CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Today the Mid-American Conference announced that Akron’s Isaiah Johnson and Keith Dambrot have earned top honors for the 2016-17 men’s basketball season. Johnson was named Player of the Year, while Dambrot was tabbed Coach of the Year.
The Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by a 37-member panel made up of News Media Association members and the league’s 12 head coaches.
For the second straight . . .
The Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by a 37-member panel made up of News Media Association members and the league’s 12 head coaches.
For the second straight . . .
. . . season, Dambrot earned the league’s highest coaching honor. He is one of two coaches from Akron to receive the MAC recognition and is the only Zips’ leader to win the award three times (2013, 2016, 2017) – Former Zips' head coach Dan Hipsher garnered the award in 1998.
"It is an honor to win this award," Dambrot said. "There are a lot of great coaches in this league. This is a tribute to our team and coaching staff's dedication and continued success."
Dambrot, who became Akron’s all-time wins leader this season, surpassed his 400th career win and 300th win at Akron en route to guiding the Zips to back-to-back MAC regular-season championships. He led Akron to its fourth title in program history after winning the MAC by three games with a 14-4 league record and 24-7 overall mark.
The 2017 MAC Player of the Year honor comes two days after Johnson was named first team All-MAC. He became the second player in program history to receive the award since Romeo Travis garnered the award in 2007. For the second-straight season, Johnson was named to the first-team All-MAC, and in 2015-16, Johnson earned the MAC’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Johnson has been the focal point of the Zips’ offense all season, leading Akron to back-to-back MAC regular-season championships. He leads the top-seeded Zips in nearly every statistical category. Big Dog started all 31 regular-season games, averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game supported by a 63.0 percent shooting from the floor, which ranks first in the MAC and ninth in the NCAA.
Johnson posted six double-double performances and scored in double digits 28-of-31 games, including 13 of the last 14 games. Johnson scored 20-plus points six times this season, including a career-high 33 points on the road against Central Michigan. On that night, Johnson also became the 42nd member of the Zips’ 1,000 Point Club. Johnson has scored 501 points this season, bringing his career total to 1,277.
“It’s an honor for Big Dog to win this award with the amount of talent in this league, like Jaaron Simmons, Thomas Wilder, Blake Hamilton, Jimmy Hall, and Marcus Keene just to name a few,” head coach Dambrot said. “It’s a tribute to how much he means to this team. Isaiah has worked hard to get to this point of his career, and has done whatever it takes to make the team better throughout the years.”
MAC Player of the Year
Isaiah Johnson, C, Akron, Senior (23)
Marcus Keene, G, Central Michigan, Junior (7)
Jimmy Hall, F, Kent State, Senior (3)
Jaaron Simmons, G, Ohio, Junior (2)
Thomas Wilder, G, Western Michigan, Junior (2)
MAC Coach of the Year
Keith Dambrot, Akron (21)
Saul Phillips, Ohio (9)
Steve Hawkins, Western Michigan (4)
James Whitford, Ball State (2)
Rob Senderoff, Kent State (1)
"It is an honor to win this award," Dambrot said. "There are a lot of great coaches in this league. This is a tribute to our team and coaching staff's dedication and continued success."
Dambrot, who became Akron’s all-time wins leader this season, surpassed his 400th career win and 300th win at Akron en route to guiding the Zips to back-to-back MAC regular-season championships. He led Akron to its fourth title in program history after winning the MAC by three games with a 14-4 league record and 24-7 overall mark.
The 2017 MAC Player of the Year honor comes two days after Johnson was named first team All-MAC. He became the second player in program history to receive the award since Romeo Travis garnered the award in 2007. For the second-straight season, Johnson was named to the first-team All-MAC, and in 2015-16, Johnson earned the MAC’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Johnson has been the focal point of the Zips’ offense all season, leading Akron to back-to-back MAC regular-season championships. He leads the top-seeded Zips in nearly every statistical category. Big Dog started all 31 regular-season games, averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game supported by a 63.0 percent shooting from the floor, which ranks first in the MAC and ninth in the NCAA.
Johnson posted six double-double performances and scored in double digits 28-of-31 games, including 13 of the last 14 games. Johnson scored 20-plus points six times this season, including a career-high 33 points on the road against Central Michigan. On that night, Johnson also became the 42nd member of the Zips’ 1,000 Point Club. Johnson has scored 501 points this season, bringing his career total to 1,277.
“It’s an honor for Big Dog to win this award with the amount of talent in this league, like Jaaron Simmons, Thomas Wilder, Blake Hamilton, Jimmy Hall, and Marcus Keene just to name a few,” head coach Dambrot said. “It’s a tribute to how much he means to this team. Isaiah has worked hard to get to this point of his career, and has done whatever it takes to make the team better throughout the years.”
MAC Player of the Year
Isaiah Johnson, C, Akron, Senior (23)
Marcus Keene, G, Central Michigan, Junior (7)
Jimmy Hall, F, Kent State, Senior (3)
Jaaron Simmons, G, Ohio, Junior (2)
Thomas Wilder, G, Western Michigan, Junior (2)
MAC Coach of the Year
Keith Dambrot, Akron (21)
Saul Phillips, Ohio (9)
Steve Hawkins, Western Michigan (4)
James Whitford, Ball State (2)
Rob Senderoff, Kent State (1)
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