2025-26 Post Mortem and Looking Ahead to 2026-27

[dirtyolcrowe]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Eric M left.  Either to follow Groce or a school closer to cincy to be close to his father.  
we have to retain Young!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, AkronAlumnus said:

With the announcement of Coach Ford's promotion,  is it safe to assume that our guys will run it back? 

 

Would be surprised if there is a mass exodus.

Edited Monday at 10:52 PM by Let'sGoZips94

[Zippy87]

I wonder what type of offense Ford will have the Zips run. Will it be the fast-paced "All gas, no brakes" style, or, given his expertise in developing bigs, do we go back to a more similar style to when Freeman was the centerpiece of the offense? Obviously, if he intends to shift back to that, we'd need to add some serious front court talent in the portal. 

[Zippy87]

Not that it means anything, but I looked at who is following the Charleston Basketball IG after yesterday and the only current players are Halligan, MMK, and Groce (obviously).

[Reslife4Life]

2 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

I wonder what type of offense Ford will have the Zips run. Will it be the fast-paced "All gas, no brakes" style, or, given his expertise in developing bigs, do we go back to a more similar style to when Freeman was the centerpiece of the offense? Obviously, if he intends to shift back to that, we'd need to add some serious front court talent in the portal. 

I really doubt we can play that freeman style, we need an established and talented big to do that. Enrique was 1/1, We can't run the offense through a guy like Barre, Okonkwo, Aziz, even amani too

[Zippy87]

Bowen's IG announced he signed with an agency for NIL representation. I would take this as he was awarded that additional year of eligibility. 

[kreed5120]

4 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

Bowen's IG announced he signed with an agency for NIL representation. I would take this as he was awarded that additional year of eligibility. 

Would also imply that he plans to test the waters as the Instagram post read as an advertisement of his skillset.

[RoyalBlu]

I'm always amazed at the fact 3-pt shooters - especially guards/wings - seem to be so coveted, when so few of them average much more than 11-12 ppg. I'd take a JCampbell (BG) type-guard in a heartbeat over a 3-pt shooter because he gives a team so much more ... and he barley made 20-percent on his 3-pointers.

 

[kreed5120]

13 minutes ago, RoyalBlu said:

I'm always amazed at the fact 3-pt shooters - especially guards/wings - seem to be so coveted, when so few of them average much more than 11-12 ppg. I'd take a JCampbell (BG) type-guard in a heartbeat over a 3-pt shooter because he gives a team so much more ... and he barley made 20-percent on his 3-pointers.

 

 

I feel it's because of the whole positionless basketball movement. Teams want to be able to do switches defensively without getting mismatches.

 

I would also prefer a dynamic guard, but the reality is there are a lot more ~6'1" guards available than 6'5"-6'8" guards/wings so that creates scarcity. Simple supply and demand.

[clarkwgriswold]

Ford has been the guy behind the defense so that should remain solid.  As for the offense, he's smart enough to let the talent determine the scheme, but I suspect he'd prefer up tempo.

 

I was considering opening a thread on this.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Ford is doing a social media tour on X.

 

Wonder if we'll start to hear some Portal/Returning news tomorrow. 

[zipsrule]

6 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Ford is doing a social media tour on X.

 

Wonder if we'll start to hear some Portal/Returning news tomorrow. 

He was also on Baskin and Phelps this afternoon.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 minute ago, zipsrule said:

He was also on Baskin and Phelps this afternoon.

 

Oh was he?! Bummer I missed it. How was the interview?

[zipsrule]

It was good.  Dustin seems very excited for this opportunity.

 

https://www.audacy.com/stations/923thefan/shows/baskin-phelps-f7cad/episodes/b95e8f2423e2

 

It is part 11.

Edited 16 hours ago by zipsrule

[Let'sGoZips94]

15 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

It was good.  Dustin seems very excited for this opportunity.

 

https://www.audacy.com/stations/923thefan/shows/baskin-phelps-f7cad/episodes/b95e8f2423e2

 

It is part 11.

 

Thanks for posting. What a fun listen. Ford has the hype factor. That makes me want to run through a brick wall.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Devan Marrow is staying per Ford. 

[LZIp]

49 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

It was good.  Dustin seems very excited for this opportunity.

 

https://www.audacy.com/stations/923thefan/shows/baskin-phelps-f7cad/episodes/b95e8f2423e2

 

It is part 11.

Thanks for sharing. I’m pumped!

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Devan Marrow is staying per Ford. 

 

Since he didn't mention anyone else by name I wonder if they rest are following Groce.

[ZipForNow]

I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a transition plan in place to retain Eric and Sharron, maybe contact between Goodrich and Bud prior to Groce leaving. Maybe a Dustin convo? Goodrich seems to have been ready for the coaching change.

[ZipForNow]

47 minutes ago, ZipForNow said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a transition plan in place to retain Eric and Sharron, maybe contact between Goodrich and Bud prior to Groce leaving. Maybe a Dustin convo? Goodrich seems to have been ready for the coaching change.

Retention strategy is super important in the TP NIL Coaching Carousel era.

Edited 4 hours ago by ZipForNow

[Zippy87]

From ABJ:

 

The NCAA transfer portal will open for college basketball players on April 7 and remain open for 15 days. Guards Eric Mahaffey and Sharron Young are notable Zips players with remaining eligibility whom Akron hopes to retain.

With Ford taking the torch from Groce, at least UA has a head coach its players know.

“I think it helps, right?” Ford said. “But in today's climate, you never know. I think it'll clearly give us an upper hand on retaining some guys. I've had the ability here to meet with the majority of them, some of them over the phone, some of them face to face.

“We've had good conversations. Our guys know where I stand and what my expectations are, and I think that'll help. But, obviously, guys have to make a decision. At the University of Akron, not only the athletic program, we want guys who want to be here.”

[kreed5120]

12 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

From ABJ:

 

The NCAA transfer portal will open for college basketball players on April 7 and remain open for 15 days. Guards Eric Mahaffey and Sharron Young are notable Zips players with remaining eligibility whom Akron hopes to retain.

With Ford taking the torch from Groce, at least UA has a head coach its players know.

“I think it helps, right?” Ford said. “But in today's climate, you never know. I think it'll clearly give us an upper hand on retaining some guys. I've had the ability here to meet with the majority of them, some of them over the phone, some of them face to face.

“We've had good conversations. Our guys know where I stand and what my expectations are, and I think that'll help. But, obviously, guys have to make a decision. At the University of Akron, not only the athletic program, we want guys who want to be here.”

 

The uncertainty is less than ideal. Likely an indication a few plan to test the waters. A bit surprised nobody has yet come out and announced it one way or the other.

[Let'sGoZips94]