 14 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Don't forget, it's the UA Day of Giving. Get in and donate something to the basketball program. My son is being born this morning - they're getting a new fan. 😂 The baby's room is nothing but sports with plenty of Akron, and I'm wearing an Akron sweatshirt and the 2025 MAC Champions t-shirt, so he has no choice. Edited April 17 by Let'sGoZips94 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: My son is being born this morning - they're getting a new fan. 😂 The baby's room is nothing but sports with plenty of Akron, and I'm wearing an Akron sweatshirt and the 2025 MAC Champions t-shirt, so he has no choice. congrats! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeRise225 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Nate Johnson to the portal...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 5 minutes ago, WeRise225 said: Nate Johnson to the portal...... We can’t use the appropriate language on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 I blame every Zips fan who didn't contribute $350,000 to the basketball program's Day of Giving fund today. And people wonder why the mid-majors performed so poorly in the NCAA tourney...every good/great player gets poached, regardless of culture, coach, NIL money...from the NIL/portal era until the end of time there will never be another number raised to the JAR rafters...unless we lower the bar to "impactful 1- or 2-year mercenaries". Get used to #foreverazip and watching your most promising Zips players compete in other team's jersey's for their final year or two. If this doesn't make you appreciate Freeman, nothing will. I can't imagine the money he turned down to stick with the Zips. The Zips should still be the favorite to win the MAC. And the spread for our Round #1 NCAA tournament game should be around Zips +17. Shammah and Sharron will happily take his minutes, and flourish. But you don't improve your roster by losing the MAC PoTY who was entering his senior season. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 19 minutes ago, WeRise225 said: Nate Johnson to the portal...... That certainly stings. Fortunately we're already deep at guard so we can absorb some of the lost production in the aggregate of the current roster. Still it's tough losing a two way player of Johnson's caliber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Man that hurts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Maybe he's just opening the door to offers, possibly to come back (wishful thinking). Hell of a gift on the Day of Giving. He should have spoken to Ali as to how much greener that grass is elsewhere. It's amusing that his X handle is LoyaltyNateJohnson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 17 Author Report Share Posted April 17 Glad I didn't buy a Nate Johnson jersey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) 10 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Maybe he's just opening the door to offers, possibly to come back (wishful thinking). Hell of a gift on the Day of Giving. He should have spoken to Ali as to how much greener that grass is elsewhere. It's amusing that his X handle is LoyaltyNateJohnson. I wouldn't be surprised if a school reached out to his agent and a deal is already in place. If he was dead set on transferring, he probably would have entered much sooner. Teams that missed out on their initial targets are probably getting more desperate to land a difference maker as the portal is nearing close so upping offers. Edited April 17 by kreed5120 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Just now, kreed5120 said: I wouldn't be surprised if a school reached out to his agent and a deal is already in place. If he was dead set on transferring, he probably would have entered much sooner. Teams that missed out on their initial targets are probably getting more desperate to land a difference maker as the portal is nearing close and upping offers. True. I think he and a P4 team are likely to be disappointed as I don't think he's a difference maker at that level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 2 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: True. I think he and a P4 team are likely to be disappointed as I don't think he's a difference maker at that level. Probably not, but his defense alone should make him good enough to see the floor 15-20 minutes/game. I think that's the part of his game we'll miss most. We have other offensively talented guards to help fill the void. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 17 Author Report Share Posted April 17 2 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: True. I think he and a P4 team are likely to be disappointed as I don't think he's a difference maker at that level. Looked up Nate's numbers against Arizona, Yale, Arkansas State, and St. Marys: 9 ppg on 8-41 (19.5%) shooting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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