MAC Regular Season Roundup
It’s the end of the MAC regular season, so it’s time for us to take a look around the conference and evaluate what we’ve seen and hand out some awards. Without further ado…
Defensive Player of the Year
Hands down, this award goes to Haminn Quaintance. The guy rebounds with the best of them and he averages 2 full blocks and nearly 2 full steals per game. Kent State has done a wonderful job of reloading over the past 10 years, but they’ll certainly miss Q next season.
Most Exciting Game of the Year
Dear Miami v Ohio,
Kent v Akron might be giving you a run for most heated rivalry in the MAC. Nothing was a better display than the most exciting game of the MAC regular season, which ironically doubled as the final game of the MAC regular season. With the high-octane ending to today’s game and the nearby location of both fan base’s to Cleveland a lot of people have to be rooting for another Kent vs Akron showdown in next week’s tournament.
MAC Freshman of the Year
Kind of a weak year for Freshman across the conference, but there was one player, Darion “Jake” Anderson who just played at a higher level than the rest of this season’s incoming class. While NIU had a lackluster season, they could have a bright future building around Anderson and Michael Patton in the backcourt. Anderson finished the regular season average 11.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 2.8 apg, if he can cut down on his turnovers, Anderson could be a major player in this league.
MAC Player of the Year
In the running…
- Al Fisher - KSU
- Haminn Quaintance - KSU
- Joe Reitz - WMU
- Leon Williams - OU
It’s a close race, and really there are other guys who could be considered here (Pollitz, Kool, Wood…) but I’ve gotta give the nod to Leon Williams. Ohio stumbled down the stretch slightly this year, but Williams put up major numbers for the entire year. 15.8 ppg and 9.7 rpg with 14 double-doubles. Often the POTY vote goes to a player from the Regular Season Champs. With neither Fisher or Quaintance emerging as the alpha dog on KSU this year, they’ll probably split some votes and allow for Williams, who Ohio would have been lost this season without, to bring home the hardware.
Dan Whitmyer is the head basketball writer at VanDelay Sports. He can be reached at dwhit@vandelay-sports.com
Tags: Akron, BG, Haminn Quaintance, Joe Reitz, Kent, Kent State, leon williams, mac, MAC Basketball, Miami, Ohio Bobcats, ou, Tim O'Shea