All-MAC

[zippy5]

Big Dog first team

Kwan Second team

Antino HM

 

No Zips on the all-freshman or all-defensive teams.

[clarkwgriswold]

The full list:

 

2016-17 Men’s Basketball All-MAC First Team
Isaiah Johnson, C, Akron, Senior
Marcus Keene, G, Central Michigan, Junior
Jimmy Hall, F, Kent State, Senior
Jaaron Simmons, G, Ohio, Junior
Thomas Wilder, G, Western Michigan, Junior
 
2016-17 Men’s Basketball All-MAC Second Team
Kwan Cheatham Jr., F, Akron, Senior
Tayler Persons, G, Ball State, Sophomore
Blake Hamilton, Wing, Buffalo, Senior
James Thompson IV, F, Eastern Michigan, Sophomore
Steve Taylor Jr., F, Toledo, Senior
 
2016-17 Men’s Basketball All-MAC Third Team
Franko House, F, Ball State, Senior
Braylon Rayson, G, Central Michigan, Senior
Marin Maric, C, Northern Illinois, Senior
Jon Williams, G, Toledo, Senior
Tucker Haymond, F, Western Michigan, Senior
 
2016-17 Men’s Basketball All-MAC Honorable Mention
Antino Jackson, G, Akron, Junior
Zack Denny, G, Bowling Green, Senior
C.J. Massinburg, G, Buffalo, Sophomore
Michael Weathers, G, Miami, Freshman
Jordan Dartis, G, Ohio, Sophomore
 
2016-17 MAC All-Defensive Team
Trey Moses, C, Ball State, Sophomore
Zack Denny, G, Bowling Green, Senior
Dontay Caruthers, G, Buffalo, Sophomore
Tim Bond, G/F, Eastern Michigan, Junior
Deon Edwin, F, Kent State, Senior
 
2016-17 MAC All-Freshman Team
Michael Weathers, G, Miami
Jason Carter, F, Ohio
Reggie Jones, G, Western Michigan
Dylan Frye, G, Bowling Green
Eugene German, G, Northern Illinois

[kreed5120]

I thought Antino might have had a chance at 3rd team, but not shocked it he didn't get it.

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, zippy5 said:

Big Dog first team

Kwan Second team

Antino HM

 

I called this right a few weeks ago.  I'm just glad Kwan still got on the 2nd team with the setbacks the last several games.  

[clarkwgriswold]

Interesting.  if you add up the players from each team, no team has more more than 3, none less than 2.

[Blue & Gold]

2 hours ago, zippy5 said:

No Zips on the all-freshman or all-defensive teams.

 

If Utomi had been given minutes earlier in the season he would have made All-Freshman team.  He and Miami's Michael Weathers were the two best freshmen I saw.

[Blue & Gold]

GT voted for Big Dog for POY.

[K92]

I voted for GT for LJOY.

[zippy5]

Quote

However, until now, I’ve never revealed for whom I voted. It just struck me as not being of particular interest to anyone. Apparently, I was wrong.

Maybe this explains his articles, or lack thereof. He doesn't think anyone cares apparently

[Blue & Gold]

5 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Maybe this explains his articles, or lack thereof. He doesn't think anyone cares apparently

That quote jumped out at me as well.  Again, why does he have the Zips beat?  Pathetic.

 

He should stick with watching movies.  And the Beacon Journal should take some pride in what they do.

[clarkwgriswold]

57 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

GT voted for Big Dog for POY.

 

It was the only name he recognized on the ballot.  He saw him on TV 3 or 4 times.

[zippy5]

14 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

It was the only name he recognized on the ballot.  He saw him on TV 3 or 4 times.

Accidentally clicked on ESPN3 instead of AMC3

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

He saw him on TV 3 or 4 times.

 

For a few minutes during commercial breaks while watching the Big 10 Network?

[jupitertoo]

Athens Messenger has a very skilled beat writer, Jason Arkley, covering MAC sports.  It's a shame he's stuck in that small market - much better than ABJ and PD reporters.

 

Anyway, he does a nice job with his ballot choices for MAC POTY, etc.  See below:

 

 

MAC Player of the Year

I considered six players here, and none should come as a major surprise. For all my voting, I used data from conference games only and also used some advanced metrics as well to see if what the numbers showed reinforced or contradicted my own ‘eye test’ assessment.

 

I wavered on Player of the Year several times during the nine-week conference season. I started with Akron senior center Isaiah Johnson, thanks to the Zips’ dominant MAC start. I took a shine in the midseason to Central Michigan junior guard Marcus Keene, especially after an enthralling in-person viewing in the Convo. And going into the final two weeks I was ready to pull the trigger on voting for Ohio junior PG Jaaron Simmons.

 

Ultimately, I settled on those as my top 3. WMU junior guard Thomas Wilder, Kent State senior forward Jimmy Hall and Buffalo senior wing Blake Hamilton all drew strong consideration as well.

 

I voted Johnson as my top pick. His offensive rating (118.3) was second only to Wilder’s among those on my short list. He ranked high in conference stats with 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and shot 61.4 percent from the field. And I thought he was the most impactful player in the league.

Every team that played Akron had to deal with the Johnson question. Do you front? Do you double? The Zips’ entire lineup was based around his presence. I thought this was reflected well in his 7.2 fouls drawn per 40 minutes, tops among my final list.

