CSNbbs

With 5 games left before Cleveland it's probably okay to start thinking about the Postseason Awards. Who do you have winning? Here are mine:

MAC POTY
Marcus Keene - Dynamic player that can carry the Chips for long stretches.

MAC COTY
Keith Dambrot - This might be his best coaching job IMO. I know they were expected to win but I don't think this is one of the more talented rosters he's had and they just keep winning. Saul Phillips may get a vote or two for holding the team together after the loss of Tony Campbell but still think Dambrot deserves it. Would be interested to hear if anybody else thinks any other coach even warrants a "good job".


MAC FOTY
Michael Weathers - Lead freshman in almost every meaningful category. Jason Carter may have been given him a run for the money if he'd started all season but he did average 12 pts 8 reb after Campbell went down. Weathers has had to be the man all season long for the undermanned Redhawks though.

1st Team All-MAC
Marcus Keene
Isaiah Johnson
Steve Taylor
Jimmy Hall
Jaaron Simmons

The first two are obvious. The last three, not so much. Could easily have swapped Blake Hamilton in for any of the three.

MAC POTY
Big Dog - Would have said Keene a week ago, but CMU has lost 2 straight (playing their way out of a top 4 seed) in games that Keene hasn't shot the ball well in.

MAC COTY
Keith Dambrot - Dambrot has been a victim of his own success for a long time. He's been the best coach in the MAC for years and has only 2 MAC COY awards to show for it. This year makes 3.


MAC FOTY
Michael Weathers - No explanation necessary.

1st Team All-MAC
Marcus Keene
Isaiah Johnson
Steve Taylor
Jimmy Hall
Jaaron Simmons

I'll leave your 1st Team All-MAC alone as that looks like a solid list.

I would love to see Blake Hamilton on the First team, but I can't argue with any of those five listed. I do think two UB players have shots at the other specialty awards.

Sixth Man of the Year - Nick Perkins
Defensive Player of the Year - Dontay Caruthers

Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

(02-16-2017 04:50 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote: [ -> ]Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

Your coach disagrees.

Kowalczyk also gave Johnson, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, credit.
“He’s going to be player of the year in our league for a reason,” Kowalczyk said.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/akron-71...s-1.747480

(02-16-2017 04:32 PM)BullBoy Wrote: [ -> ]I would love to see Blake Hamilton on the First team, but I can't argue with any of those five listed. I do think two UB players have shots at the other specialty awards.

Sixth Man of the Year - Nick Perkins
Defensive Player of the Year - Dontay Caruthers

I think both of those are good bets.

(02-16-2017 04:32 PM)BullBoy Wrote: [ -> ]I would love to see Blake Hamilton on the First team, but I can't argue with any of those five listed. I do think two UB players have shots at the other specialty awards.

Sixth Man of the Year - Nick Perkins
Defensive Player of the Year - Dontay Caruthers

Basically this. I think Blake Hamilton deserves to be a first team All MAC player, but I just don't know who I could justify taking out of that top 5. No shame in second team.

I may be in the minority of Rocket fans when I say this, but I would put Jon Jon Williams in place of Taylor if a Rocket is going to make it. Last I looked, Jon Jon was second in the conference in scoring. He also has become a better passer this year. He puts a ton of pressure on defenses, and he makes a high percentage of his shots. Nothing against Taylor, who also has been huge for the Rockets this year, but I think that Taylor makes more mistakes than Williams does.

(02-16-2017 03:53 PM)OUVan Wrote: [ -> ]With 5 games left before Cleveland it's probably okay to start thinking about the Postseason Awards. Who do you have winning? Here are mine:

MAC POTY
Marcus Keene - Dynamic player that can carry the Chips for long stretches.

MAC COTY
Keith Dambrot - This might be his best coaching job IMO. I know they were expected to win but I don't think this is one of the more talented rosters he's had and they just keep winning. Saul Phillips may get a vote or two for holding the team together after the loss of Tony Campbell but still think Dambrot deserves it. Would be interested to hear if anybody else thinks any other coach even warrants a "good job".


MAC FOTY
Michael Weathers - Lead freshman in almost every meaningful category. Jason Carter may have been given him a run for the money if he'd started all season but he did average 12 pts 8 reb after Campbell went down. Weathers has had to be the man all season long for the undermanned Redhawks though.

1st Team All-MAC
Marcus Keene
Isaiah Johnson
Steve Taylor
Jimmy Hall
Jaaron Simmons

The first two are obvious. The last three, not so much. Could easily have swapped Blake Hamilton in for any of the three.

