Transfer Portal 2026

[Let'sGoZips94]

He has Cal Baptist written all over him. 

[Zippy87]

33 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

He has Cal Baptist written all over him. 

 

I kind of wonder with stuff like this, do players put teams in the top 3 who don't even really want them? Can they do that? Lol

[kreed5120]

13 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

I kind of wonder with stuff like this, do players put teams in the top 3 who don't even really want them? Can they do that? Lol

 

Why wouldn't they be able to? I'm sure there is a lot of embellishing going on in the portal to make players appear more marketable than they really are.

 

I would imagine at the very least Akron probably did reach out to him at some point. Whether or not Akron decided on someone else and that offer is no longer valid, your guess is as good as mine.

 

Edit: If he does come here I imagine he's a replacement for Bowen's role.

Edited 7 hours ago by kreed5120

[Illini Zip]

5 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Edit: If he does come here I imagine he's a replacement for Bowen's role.

I see the same thing.

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Illini Zip

[1981 grad]

On 4/16/2026 at 8:22 PM, 72 Roo said:

From folks inside the program I heard that they wanted Eric but feared they couldn't afford him, which was true. He ended up better on all counts. As regards Sharon they felt they had better talent coming in and coming up from redshirt. They wanted to keep him but were not going to pay much. Personally I hate losing him because I liked his grit. According to the people I talked with he was never assured he would start. 

I am really disappointed that we lost both of these guys.  It reminds me when KD left the program we lost another West Virginia guard Tavian Dunn Martin and a center, Michael Hughs and Groce had almost a rebuild in year one and we had a losing season.  (Jimond Ivey stayed and had a fantastic career at Akron)  Sharron did not have a great 2nd season but he came on at the end with a fantastic game at Kent and played well in Cleveland.  Eric has a lot of potential but I think for his development it would have been better for him to stay one year as a starter and put up the great stats and have payoff in year 3.  I will be curious if he gets to be a starter in Cinn or just a role player.  I also wonder if therse guys would have stayed but for the coaching change.

[kreed5120]

17 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

I am really disappointed that we lost both of these guys.  It reminds me when KD left the program we lost another West Virginia guard Tavian Dunn Martin and a center, Michael Hughs and Groce had almost a rebuild in year one and we had a losing season.  (Jimond Ivey stayed and had a fantastic career at Akron)  Sharron did not have a great 2nd season but he came on at the end with a fantastic game at Kent and played well in Cleveland.  Eric has a lot of potential but I think for his development it would have been better for him to stay one year as a starter and put up the great stats and have payoff in year 3.  I will be curious if he gets to be a starter in Cinn or just a role player.  I also wonder if therse guys would have stayed but for the coaching change.

 

I can't really speak about Young, but Eric attended Ford's press conference the same day he committed to Cincy. I feel it's telling how much respect and appreciation Eric had for Ford that he attended even though he knew he was leaving. Coaching change seems like a non-factor. In fact, maybe Groce left because he knew he was going to lose Eric and Young so he figured if he was going to have to rebuild anyway now was the right time to leave.

 

Hilltopper threw a number out randomly (not sure if accurate) saying Eric was going to get $700k+, which to me sounds right when you hear what others at P5 schools are making. You can't walk away from that. Maybe he stays another year and improves his value further (mind you he would have to nearly double his value to make it worthwhile as he would have 2 years instead of 3 to cash in if he stayed at Akron). Maybe he stays another year and tears his ACL like Ipsaro did at Miami. Now all that money is gone and he doesn't have a head start on life.

Edited 7 hours ago by kreed5120

[Zippy87]

42 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

I am really disappointed that we lost both of these guys.  It reminds me when KD left the program we lost another West Virginia guard Tavian Dunn Martin and a center, Michael Hughs and Groce had almost a rebuild in year one and we had a losing season.  (Jimond Ivey stayed and had a fantastic career at Akron)  Sharron did not have a great 2nd season but he came on at the end with a fantastic game at Kent and played well in Cleveland.  Eric has a lot of potential but I think for his development it would have been better for him to stay one year as a starter and put up the great stats and have payoff in year 3.  I will be curious if he gets to be a starter in Cinn or just a role player.  I also wonder if therse guys would have stayed but for the coaching change.

