The Dustin Ford Era

[NWAkron]

Crickets...maybe we will learn something tomorrow.

[Zippy87]

I imagine this will move slower than previous years for mid-majors like Akron. Many players are going to hold out to see if someone will overpay like K State did with Nate first, and then once that P4 money dries up, they'll come back to offers from schools like us. 

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

I imagine this will move slower than previous years for mid-majors like Akron. Many players are going to hold out to see if someone will overpay like K State did with Nate first, and then once that P4 money dries up, they'll come back to offers from schools like us. 

 

I agree with this. I'll add it's just not money, but there is also a finite amount of roster spots on those teams as well.

[Let'sGoZips94]

On 4/13/2026 at 9:58 AM, kreed5120 said:

Anyone know if Wednesdays press conference will be streamed on facebook or youtube for those of us who aren't retired or self employed?

 

https://gozips.com/Watch

[Zippy87]

I know things can change quickly in today's college hoops world, but I'm going to assume the players with eligibility remaining who aren't in the portal are returning. Returnees who saw the floor last season would include MMK, Halligan, and Barre with Head, Henderson, and Perkins returning as well. I'll also assume for now that Jones, Ladd, and Christion will stay and redshirt. 

 

MMK and Halligan are both culture guys, and I think they'll bring a lot of value in making sure the Akron culture Groce/Ford built continues forward under Ford. I think

 

MMK in particular can be a valuable rotation player if he continues to add strength and develops more offensive ability. Halligan is going to give you defense and energy, ideally off the bench, and will hopefully improve his spot-up shooting from the outside further over the summer.

 

Barre is a bit of an enigma - he's shown the ability to be an impact player in small samples here and during his time at Duquesne, but there were also times where he looked lost. I'm hoping a (hopefully) fully healthy offseason + time with our big man whisperer in Coach Ford will at a minimum give us a Barre who can rebound and provide interior defense. He certainly has the size and athleticism to do it, and everything I've heard of him is that he is an excellent young man who works hard. 

 

Head was fantastic at Lipscomb as a freshman and I think, at a minimum, can be a solid contributor. I was surprised he redshirted last season, but hopefully a year in our system as a redshirt will help him hit the ground running next fall. 

 

I'm excited to see Henderson and Perkins, and think they'll both contribute as redshirt freshmen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[blueandgold]

7 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

I know things can change quickly in today's college hoops world, but I'm going to assume the players with eligibility remaining who aren't in the portal are returning. Returnees who saw the floor last season would include MMK, Halligan, and Barre with Head, Henderson, and Perkins returning as well. I'll also assume for now that Jones, Ladd, and Christion will stay and redshirt. 

 

MMK and Halligan are both culture guys, and I think they'll bring a lot of value in making sure the Akron culture Groce/Ford built continues forward under Ford. I think

 

MMK in particular can be a valuable rotation player if he continues to add strength and develops more offensive ability. Halligan is going to give you defense and energy, ideally off the bench, and will hopefully improve his spot-up shooting from the outside further over the summer.

 

Barre is a bit of an enigma - he's shown the ability to be an impact player in small samples here and during his time at Duquesne, but there were also times where he looked lost. I'm hoping a (hopefully) fully healthy offseason + time with our big man whisperer in Coach Ford will at a minimum give us a Barre who can rebound and provide interior defense. He certainly has the size and athleticism to do it, and everything I've heard of him is that he is an excellent young man who works hard. 

 

Head was fantastic at Lipscomb as a freshman and I think, at a minimum, can be a solid contributor. I was surprised he redshirted last season, but hopefully a year in our system as a redshirt will help him hit the ground running next fall. 

 

I'm excited to see Henderson and Perkins, and think they'll both contribute as redshirt freshmen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with everything you said, and I also think MMK showed a ton of hustle on defense and rebounding ability both offensively and defensively.