I keep seeing people say this isn't one of Akron's most talented rosters. I disagree with that. This could arguably the most talented starting five the school has ever had. You can make a case for the 2006-07 team, but I still probably slightly lean toward this group:

G: Dru Joyce vs. Antino Jackson: Wash, and they are the two best overall small guards (whether they were really PGs or SGs) in the KD era.

G: Nick Dials vs. Noah Robotham: Dials gets the nod, especially since both were juniors in this argument and Dials had a much better junior season. Though, if Robotham can recapture his sophomore season shooting touch, it's not that big of a difference.

F: Nate Linhart vs. Jimond Ivey: Again, this is pretty apples to apples in terms of experience as both were sophomores. I know Nate went on to have a great career, but as sophomores, Ivey has been slightly better overall than what Nate was. However, two different players so tough to really judge.

F: Jeremiah Wood vs. Kwan Cheatham: For as good as Wood was as a senior, I don't think there is any question whether Cheatham this year is better than Wood as a junior. Again, they are two completely different players so it's tough to compare.

C: Romeo Travis vs. Isaiah Johnson: Johnson is one of three players (Zeke Marshall the other) that can make this a push. If it wasn't for Keane, Johnson would be a shoe-in for POY.

Overall, I do like this front court more since it is longer and more versatile. Cheatham's shooting ability does so much for the offensive spacing.

I will take the 2006-07 team's bench because Cedric Middletown is definitely better than Josh Williams. Then Quade Milum and young Chris McKnight and Steve McNees are probably better than Daniel Utomi, Tavian Dunn-Martin and Emmanuel Olojapoke, though that 7-8-9 isn't too much different.

The 2012-13 team (with Abreu) had the long winning streak and was the last MAC team to be ranked, so it is in the running, but that team, as it showed when Abreu was suspended, had nobody else capable of running the point. Defensively, due to Zeke, Forsythe and Tree, that team was tough to score on and was on another level than this team. But this team is much more dangerous offensively, especially from 3, than that team.

(02-16-2017 05:09 PM)kreed5120 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-16-2017 04:50 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote: [ -> ]Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

Your coach disagrees.

Kowalczyk also gave Johnson, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, credit.
“He’s going to be player of the year in our league for a reason,” Kowalczyk said.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/akron-71...s-1.747480

Had we just lost to CMU he may well have said the same about Keene. Coachspeak. Johnson gets it, though, because CMU without Keene would be the same team. Imagine Akron without Johnson or UT without Taylor-neither would be nearly as good. Taylor is better but plays on a worse team.

I'll credit GoZags on zipsnation.org for providing the link, but I think the comments by Keith Dambrot mirror exactly what I said earlier:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/...onferences

And it's why I think anybody who believes that Akron has played over its head is mistaken. The team is winning, but still hasn't played its best ball (though the defense has gotten better of late).

I will also say, Buffalo is now playing up to its potential recently and is a team that presents a major matchup challenge to Akron. So, I'm hardly chalking up a tourney berth (the 06-07 team I compared this team to, also missed the tournament).

I find Hall overrated. Good player but doesn't always impact the game. Simmons is gaining momentum, if he keeps playing well he earns it. Toledo has lots of tough losses, wanna see who on that team finishes strong. Carter is my FPOY if OU finishes second, his ability to cushion the loss of Campbell has been huge. Weathers plays for the worst team in the league, no honor in that.

(02-16-2017 07:54 PM)Wadszip Wrote: [ -> ]F: Jeremiah Wood vs. Kwan Cheatham: For as good as Wood was as a senior, I don't think there is any question whether Cheatham this year is better than Wood as a junior. Again, they are two completely different players so it's tough to compare.

Wasn't Wood's Junior year the season following his big knee injury too? His come back from that was a great story.

My picks would be:

MAC POTY
Marcus Keene - I agree with whats been said that Johnson is more valuable to Akron's success, but I can't see the nations leading scorer not winning the award.

MAC COTY
Keith Dambrot - Hard to argue giving the award to the team running away with the regular season. The closest competitors all under achieved at some point (whether is be due to injury, poor play or a combination). I'll say Saul Phillips and Keno Davis (CMU was picked to finish last in the West Pre-season poll) will finish a distant second and third.

Interesting note that if the season ended today, the MAC East would finish exactly as predicted in the preseason poll (http://mac-sports.com/news/2016/10/28/MB...546.aspx). The west not so much...


MAC FOTY
Michael Weathers - I debated between Weathers and Carter for a minute but Weathers has done it the whole year. I think both will be very good players in this league.

