2025-26 season in process

[Captain Kangaroo]

40 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I see Cody Head stepping into Shammah Scott’s role for the next 2 years and then Jashawn Ladd after him.

 

And let me say we often talk about Freeman being the poster boy for skill development at Akron (and rightfully so) but Shammah Scott is a man on a mission out there. I’m so proud of how much he has improved and the way he plays. 

Look at Tavari...he was pretty underwhelming his first 2 seasons, and he's been lights-out ever since.

 

Lyles was a 5 mpg & 5 fouls per game center. Now he's dominant.

 

Lots of examples of guys who get better every season.

[kreed5120]

I will say Tavari as a freshman showed flashes that made you think he could be great. It took him some time to show he could do it on a nightly basis.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Akron down to 56 in KenPom with today's results thus far. The sky is falling.

[Illini Zip]

12 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Akron down to 56 in KenPom with today's results thus far. The sky is falling.

Unacceptable!! I guess we will just have to win big enough tonight to get it back. 

[csims0917]

[Zippy87]

We have seen a decent chunk of games now to start formulating some opinions on this year's team. 

 

Tavari Johnson has been fantastic. He's averaging 19/5, taking care of the basketball, and playing good defense. He has turned into a phenomenal player. Shammah Scott has been superb as well, averaging 14 a game while shooting 43% from deep (best in the MAC). Bowen Hardman is right behind him at 41%. Evan Mahaffey has been a difference-maker. His offensive game is limited, but he can create a bit for others and plays excellent defense. Eric is the future for Akron (assuming we can keep him). I think he'll be our 3rd best player by March after TJ and SS. MMK has done a great job, although I contend he will struggle to contain opposing 5s on good teams like Yale. But the effort and motor are valuable to this team. It's tough to judge much from Stankovic and Barre so far. Stankovic has shown flashes of enormous potential, and I expect a lot of growth this season. His defense has improved. I don't quite understand Barre's role here. He has good size and plays hard, and seems to fill a need for this team, but he's pretty clearly at the bottom of the depth chart. Maybe we will see that change over time. 

Halligan has brought good energy off the bench. Groce has played hard. We haven't seen much of Brisco. 

 

To me, the key players the rest of the way are Lyles and Young. We are going to need Lyles to rebound and play good interior defense to have a shot against good teams. We need the guy who averaged almost 10 a game in the MAC Tournament last year. Sharron just needs to find his shot - his shooting percentages are down from last year. He's provided significant energy off the bench, though, and I love the young man's heart. 

 

[clarkwgriswold]

Nice article on Terry Weigand and his son's battle with a rare cancer-

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2025/11/25/terry-weigand-family-optimism-cancer-akron-zips-mens-basketball/87271567007/

[Reslife4Life]

Just a note that Kenpom has us ranked 302nd in "Luck" with a -0.76. Don't really know how that number is calculated, but that must've shot way down after the yale game

[kreed5120]

22 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said:

Just a note that Kenpom has us ranked 302nd in "Luck" with a -0.76. Don't really know how that number is calculated, but that must've shot way down after the yale game

 

Yes, it pretty much means we've played much better than our record indicated based on our SOS. I think we would pretty middle of the road prior to the Yale game. 

[kreed5120]

Last year the first NET rankings were released the first Monday in December. If that remains true, we should see them Monday. 

 

Beware they are usually pretty puzzling the first few weeks since NET doesn't use preseason rankings to help smooth them like NET does. This will lead to a couple head scratching teams ranked very high. As we get into conference they will begin to sort itself out.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

Last year the first NET rankings were released the first Monday in December. If that remains true, we should see them Monday. 

 

Beware they are usually pretty puzzling the first few weeks since NET doesn't use preseason rankings to help smooth them like NET does. This will lead to a couple head scratching teams ranked very high. As we get into conference they will begin to sort itself out.

 

I think Akron will be top 80 or 90 to start.