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

[Zippy87]

 

Coach Ford retweeted this. Maybe Evan is still possible? 

[kreed5120]

35 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

Coach Ford retweeted this. Maybe Evan is still possible? 

Not sure if he is appealing individually.

[Let'sGoZips94]

47 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

Coach Ford retweeted this. Maybe Evan is still possible? 

 

Oriol is in addition to Evan so there has to be some path for Evan to be eligible.

 

I still am curious where Oriol's roster spot is coming from. As it currently stands, Akron has the best roster in the MAC.

[Zips1991]

12 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Oriol is in addition to Evan so there has to be some path for Evan to be eligible.

 

I still am curious where Oriol's roster spot is coming from. As it currently stands, Akron has the best roster in the MAC.

Is it possible a freshman decommitted? It's awfully late in the summer for that, but who knows. Transfers are closed at this point, right?

[Let'sGoZips94]

10 minutes ago, Zips1991 said:

Is it possible a freshman decommitted? It's awfully late in the summer for that, but who knows. Transfers are closed at this point, right?

 

That would be best case scenario IMO. As the roster is currently constructed, unless the freshman are studs, they will get very little playing time at best. 

[Zips1991]

11 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

That would be best case scenario IMO. As the roster is currently constructed, unless the freshman are studs, they will get very little playing time at best. 

FWIW, there's a Summer roster on GoZips.com and it shows Mahaffey but not Oriole. They haven't officially announced Oriole though so that's not surprising.

[zippy5]

True an Akron team would never have an ineligible player working with the team this close to the season

[kreed5120]

I would have to think he would already have to be enrolled to be eligible for the fall semester.

[Let'sGoZips94]

35 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

I would have to think he would already have to be enrolled to be eligible for the fall semester.

 

[Zips1991]

1 hour ago, zippy5 said:

True an Akron team would never have an ineligible player working with the team this close to the season

To be fair, the rumor was that Poffenbarger was NOT practicing with the team later in the summer. But I take the point 😆

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

 

Rules only apply to programs like Akron, not programs like LSU or Michigan. 

[Zippy87]

If one of the freshman transferred out and both Evan and Oriol were eligible, Akron would have a shot at being pretty special. 

 

Mahaffey

Pence

Burton

Oriol

Staveskie 

 

...with Hammer Jr, White, Head, Wilson, Barre, MMK, Halligan, Perkins, and Henderson off the bench. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

17 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

If one of the freshman transferred out and both Evan and Oriol were eligible, Akron would have a shot at being pretty special. 

 

Mahaffey

Pence

Burton

Oriol

Staveskie 

 

...with Hammer Jr, White, Head, Wilson, Barre, MMK, Halligan, Perkins, and Henderson off the bench. 

 

Nearly 40ppg from Oriol and Staveskie alone is a staggering difference from previous years, not to mention their size upgrades from sub 6' guards. Pence is a ~10-12ppg minimum type of player, Mahaffey will give you 8-10, Burton could be sneaky if they unlock his outside shot (dare I say 8-10ppg?), and I expect most of the bench to be in the 8-10 range as well. There's a chance we average 100+ ppg as a team (I'm kidding - sorta). 

[kreed5120]

18 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

If one of the freshman transferred out and both Evan and Oriol were eligible, Akron would have a shot at being pretty special. 

 

Mahaffey

Pence

Burton

Oriol

Staveskie 

 

...with Hammer Jr, White, Head, Wilson, Barre, MMK, Halligan, Perkins, and Henderson off the bench. 

 

Definitely a lot of flexibility. With a roster like that they can very easily make in game adjustments to play smaller, bigger, or aggressively sub if wanting to play uptempo.

[csims0917]

10 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Nearly 40ppg from Oriol and Staveskie alone is a staggering difference from previous years, not to mention their size upgrades from sub 6' guards. Pence is a ~10-12ppg minimum type of player, Mahaffey will give you 8-10, Burton could be sneaky if they unlock his outside shot (dare I say 8-10ppg?), and I expect most of the bench to be in the 8-10 range as well. There's a chance we average 100+ ppg as a team (I'm kidding - sorta). 

Only thing stopping us would be time if every average held lmao

[kreed5120]

1 minute ago, csims0917 said:

Only thing stopping us would be time if every average held lmao

 

I would say the fact we're limited to 1 basketball. I wonder if you add up all their FGA and FTA per game how that compares to our team last year. That's even with us playing one of the fastest paces in college basketball last year.

[Zips1991]

On 9/9/2026 at 4:21 PM, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

That would be best case scenario IMO. As the roster is currently constructed, unless the freshman are studs, they will get very little playing time at best. 