1st Team All-MAC
Isaiah Johnson
Jimmy Hall
Blake Hamilton
Marcus Keene
Jaaron Simmons

Hamilton is probably the most well rounded player in the conference. He's #7 in points (16.7) #11 in rebounds (6.4) and #5 in assists (4.4). I didn't realize Keene was averaging 5.3 assists per game.

2nd Team All-MAC
Steve Taylor
James Thompson IV
Jonathan Williams
Braylon Rayson
Thomas Wilder

I could see Wilder (or Taylor or Williams or any of them really) taking one of the first team spots as well. I have a feeling Cheatham might find his way on to the second team like McAdams last year.

(02-16-2017 04:50 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote: [ -> ]Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

In this day and age, ... yes you can. If CMU was a top 2 team, maybe. But CMU just chucks and ducks, however ... since this is a media vote and they are lemmings ... Keene has a great chance to get it ... but if my vote

POY -- Johnson

COY -- Dambrot

6th man ... JWalker/nick Perkins/josh williams ... (Carter would have gotten this nod if not forced to start at OU)

FOY ... Carter/Weathers

All-MAC

Johnson
Cheatham
Keene
Simmons
Hall

(Johnson changes all MAC defenses, Cheatham is the x-factor and this is a coaches vote so don't be surprised when he's on here ... Hall gets last nod as after Johnson, he's the only other MAC player teams change defenses for)

I will listen to arguments for Hamilton, Taylor and House

(02-17-2017 09:50 AM)cleveland Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-16-2017 04:50 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote: [ -> ]Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

In this day and age, ... yes you can. If CMU was a top 2 team, maybe. But CMU just chucks and ducks, however ... since this is a media vote and they are lemmings ... Keene has a great chance to get it ... but if my vote

POY -- Johnson

COY -- Dambrot

6th man ... JWalker/nick Perkins/josh williams ... (Carter would have gotten this nod if not forced to start at OU)

FOY ... Carter/Weathers

All-MAC

Johnson
Cheatham
Keene
Simmons
Hall

(Johnson changes all MAC defenses, Cheatham is the x-factor and this is a coaches vote so don't be surprised when he's on here ... Hall gets last nod as after Johnson, he's the only other MAC player teams change defenses for)

I will listen to arguments for Hamilton, Taylor and House

Taylor: double-double machine, top rebounder by huge margin, good passing big man. Neg: free throws are abysmal

FYI- I'm in front of my TV, and just saw that Marcus Keene will be featured on the CBS Evening News tonight.

(02-17-2017 12:10 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-17-2017 09:50 AM)cleveland Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-16-2017 04:50 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote: [ -> ]Cant not have number one scorer in nation as MPOY... its a lock

In this day and age, ... yes you can. If CMU was a top 2 team, maybe. But CMU just chucks and ducks, however ... since this is a media vote and they are lemmings ... Keene has a great chance to get it ... but if my vote

POY -- Johnson

COY -- Dambrot

6th man ... JWalker/nick Perkins/josh williams ... (Carter would have gotten this nod if not forced to start at OU)

FOY ... Carter/Weathers

All-MAC

Johnson
Cheatham
Keene
Simmons
Hall

(Johnson changes all MAC defenses, Cheatham is the x-factor and this is a coaches vote so don't be surprised when he's on here ... Hall gets last nod as after Johnson, he's the only other MAC player teams change defenses for)

I will listen to arguments for Hamilton, Taylor and House

Taylor: double-double machine, top rebounder by huge margin, good passing big man. Neg: free throws are abysmal

Actually, many teams change defenses to slow down Weathers, also Central faces some gimicky defenses to stop the their dynamic duo.

(02-17-2017 12:10 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Taylor: double-double machine, top rebounder by huge margin, good passing big man. Neg: free throws are abysmal

IMO Taylor is a lot tougher to defend than Johnson. Johnson can back you down or pass out. That's it. If the refs would actually call what he does correctly he would be on the court for about 90 seconds. Taylor does the same thing but he can also hit a 15 foot jumper as well.

(02-21-2017 11:21 AM)OUVan Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-17-2017 12:10 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Taylor: double-double machine, top rebounder by huge margin, good passing big man. Neg: free throws are abysmal

IMO Taylor is a lot tougher to defend than Johnson. Johnson can back you down or pass out. That's it. If the refs would actually call what he does correctly he would be on the court for about 90 seconds. Taylor does the same thing but he can also hit a 15 foot jumper as well.

Big Dog can hit mid-rangers as I've seen him take them in warm ups and he has taken a handful or so this season. He just elects not to take them as they are low percentage shots compared to the shots that he can get near the rim.

https://twitter.com/titanichoops/status/...2606465024