AKRON, Ohio — The past few years have been full of success for the Akron Zips men's basketball team and have included bids to the NCAA Tournament in both 2022 and last season in 2024.
But what happens when you see five seniors—including star Enrique Freeman who the Indiana Pacers drafted—depart?
The Zips had to learn how to be successful in new ways.
"We struggled early to kind of figure it out, but that's how it's supposed to be. If it was easy with nine new guys, you and I both know better, that's not going to happen," said Head Coach John Groce.
After seeing Freeman, Ali Ali, Greg Tribble, Sammy Hunter and Mikal Dawson all seniors who left at the end of the 2024 season. Groce and his remaining team had to look forward to the future. The Zips did so by adding four freshmen and five players from the transfer portal.
The transition into this season with so many new players was a challenge.
"It's kind of been a little different, especially for me. I always had the same guys in the locker rooms, so I never really had to—[I knew] who each guy [was]," said redshirt junior Nate Johnson.
The challenge carried over to the new guys as well, including Lorain native Seth Wilson, who transferred to Akron from West Virginia University. But Wilson was up for the challenge, listening to the leadership of Groce.
"We got guys from different programs coming in, but coach was just preaching, 'stay together, play together, and we'll end up winning and it'll all work itself out,' so that's what he said and that's what we tried to do," Wilson said.
Now set to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday, the Zips enter the game leading the MAC and undefeated in conference play. That, they say, is a testament to being able to find a new identity.
"We had to figure out a way to normalize the struggles, figure out ways to get better, change rotations, lineups, evaluate roles, assign roles," Groce said. "We're playing so different now. We're playing faster, more spacing, more tempo, more possessions."
Losing so many key players at the end of the season, it may seem improbable for the Zips to have figured out their future so quickly and efficiently. But at this point in the season, it's working for them. And while they are taking each week with the "1-0" mindset," this new era of Zips basketball still shares the goals of seasons past.
"This team is capable of competing for championships right now," Groce said.
"We know our ceiling is very high and we know that could possibly lead to us putting up maybe two banners up there," Johnson said.
"Get to that dance. I want to go dancing. Punch that ticket," Wilson added.