 

Sharron was one of my favorite Zips, but even his biggest supporters have to concede that he took a step back last year. I think it's telling that Groce - apparently armed with a bigger NIL budget - didn't bring him over. I think he has the potential to be a lead guard in a winning team, but he likely wanted to be paid like he already was one, whoch is his right. Tahj Staveskie is a pretty clear upgrade in terms of both current ability and experience. 

 

I really wanted Eric to stay, but there's no way Akron can pay him like a star (the rumored $700 K) when he hasn't proven to be that just yet. Obviously the potential is there, but the advantage schools like Cincinnati have with NIL is they can pay him that and not expect him to be the centerpiece of the team. 

 

I do think we need a player with some size and scoring ability to replace him. Amarion Dickerson is my dream target, but I'm not sure if we can pull that off. 

 

[zippy5]

Hot take Eric is the next Ali Ali. See you at Akron again in 2027

[Zippy87]

 

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

 

I'm more than okay with this. We're certainly still in need of a 3 & D guy (although not like Bowen played good defense) but I am hoping for a little more size. We have plenty of 6' guards on the roster right now.

[HoopsFan03]

Definitely need a 6'6"-6'8" guard/small forward scorer. Unless our redshirt or incoming freshmen are ready. 

[kreed5120]

Buffalo Oboh to Penn State. This one surprised me a bit as he doesn't seem like a B1G caliber player. Then again Penn State is usually near the bottom of the B1G.

 

https://x.com/i/status/2045886713516429419

[RoyalBlu]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

Buffalo Oboh to Penn State. This one surprised me a bit as he doesn't seem like a B1G caliber player. Then again Penn State is usually near the bottom of the B1G.

 

https://x.com/i/status/2045886713516429419

May not be a Big Ten player ... but definitely has Big 10 size. He'll be a rotational banger at the very least 15-20 min a game. I'd take him!!!

[NWAkron]

So Max Burton and 4 dudes at this point?

[NWAkron]

On 4/17/2026 at 8:25 AM, csims0917 said:

Is halligan getting a scholarship then?

He could start on any MAC team.

[kreed5120]

5 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

 

Sharron was one of my favorite Zips, but even his biggest supporters have to concede that he took a step back last year. I think it's telling that Groce - apparently armed with a bigger NIL budget - didn't bring him over. I think he has the potential to be a lead guard in a winning team, but he likely wanted to be paid like he already was one, whoch is his right. Tahj Staveskie is a pretty clear upgrade in terms of both current ability and experience. 

 

The portal tool I have access to agrees with you. The only area Young has Staveskie beat in is defense.

 

Edit: It should be noted that those numbers you see below represent percentiles at your position. 50 would mean you were average.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by kreed5120

[AkronAlumnus]

5 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

I do think we need a player with some size and scoring ability to replace him. Amarion Dickerson is my dream target, but I'm not sure if we can pull that off. 

 

Me too!!

[Zip JD]

50 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

The portal tool I have access to agrees with you. The only area Young has Staveskie beat in is defense.

 

Edit: It should be noted that those numbers you see below represent percentiles at your position. 50 would mean you were average.

 

Can you post the other new arrivals vs the departures?   

[kreed5120]

26 minutes ago, Zip JD said:

Can you post the other new arrivals vs the departures?   

 

I don't believe the others accumulated enough playing time to be graded.

 

Eric was obviously the big loss here. They actually graded him as a high major starter/mid-major all conference for next year, which to me checks out.

 

As I said before the percentiles are position based. Burton with a higher playmaker score doesn't mean he's a better playmaker than Eric. It just means he was borderline elite for a big in that category while Eric was good relative to other wings.