FWIW, Devan Christion took part of a promotion during the football game and was announced as a member of the Akron basketball team so that's at least one freshman who did not leave 😆 

[clarkwgriswold]

Some tidbits from the golf outing:

 

* Many close to the program believe this is one of the most talented teams we've had.

* There may be a big judicial decision soon  that impacts Evan's eligibility.

* The big man from Western Michigan, Burton, has a sprained ankle and could be out 4-6 weeks.

* The kid from North Florida, Oriol, is a real shooter from distance.

* The players, just like the teams in the past, really seem so enjoy each other.

 

Edited September 21 by clarkwgriswold

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Some tidbits from the golf outing:

 

* Many close to the program believe this is one of the most talented teams we've had.

* There may be a big judicial decision soon  that impacts Evan's eligibility.

* The big man from Western Michigan, Burton, has a sprained ankle and could be out 4-6 weeks.

* The kid from North Florida, Oriol, is a real shooter from distance.

* The players, just like the teams in the past, really seem so enjoy each other.

 

 

Bummed I missed introducing myself but I hope you had a good time. Rain sucked a bit but overall it was a very fun time. Special thank you to @HoopsFan03 and @Captain Kangaroo for teaming up with @GoZips88 and myself. Also a pleasure meeting @Hilltopper.

 

 

A few scattered comments about the outing...

 

Very fun event. KD and Dustin Ford were driving around together which was cool to see. Ty Pence is a stick - 180 yd par 3 downhill and he stuck it to 15-20 feet. As Clark mentioned, Burton was in a boot but it would've been fun to see him play; his "back to school fun fact" was that he's a scratch golfer. Goodrich gave people a read on #10 green which HoopsFan took advantage of by draining a 40 ft birdie putt. 

 

Nikola Cventinovic was there - cool to see him around the program still. One of the groups in the morning had a McNees, although I cannot confirm if it was Steve, a family member, or completely unrelated (unlikely). 

 

Adding to Clark's notes, Oriol will also likely be affected by a blanket Supreme Court ruling. This whole thing is a mess. 

 

The team is big. That was an obvious observation anytime the players were seen around the course/clubhouse. 

 

The assistant pro at Lake Forest - Isaiah I believe is his name - is an Akron grad that went to UA to play baseball the year the program was cut. He ended up staying and getting his degree. Incredibly nice individual. 

 

Andrew Goodrich was out and about. He, Dustin, and Wentz all gave speeches at certain points. Wentz made the comment that the program, athletic department, and University have never been more cohesive and in unison than right now. I missed some of the details, but it sounds like the program is in good standing financially, too. 

 

The women's team supposedly has the best collection of talent in a long, long time. Gensler and the team were also there, with the team taking tee shots for people on one of the par 3s. 

 

Lastly, the Akron community is awesome. I made the comment to my dad that despite Akron not having quite the same opportunities as a school like LSU, we get to root for guys like Dustin Ford instead of Lane Kiffin. 

[Zippy87]

Thank you both for sharing. Do you sense optimism that Evan and/or Oriol will be able to play? If both can play, where does the roster spot come from? 

[Captain Kangaroo]

8 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

Thank you both for sharing. Do you sense optimism that Evan and/or Oriol will be able to play? If both can play, where does the roster spot come from? 

The best one-liner of the day is when Ford said "I'll be a lot better coach next year if those two guys are eligible."

[ZipsFan31]

I saw a post about Mark Mitchell who was a 5th year who committed back to Missouri when Missouri had 15 active players. The post said that since Mitchell was on the Roster last year, He could get a roster spot exemption. Made no sense to me, but Evan and Mitchell are the exact same Situation. So if Missouri can have 16 spots so can Akron I guess. lol  

[ZipsFan31]

here is the post I saw: 

 

Mark Mitchell returned to Missouri after briefly de-committing and committing to Kentucky, bringing the Tigers' roster to a potential 16 players under a specific roster exemption. [1, 2]

Missouri was already carrying 15 players on its roster when Mitchell decided to return to Columbia for a fifth year of eligibility. The addition does not violate standard limits because the program can carry 16 players via a roster exemption, or due to players grandfathered in as designated student-athletes when the 15-player limit was established. Mitchell's fifth-year eligibility remains subject to a pending NCAA appeal following his legal maneuvering in Kentucky

[Zippy87]

6 minutes ago, ZipsFan31 said:

I saw a post about Mark Mitchell who was a 5th year who committed back to Missouri when Missouri had 15 active players. The post said that since Mitchell was on the Roster last year, He could get a roster spot exemption. Made no sense to me, but Evan and Mitchell are the exact same Situation. So if Missouri can have 16 spots so can Akron I guess. lol  

 

That would be incredible to get both guys and not lose any of the freshmen. 

[clarkwgriswold]

One of the problems with the judicial side of this is that there are many cases in many different courts.  That may result in different ansers for different players.