 

And he was the ‘best’ player on the ‘best’ team, which — although facile — does matter.

 

I had Simmons as No. 2 on my ballot. I thought it was a travesty he was left off the first team a year ago, and his numbers this season are only slightly off that pace. He played 89.8 percent of Ohio’s minutes available during the season, averaged 17.2 points and 6.1 assists per MAC game, and became the Bobcats’ go-to guy once Antonio Campbell was injured.

 

Simmons did his part to keep Ohio as the No. 2 seed despite a season-altering injury. There’s immense value in that.

 

I left Keene third on my ballot. His 28.8 points per MAC game was insane, he drew 7.0 fouls per 40 minutes, and played 92.5 percent of the available minutes. But CMU’s pace helped inflate some numbers, and I just couldn’t place a player from the 11th-seed any higher on my ballot — no matter how fun he was to watch.

 

MAC Freshman of the Year

By the final month, there were just two players I was considering strongly: Miami point guard Michael Weathers and Ohio forward Jason Carter.

Weathers averaged 14.9 points, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals during MAC play. He was the best thing for an otherwise crummy RedHawk outfit most of the year. In most years, he’d be an easy choice.

 

But Carter exploded once he got his opportunity. Playing out of position as a center — he’s more of a power forward — Carter became Ohio’s second-most important player in short order. He averaged 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds (7th in MAC) and shot 51.8 percent from the field in MAC play, and that includes three games where his minutes were limited by Campbell’s spot in the lineup.

 

Carter beat bigger defenders in the post, gave Ohio needed offensive balance, and earned a reputation quickly as the best freshman big in the conference.

I went with Carter as my top pick for MAC freshman of the year. He was vital to one of the best teams in the conference, and had terrific numbers across the board.

 

I had Weathers in second place, as his usage and turnover numbers tipped my scale away from him in a close race. NIU guard Eugene German (11.7 ppg) was third on my ballot.

 

MAC Coach of the Year

I had Ohio coach Saul Phillips as the top pick on my ballot, followed by WMU’s Steve Hawkins and Akron’s Keith Dambrot.

 

Phillips was able to keep the Bobcats competitive after Campbell’s injury, and guided the Bobcats to the No. 2 overall seed after losing the current Player of the Year. Take Johnson off Akron, Thomas Wilder off WMU, Jimmy Hall away from Kent State; That was the kind of change the Bobcats had to deal with, on the fly, after MAC play started.

 

In addition to that, Phillips also got the Bobcats to be a much better defensive team in 2016-17. Despite losing Campbell, the team’s best defensive rebounder, post defender and shot blocker, Ohio managed to finish as the best team in the MAC in FG defense, 3-point defense, and defensive efficiency.

Phillips, no matter the tournament outcome, aced this year in my opinion.

 

Hawkins deserves a ton of credit too. He had to guide an exceptionally young team through a turbulent December, remember one of his players was accused of killing someone, and then had to get the Broncos to believe after a horrible MAC start. WMU then finished the regular season with eight straight wins.

 

As for Dambrot, he’s a victim of his own success to a degree. He’s built the MAC’s most consistent program and the Zips lived up their preseason billing. In most years he would be an easy, and safe choice, I just thought the other two guys did more through tougher circumstances.

[kreed5120]

37 minutes ago, jupitertoo said:

Athens Messenger has a very skilled beat writer, Jason Arkley, covering MAC sports.  It's a shame he's stuck in that small market - much better than ABJ and PD reporters.

 

Anyway, he does a nice job with his ballot choices for MAC POTY, etc.  See below:

That's a pretty low bar to beat, but on a serious note that was a great piece. You could tell he put a great deal of effort into his decision and took it seriously.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I enjoyed reading Jason Arkley's thought process.

 

I heard George Thomas' was a little more in-depth and complex. It involved Cheetos, and interpreting oil stains on a napkin. 

[kreed5120]

More awards have been announced.

 

Defensive Player of the Year - Dontay Caruthers, Buffalo
Sixth Man of the Year - Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Freshman of the Year - Michael Weathers, Miami

[Joe Akron]

"And he was the ‘best’ player on the ‘best’ team, which — although facile — does matter."

 

Now, I'm just a kid from Akron Ohio, but I don't think either common definition of FACILE fits.

 

fac·ile

[ˈfasəl]

ADJECTIVE

(especially of a theory or argument) appearing neat and comprehensive only by ignoring the true complexities of an issue; superficial.

synonyms: simplistic · superficial · oversimplified · shallow · glib ·

[more]

(of success, especially in sports) easily achieved; effortless:

"a facile victory"

synonyms: effortless · easy · undemanding · unexacting · painless ·

[more]

 

 

 

Superficial? Hardly..

 

Easily Achieved? Gimme a break...

[jupitertoo]

He's saying that it's an easy argument to make.  He's not arguing with the fact itself.  Best player...best team...equals POTY.  Easy math.

[MDZip]

3 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

He's saying that it's an easy argument to make.  He's not arguing with the fact itself.  Best player...best team...equals POTY.  Easy math.

I like when writers explain their rationale like that. Even if I disagree with some of his choices I can't argue his process. One small thing though you might have just posted a snippet and linked to it to get him additional hits? (assuming that's the business model of the Messenger).