The Mid-American Conference on Monday announced its Men’s Basketball Players of the Week. This week’s honorees are Kent State senior forward Jimmy Hall and Western Michigan guard/forward Tucker Haymond.
Click Read More for deails on these players and other nominees . . .
Click Read More for deails on these players and other nominees . . .
MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Jimmy Hall, Kent State, Forward
Senior, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hall led the Golden Flashes this week in an undefeated effort. Hall posted team-bests across the board, with 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists per game. Against Miami, he led the Flashes across the board with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He shot 10-for-16 overall. The highlight of the week came when the Flashes snapped their rival Akron's 30 game home winning streak. In that game, Hall registered 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Overall, Hall shot 50 percent from the field at 18-for-36. Hall also played solid defense throughout the week, helping Kent State old two opponents to under 42 percent shooting.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Tucker Haymond, Western Michigan, Guard/Forward
Senior, Seattle, Wash. (Garfield)
Haymond led Western Michigan to a pair of wins this past week, as the Broncos defeated Bowling Green 89-79 and Eastern Michigan, 88-80. With the two wins, the Broncos have now won four in a row and five of its last six contests. Haymond had a double-double in each game, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds for the week. He shot 61.9 percent from the floor, knocking down 13 of 21 attempts. He was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 15-for-17 (88.2 percent). On Tuesday against Bowling Green, Haymond totaled 16 points (13 in the first half) and 10 rebounds. He followed that on Saturday with 26 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Michigan. After starting Mid-American Conference play 2-6, the Broncos have evened their league record at .500. The Broncos are 7-7 in the conference, 11-15 overall and are one game out of first place in the MAC West Division. WMU has an impressive 10-2 record at home this season.
Other Nominees:
Tayler Persons, Ball State, Guard
Redshirt, Sophomore Kokomo, Ind. (Kokomo)
Persons averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game in helping Ball State to a 2-0 record last week. The Cardinals posted overtime road wins at Northern Illinois and Central Michigan to take over sole possession of first place in the MAC West Division. Persons scored a career-high 32 points in Saturday's win at Central Michigan, including 23 after halftime. The sophomore point guard finished the game 11 for 16 inside the arc and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Persons scored nine of his points in overtime as the Cardinals pulled away. He also added five rebounds and four assists. Earlier in the week, Persons came up just shy of a double-double with 13 assists and nine points against Northern Illinois. His assist total was the highest by any MAC player in a league game this season. He helped Ball State score the final eight points of regulation, assisting on three straight field goals, and the first 11 of overtime to take control. For the season, Persons ranks second in the MAC in assists per game (5.2) and ninth in scoring (15.8).
Blake Hamilton, Buffalo, Wing
Senior, Pasadena, Calif. (Pasadena)
Hamilton led the Bulls to a pair of wins this past week as he averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game as the Bulls have now won six straight games. Hamilton had 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists last Tuesday in a road victory at Central Michigan and then he finished with 23 points on Saturday in the win over Miami, including hitting a career high five three pointers.
Michael Weathers, Miami, Guard
Freshman, Roeland Park, Kan. (Shawnee Mission North)
Weathers led the Miami offense averaging 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this past week. He finished 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) from the field and 15-for-17 (88.1 percent) from the free throw line. He had 11 assists, three blocks and three steals for the week. Against Kent State on Tuesday, Weathers led the RedHawks with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes of action. He followed that up with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals despite foul trouble in 24 minutes of action at Buffalo Saturday.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Freshman, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German averaged 23.5 points per game, shooting 60 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line, as he made the first two starts of his collegiate career. In his first start against Ball State (Feb. 14), German tied a career-high with 20 points while also recording three rebounds, two steals and a block. German then set a new career-high with 27 points against Toledo (Feb. 18) on 11-of-14 shooting with three assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers.
Jaaron Simmons, Ohio, Guard
R-Jr., Dayton, Ohio (Archbishop Alter)
Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) helped lead the Ohio men's basketball team (17-8, 9-5 MAC) picked up two big Mid-American Conference wins last week to run the Bobcats' winning streak to three in a row. Simmons nearly averaged a double-double over two games with a team-high 9.5 assists per game coupled with 16.5 points, which ranked second on the squad. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals over a team-high 36.5 minutes. He shot 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the field and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line. Simmons scored seven points, handed out a game-high eight assists and collected two steals over 37 minutes to help Ohio grind out a 79-71 win over West Division foe Eastern Michigan last Tuesday (Feb. 14) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. He went 5-of-6 from the line in the victory. On Saturday (Feb. 18), Simmons tallied a game-high 26 points and 11 assists to post his fifth double-double of the 2016-17 season and help Ohio score a 95-75 victory over East Division rival Bowling Green in front of 8,150 fans at the Convocation Center in Athens. He shot 10-of-12 from the field -- including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc -- and sank three of his four free throw attempts. He also collected three rebounds in 36 minutes.
Nate Navigato, Toledo, Forward
Sophomore, Geneva, IL (Geneva)
Navigato topped Toledo with 17.0 points per game last week to help the Rockets split a pair of contests. Navigato posted impressive shooting numbers with a 55.6 field-goal percentage (10-of-18), 53.8 three-point field-goal percentage (7-of-13) and 87.5 free-throw percentage (7-of-8). Navigato tied for the team scoring lead against both Akron and Northern Illinois, tallying 13 points vs. the Zips followed by 21 against the Huskies. In UT's 88-80 (OT) win at NIU, Navigato scored the final four points of regulation to send the game to overtime and then hit a big three to give the Rockets an 82-78 lead with just over a minute remaining in the extra session.
Jimmy Hall, Kent State, Forward
Senior, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hall led the Golden Flashes this week in an undefeated effort. Hall posted team-bests across the board, with 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists per game. Against Miami, he led the Flashes across the board with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He shot 10-for-16 overall. The highlight of the week came when the Flashes snapped their rival Akron's 30 game home winning streak. In that game, Hall registered 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Overall, Hall shot 50 percent from the field at 18-for-36. Hall also played solid defense throughout the week, helping Kent State old two opponents to under 42 percent shooting.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Tucker Haymond, Western Michigan, Guard/Forward
Senior, Seattle, Wash. (Garfield)
Haymond led Western Michigan to a pair of wins this past week, as the Broncos defeated Bowling Green 89-79 and Eastern Michigan, 88-80. With the two wins, the Broncos have now won four in a row and five of its last six contests. Haymond had a double-double in each game, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds for the week. He shot 61.9 percent from the floor, knocking down 13 of 21 attempts. He was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 15-for-17 (88.2 percent). On Tuesday against Bowling Green, Haymond totaled 16 points (13 in the first half) and 10 rebounds. He followed that on Saturday with 26 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Michigan. After starting Mid-American Conference play 2-6, the Broncos have evened their league record at .500. The Broncos are 7-7 in the conference, 11-15 overall and are one game out of first place in the MAC West Division. WMU has an impressive 10-2 record at home this season.
Other Nominees:
Tayler Persons, Ball State, Guard
Redshirt, Sophomore Kokomo, Ind. (Kokomo)
Persons averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game in helping Ball State to a 2-0 record last week. The Cardinals posted overtime road wins at Northern Illinois and Central Michigan to take over sole possession of first place in the MAC West Division. Persons scored a career-high 32 points in Saturday's win at Central Michigan, including 23 after halftime. The sophomore point guard finished the game 11 for 16 inside the arc and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Persons scored nine of his points in overtime as the Cardinals pulled away. He also added five rebounds and four assists. Earlier in the week, Persons came up just shy of a double-double with 13 assists and nine points against Northern Illinois. His assist total was the highest by any MAC player in a league game this season. He helped Ball State score the final eight points of regulation, assisting on three straight field goals, and the first 11 of overtime to take control. For the season, Persons ranks second in the MAC in assists per game (5.2) and ninth in scoring (15.8).
Blake Hamilton, Buffalo, Wing
Senior, Pasadena, Calif. (Pasadena)
Hamilton led the Bulls to a pair of wins this past week as he averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game as the Bulls have now won six straight games. