Per NCAA Pandemic Guidelines, Men's Basketball Programs can begin preseason practice on Wednesday and will have 42 days to conduct a maximum of 30 practices. During this time, players can work out up to 20 hours per week, four hours per day, and must have one day off per week. With that said, what are your expectations for the Rockets this upcoming season? Like the pandemic, my take is there is a lot of unknown with how this season is going to go and a lot of that has to do with the number of new players on the roster -- some that are going to have to play significant minutes this year. In addition, we have two players coming off season ending injuries (Edu and Acunzo) who are expected to be major contributors as well. Combine that with who we got coming back, (Jackson, Littleson, Saunders & Marenka), there is potential for a very competitive team, but a lot will depend on how our returning players mesh with the newcomers and fit their particular roles.

We will be pretty good.

We absolutely have a lot of unknowns. 6 new players, 2 of which are sitting out. Two players returning players coming back from major injuries. Don’t know much about Acunza situation, what’s his health and position.

We look to have much more depth at the guard position which is good in our league. Inside game is ? . How healthy is Edu, how much better is Maranka or will he redshirt, can Acunza help inside, and what can Komagum give us?

Happily, we look to have basketball being played and it should be fun watching it develop. With the unknowns, we have promise but it sure is hard to project how we will finish.

Question I see is where will the boards come from? Seems like the bigs are skinny dudes easily moved in the paint. Acunzo has bulk but I believe he is more of a point forward type not used to playing inside. Hopefully Komagum can develop into a starter who can rebound??

Should be one of Coach K's better teams, but I won't call it a juggernaut. Here's a take on playing small vs big, followed by a couple comments on this year's team.

Interesting angle on the bigs, which a couple posters above mentioned. While the college and pro games have trended more toward small ball (or more accurately to building a roster primarily around versatile mid sized guys, small forwards and big guards) the MAC is an interesting case study in that style. Forever the MAC has been a small ball league, mostly because of reality that there simply aren't a lot of extremely tall humans and the ones who are really good at basketball go to Duke and kentucky and Ohio state, etc... but mid majors can usually find talented guards or undersized but capable forwards. think back on MAC teams who made tourney runs like Miami (Szerbiak/Frierson) EMU (Neely, Thomas twins, Kennedy or the later 90s Boykins/ Tolbert/Dial/Head/Wilson) Kent (Mitchell, Huffman) OU (Cooper, Offutt, Kellogg, Keely) and Buffalo (Jordan, Curuthers, Graves, Perkins, Harris) and they almost always were guard driven with 1 PF and a second forward who could handle the ball and shoot. However, in recent years many of the better MAC teams have played a bit bigger. Last year's top team Akron played a true center and legit PF (who could shoot from 3), even when they went "small" it was to play 2 PFs. NIU won the MAC West playing 2 true bigs (Lacey Jones and Mccarthy) with a bunch of smallish guards. Ball St had some good years recently playing 2 bigs (Moses and teague) the best recent Rocket teams 2017-18 (5 of the 7 main rotation guys were forwards or centers-Fletcher, Navigato, Knapke, Willie Jackson, Adway) and 2018-19 (a little smaller but playing a true center in Knapke with 2 true forwards in Willie and Navigato, and a 6-10 shotblocker in Edu off the bench) were not small ball teams. Coach K talked last year about planning to play both bigs together Edu and Knapke until AJ got hurt.

All that said, it still comes down to personnel. You play your 8 or 9 best guys (or maybe 7 if you're Coach K). Maybe, you play a big off the bench who is really your 10th best guy because he's all you got to spell the starter, but really it's dictated by personnel. This years team will play Edu 6-10, Marreon 6, Littleson 6-4, Saunders 6-5, Rollins 6-4, Acunzo 6-7, Millner 6-6. At least that's how the staff has framed it based on workouts. Of those, only Edu is a true big. Acunzo is a big guy but his skill is more guard like so he won't spend much time in the post, although hopefully he can defend it a bit. The wildcards are really Komugam and Maranka. Komagum will rebound. He did it very well in juco and has impressed defending and rebounding in off season workouts, but if he's a liability of offense Coach K won't play him other than to rest AJ. Maranka has a lot of offensive potential but it remains to be seen when he will peak. It might be another year or two. Plus, the biggest surprise on this roster so far has been Hill, who is a thin 6-3 guard. Sounds like he may be playing himself onto the court. This team will be driven by Marreon and AJ but Millner could be the key. He's a guy who is both athletic and scrappy which is a nice combo. He really gets in a stance and defends, communicates with teammates, and can handle the ball and shoot enough to be a 3rd scorer in the halfcourt. Overall, I like the potential of this team to defend and the offensive versatility-we won't be so Marreon dependant this year. AJ is 100% they say, but we need him to stay healthy to have a chance. If Rollins settles in quickly, Littleson can relax and be offensive when he's feeling it but otherwise just defend. MAC is a tough call. Lots of teams that look pretty good BG, Buffalo, Ball St, Akron, OU, Kent but none of them are locks. There's also the possibility of EMU sneaking up on some people as Murphy quietly filled out that roster with some balance and size. They've actually got some guys who seem to be mature and like each other, and they will be one of the older teams in the country and that zone could be tough if it clicks.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited to watch Marreon Jackson's senior season. Based on his points per game trend throughout his career (9...11...19), I think he has the potential to average around 25 ppg this year, and has a legitimate chance to win MAC POY.

(10-14-2020 09:50 AM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited to watch Marreon Jackson's senior season. Based on his points per game trend throughout his career (9...11...19), I think he has the potential to average around 25 ppg this year, and has a legitimate chance to win MAC POY.

Same here but I’ll be perfectly happy if he’s the last guy off the bench for the MAC Tournament Champion, NCAA bound Toledo Rockets. That having been said I will cheer for him to be the first Rocket in the NBA since Casey Shaw.

I really enjoy college basketball, unless someone gives me a free ticket to a NBA game, I don't go. I have attended UT, Wright State, UD, Miami(OH), and NKU games. Its fun and enjoyable plus tickets are cheaper for the most part. I plan on going to Sinclair (I graduated from this school located here in Dayton) junior college if I am allow to go during COVID. So much is hanging in the balance when this vaxcine will be available. Some sense of normalcy I hope will return.

(10-14-2020 09:47 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I really enjoy college basketball, unless someone gives me a free ticket to a NBA game, I don't go. I have attended UT, Wright State, UD, Miami(OH), and NKU games. Its fun and enjoyable plus tickets are cheaper for the most part. I plan on going to Sinclair (I graduated from this school located here in Dayton) junior college if I am allow to go during COVID. So much is hanging in the balance when this vaxcine will be available. Some sense of normalcy I hope will return.

I agree, with the exception of the NBA playoffs. College basketball anywhere is fun. You're indoors, even with small crowds there's good energy. the quality of play is good. and either you get up close and can really feel the game, or the place is crowded and you're higher up but still, again, indoors with good sight lines and even more crowd energy, although it isn't what it used to be.
college basketball had this arch of becoming really popular on campus nationwide in the 60s, 70s, 80s, in mostly mid sized arenas and halls. it was a game that lived big in person and in sportswriters, but wasn't a media thing. going to the game was more exciting than you expected much of the time. but as far as sports interest went it was baseball then football
and then you went down a tier-basketball, hockey, track, figure skating, gynmastics.
as the 80s went on and cable emerged and the ncaa tournament became a thing college basketball blew up but more as media content-games, highlights, hype. college hoops was bigger than ever through the 90s and into the 2000s, especially at the elite programs and big games. as the 2000s went along that hype and media interest wave ran it's cycle and most places saw declining fan interest. to me this is in part because the game day traditions faded away-if you went to a mac game at most places - toledo, miami, ohio, western, ball st- back in the day there were a lot of student chants, fan cheers, taunting of the opponent. often, there were fun little student contests or games during the timeouts, which were shorter and less frequent. the media and hype phase of college hoops redefined fandom around great players, dunks, amplified recorded hype music, and big games. when, we used to cheer just as hard for our average teams, now, we only cheered hard for the best ones. there wasn't enough blind rocket love or tradition to ground the undergrads, and most of them stopped coming to games after they left school.

in the past 15-20 years or so the game play has gotten cleaner and more entertaining (when you don't put larry bastfield 40 feet from the basket going 1 on 1 as the shot clock runs down every time), and some new fan traditions are emerging. so, long way of saying "I don"t know how Miami gets it back, but it can still be fun to go to a college basketball game for small change at Millet".

as far as your hopes on covid... yeah, a vaccine will help, but this is more like the cold. coronaviruses mutate and change and are hard to vaccinate against. i think the hope is you can get a vaccine that works on maybe 70% of the people for a season. and you can convince 70% of your population to get it, and have your flawed health care system get it to them. if that happens, you add to that the % who have had it recently and have some (likely temporary) immunity and you can bring the new transmissions number down low, so when there is an outbreak you can quickly find and control it, and gradually month by month cases get down low enough to safely bring people together. then, you need to make a new vaccine as the virus mutates and changes the next season. and, if you are good at the medicine and medical care access and distribution, over some years covid-19/corona becomes just another dangerous but uncommon illness that can affect a group or contact network of people and we understand how to best avoid it, treat it, and live with it. which is a long way of saying, even if a good vaccine comes out, it's gonna take a minute to get rid of, stay healthy my friends.

I don't know how good they will be, but I want to watch. Can't wait, actually. Hope we can.

(10-15-2020 03:21 AM)pono Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 09:47 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I really enjoy college basketball, unless someone gives me a free ticket to a NBA game, I don't go. I have attended UT, Wright State, UD, Miami(OH), and NKU games. Its fun and enjoyable plus tickets are cheaper for the most part. I plan on going to Sinclair (I graduated from this school located here in Dayton) junior college if I am allow to go during COVID. So much is hanging in the balance when this vaxcine will be available. Some sense of normalcy I hope will return.

I agree, with the exception of the NBA playoffs. College basketball anywhere is fun. You're indoors, even with small crowds there's good energy. the quality of play is good. and either you get up close and can really feel the game, or the place is crowded and you're higher up but still, again, indoors with good sight lines and even more crowd energy, although it isn't what it used to be.
college basketball had this arch of becoming really popular on campus nationwide in the 60s, 70s, 80s, in mostly mid sized arenas and halls. it was a game that lived big in person and in sportswriters, but wasn't a media thing. going to the game was more exciting than you expected much of the time. but as far as sports interest went it was baseball then football
and then you went down a tier-basketball, hockey, track, figure skating, gynmastics.
as the 80s went on and cable emerged and the ncaa tournament became a thing college basketball blew up but more as media content-games, highlights, hype. college hoops was bigger than ever through the 90s and into the 2000s, especially at the elite programs and big games. as the 2000s went along that hype and media interest wave ran it's cycle and most places saw declining fan interest. to me this is in part because the game day traditions faded away-if you went to a mac game at most places - toledo, miami, ohio, western, ball st- back in the day there were a lot of student chants, fan cheers, taunting of the opponent. often, there were fun little student contests or games during the timeouts, which were shorter and less frequent. the media and hype phase of college hoops redefined fandom around great players, dunks, amplified recorded hype music, and big games. when, we used to cheer just as hard for our average teams, now, we only cheered hard for the best ones. there wasn't enough blind rocket love or tradition to ground the undergrads, and most of them stopped coming to games after they left school.

in the past 15-20 years or so the game play has gotten cleaner and more entertaining (when you don't put larry bastfield 40 feet from the basket going 1 on 1 as the shot clock runs down every time), and some new fan traditions are emerging. so, long way of saying "I don"t know how Miami gets it back, but it can still be fun to go to a college basketball game for small change at Millet".

as far as your hopes on covid... yeah, a vaccine will help, but this is more like the cold. coronaviruses mutate and change and are hard to vaccinate against. i think the hope is you can get a vaccine that works on maybe 70% of the people for a season. and you can convince 70% of your population to get it, and have your flawed health care system get it to them. if that happens, you add to that the % who have had it recently and have some (likely temporary) immunity and you can bring the new transmissions number down low, so when there is an outbreak you can quickly find and control it, and gradually month by month cases get down low enough to safely bring people together. then, you need to make a new vaccine as the virus mutates and changes the next season. and, if you are good at the medicine and medical care access and distribution, over some years covid-19/corona becomes just another dangerous but uncommon illness that can affect a group or contact network of people and we understand how to best avoid it, treat it, and live with it. which is a long way of saying, even if a good vaccine comes out, it's gonna take a minute to get rid of, stay healthy my friends.

I still have nightmares of Larry bastfield dribbling down the shot clock while jake barnett tried to run off of 3 screens while down 72-45 with 90 seconds left in the game.

came across an updated list of tournaments and multi team mini bubble events. the rockets are opening the season with a 2 or 3 game, 3 day tourney in xavier's gym. also includes bradley and oakland-teams UT scheduled for this year. most likely everyone plays everyone to get games in and the rockets get a crack at xavier.

(10-17-2020 10:35 PM)pono Wrote:  came across an updated list of tournaments and multi team mini bubble events. the rockets are opening the season with a 2 or 3 game, 3 day tourney in xavier's gym. also includes bradley and oakland-teams UT scheduled for this year. most likely everyone plays everyone to get games in and the rockets get a crack at xavier.

Bring back Ty Kent!

(10-17-2020 10:35 PM)pono Wrote:  came across an updated list of tournaments and multi team mini bubble events. the rockets are opening the season with a 2 or 3 game, 3 day tourney in xavier's gym. also includes bradley and oakland-teams UT scheduled for this year. most likely everyone plays everyone to get games in and the rockets get a crack at xavier.

To me, this tournament or whatever they call it is a major upgrade to the preseason tournament they were originally scheduled to play in the Bahamas that was switched to Florida because of COVID. Getting a shot at Xavier is a major opportunity for The Rockets to compete against a traditional college power from a major conference. And even though its on the road, there will not be the same home court advantage this season because of COVID. In addition, playing two quality Mid Major Programs like Bradley and Oakland will show the freshmen and transfer players what facing MAC caliber teams will be like come January!

team is hopefully ready to resume some practicing this week. maybe, someone can find out if guys are healthy and the extent of the cluster and consequences.

i think the key is having marreon, edu and acunzo healthy.

marreon is the playmaker and star. we need him. now 200 lbs with serious nba aspirations he just gets significantly better every year. with him we are in most every game.

edu is a great rim protector. has the potential to be the best rocket low post defender ever. frickin led the mac in blocks as a 190 lb freshman playing 14 minutes a game. he's now back healthy in great shape at 225 for his 3rd year. if he stays healthy, at worst he will be the best defensive center in the mac. at best his obvious rough offensive talent is coming together too. plus, we have 2 legitimate interior backups. maranka is 6-10 and getting stronger every day. i don't know when he will relax enough to let his nice jump shot stroke kick in, but at worst he is a super energetic, fairly bouncy, legit 6-10 off the bench. komagum is no rookie. he's 21 years old. he's athletic with long arms and a 7-1 wingspan. again, his offense is iffy, but he can defend and rebound. played for the top high school level team in england. was mvp of their version of a high school national championship. no, it wasn't soccer/football and the england championship basketball game is probably comparable to one of the ohsaa title games, but he played at the highest level there. he played a year in a us prep school program, a year off the bench in juco w good rebounding and blocks numbers, and a year as a starter with excellent rebounding numbers and 10 ppg. it's rare in the mac to have a guy like zeke marshall, james thompson, go out and have another his size and bounce come in. still, edu is the key. with him we have elite defensive/rebounding front court depth for a mac program. we could even lose one of the backups to injury/illness and be really good.

acunzo may be a bench guy but he is one of those transformative role players, because he's so clever and skilled on offense. he's thinking ahead of the game and making quick instinctive passes and moves. kid has been around- sardinia, western pennsylvania, toledo- battled foot issues for 2 years. if he stays healthy it means we have a big guy who can do guard stuff, which gives the staff lots of matchup advantages to exploit.

those 3 all healthy and this team has enough parts to plug in. this isn't a slight on littleson who is an excellent mac wing. his defensive approach is crucial to have the unit gel on that side, but there's other guys in the backcourt with a lot of defensive talent.

(10-31-2020 10:18 PM)pono Wrote:  team is hopefully ready to resume some practicing this week. maybe, someone can find out if guys are healthy and the extent of the cluster and consequences.

i think the key is having marreon, edu and acunzo healthy.

marreon is the playmaker and star. we need him. now 200 lbs with serious nba aspirations he just gets significantly better every year. with him we are in most every game.

edu is a great rim protector. has the potential to be the best rocket low post defender ever. frickin led the mac in blocks as a 190 lb freshman playing 14 minutes a game. he's now back healthy in great shape at 225 for his 3rd year. if he stays healthy, at worst he will be the best defensive center in the mac. at best his obvious rough offensive talent is coming together too. plus, we have 2 legitimate interior backups. maranka is 6-10 and getting stronger every day. i don't know when he will relax enough to let his nice jump shot stroke kick in, but at worst he is a super energetic, fairly bouncy, legit 6-10 off the bench. komagum is no rookie. he's 21 years old. he's athletic with long arms and a 7-1 wingspan. again, his offense is iffy, but he can defend and rebound. played for the top high school level team in england. was mvp of their version of a high school national championship. no, it wasn't soccer/football and the england championship basketball game is probably comparable to one of the ohsaa title games, but he played at the highest level there. he played a year in a us prep school program, a year off the bench in juco w good rebounding and blocks numbers, and a year as a starter with excellent rebounding numbers and 10 ppg. it's rare in the mac to have a guy like zeke marshall, james thompson, go out and have another his size and bounce come in. still, edu is the key. with him we have elite defensive/rebounding front court depth for a mac program. we could even lose one of the backups to injury/illness and be really good.

acunzo may be a bench guy but he is one of those transformative role players, because he's so clever and skilled on offense. he's thinking ahead of the game and making quick instinctive passes and moves. kid has been around- sardinia, western pennsylvania, toledo- battled foot issues for 2 years. if he stays healthy it means we have a big guy who can do guard stuff, which gives the staff lots of matchup advantages to exploit.

those 3 all healthy and this team has enough parts to plug in. this isn't a slight on littleson who is an excellent mac wing. his defensive approach is crucial to have the unit gel on that side, but there's other guys in the backcourt with a lot of defensive talent.

Agree about Acunzo, but the only way I believe he is healthy is when I see him play 2 or 3 games. Too many question marks about an injury that didn't want to heal.

(11-01-2020 10:22 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-31-2020 10:18 PM)pono Wrote:  team is hopefully ready to resume some practicing this week. maybe, someone can find out if guys are healthy and the extent of the cluster and consequences.

i think the key is having marreon, edu and acunzo healthy.

marreon is the playmaker and star. we need him. now 200 lbs with serious nba aspirations he just gets significantly better every year. with him we are in most every game.

edu is a great rim protector. has the potential to be the best rocket low post defender ever. frickin led the mac in blocks as a 190 lb freshman playing 14 minutes a game. he's now back healthy in great shape at 225 for his 3rd year. if he stays healthy, at worst he will be the best defensive center in the mac. at best his obvious rough offensive talent is coming together too. plus, we have 2 legitimate interior backups. maranka is 6-10 and getting stronger every day. i don't know when he will relax enough to let his nice jump shot stroke kick in, but at worst he is a super energetic, fairly bouncy, legit 6-10 off the bench. komagum is no rookie. he's 21 years old. he's athletic with long arms and a 7-1 wingspan. again, his offense is iffy, but he can defend and rebound. played for the top high school level team in england. was mvp of their version of a high school national championship. no, it wasn't soccer/football and the england championship basketball game is probably comparable to one of the ohsaa title games, but he played at the highest level there. he played a year in a us prep school program, a year off the bench in juco w good rebounding and blocks numbers, and a year as a starter with excellent rebounding numbers and 10 ppg. it's rare in the mac to have a guy like zeke marshall, james thompson, go out and have another his size and bounce come in. still, edu is the key. with him we have elite defensive/rebounding front court depth for a mac program. we could even lose one of the backups to injury/illness and be really good.

acunzo may be a bench guy but he is one of those transformative role players, because he's so clever and skilled on offense. he's thinking ahead of the game and making quick instinctive passes and moves. kid has been around- sardinia, western pennsylvania, toledo- battled foot issues for 2 years. if he stays healthy it means we have a big guy who can do guard stuff, which gives the staff lots of matchup advantages to exploit.

those 3 all healthy and this team has enough parts to plug in. this isn't a slight on littleson who is an excellent mac wing. his defensive approach is crucial to have the unit gel on that side, but there's other guys in the backcourt with a lot of defensive talent.

Agree about Acunzo, but the only way I believe he is healthy is when I see him play 2 or 3 games. Too many question marks about an injury that didn't want to heal.

yup, i agree, chronic foot problems aren't easy to overcome for basketball players

scheduling note

rockets will open with bradley, play oakland the next night and close the xavier MTE w xavier. this is the order I prefer, giving the team a couple games to get their wind before playing the strongest opponent on their non-conf schedule. interesting side note that the rockets were one of the first d1 teams to finalize their entire schedule.

(11-01-2020 05:29 PM)pono Wrote:  

(11-01-2020 10:22 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-31-2020 10:18 PM)pono Wrote:  team is hopefully ready to resume some practicing this week. maybe, someone can find out if guys are healthy and the extent of the cluster and consequences.

i think the key is having marreon, edu and acunzo healthy.

marreon is the playmaker and star. we need him. now 200 lbs with serious nba aspirations he just gets significantly better every year. with him we are in most every game.

edu is a great rim protector. has the potential to be the best rocket low post defender ever. frickin led the mac in blocks as a 190 lb freshman playing 14 minutes a game. he's now back healthy in great shape at 225 for his 3rd year. if he stays healthy, at worst he will be the best defensive center in the mac. at best his obvious rough offensive talent is coming together too. plus, we have 2 legitimate interior backups. maranka is 6-10 and getting stronger every day. i don't know when he will relax enough to let his nice jump shot stroke kick in, but at worst he is a super energetic, fairly bouncy, legit 6-10 off the bench. komagum is no rookie. he's 21 years old. he's athletic with long arms and a 7-1 wingspan. again, his offense is iffy, but he can defend and rebound. played for the top high school level team in england. was mvp of their version of a high school national championship. no, it wasn't soccer/football and the england championship basketball game is probably comparable to one of the ohsaa title games, but he played at the highest level there. he played a year in a us prep school program, a year off the bench in juco w good rebounding and blocks numbers, and a year as a starter with excellent rebounding numbers and 10 ppg. it's rare in the mac to have a guy like zeke marshall, james thompson, go out and have another his size and bounce come in. still, edu is the key. with him we have elite defensive/rebounding front court depth for a mac program. we could even lose one of the backups to injury/illness and be really good.

acunzo may be a bench guy but he is one of those transformative role players, because he's so clever and skilled on offense. he's thinking ahead of the game and making quick instinctive passes and moves. kid has been around- sardinia, western pennsylvania, toledo- battled foot issues for 2 years. if he stays healthy it means we have a big guy who can do guard stuff, which gives the staff lots of matchup advantages to exploit.

those 3 all healthy and this team has enough parts to plug in. this isn't a slight on littleson who is an excellent mac wing. his defensive approach is crucial to have the unit gel on that side, but there's other guys in the backcourt with a lot of defensive talent.

Agree about Acunzo, but the only way I believe he is healthy is when I see him play 2 or 3 games. Too many question marks about an injury that didn't want to heal.

yup, i agree, chronic foot problems aren't easy to overcome for basketball players

I am starting to wonder if the Acunzo kid will end up like L. Aparicio with chronic foot/health issues who never saw the court...

(11-02-2020 01:37 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  

(11-01-2020 05:29 PM)pono Wrote:  

(11-01-2020 10:22 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(10-31-2020 10:18 PM)pono Wrote:  team is hopefully ready to resume some practicing this week. maybe, someone can find out if guys are healthy and the extent of the cluster and consequences.

i think the key is having marreon, edu and acunzo healthy.

marreon is the playmaker and star. we need him. now 200 lbs with serious nba aspirations he just gets significantly better every year. with him we are in most every game.

edu is a great rim protector. has the potential to be the best rocket low post defender ever. frickin led the mac in blocks as a 190 lb freshman playing 14 minutes a game. he's now back healthy in great shape at 225 for his 3rd year. if he stays healthy, at worst he will be the best defensive center in the mac. at best his obvious rough offensive talent is coming together too. plus, we have 2 legitimate interior backups. maranka is 6-10 and getting stronger every day. i don't know when he will relax enough to let his nice jump shot stroke kick in, but at worst he is a super energetic, fairly bouncy, legit 6-10 off the bench. komagum is no rookie. he's 21 years old. he's athletic with long arms and a 7-1 wingspan. again, his offense is iffy, but he can defend and rebound. played for the top high school level team in england. was mvp of their version of a high school national championship. no, it wasn't soccer/football and the england championship basketball game is probably comparable to one of the ohsaa title games, but he played at the highest level there. he played a year in a us prep school program, a year off the bench in juco w good rebounding and blocks numbers, and a year as a starter with excellent rebounding numbers and 10 ppg. it's rare in the mac to have a guy like zeke marshall, james thompson, go out and have another his size and bounce come in. still, edu is the key. with him we have elite defensive/rebounding front court depth for a mac program. we could even lose one of the backups to injury/illness and be really good.

acunzo may be a bench guy but he is one of those transformative role players, because he's so clever and skilled on offense. he's thinking ahead of the game and making quick instinctive passes and moves. kid has been around- sardinia, western pennsylvania, toledo- battled foot issues for 2 years. if he stays healthy it means we have a big guy who can do guard stuff, which gives the staff lots of matchup advantages to exploit.

those 3 all healthy and this team has enough parts to plug in. this isn't a slight on littleson who is an excellent mac wing. his defensive approach is crucial to have the unit gel on that side, but there's other guys in the backcourt with a lot of defensive talent.

Agree about Acunzo, but the only way I believe he is healthy is when I see him play 2 or 3 games. Too many question marks about an injury that didn't want to heal.

yup, i agree, chronic foot problems aren't easy to overcome for basketball players

I am starting to wonder if the Acunzo kid will end up like L. Aparicio with chronic foot/health issues who never saw the court...

let's not wonder that. latest word is that acunzo is fully healthy. i think we'll all hedge our bets for a while, but no reason to wish for the worst.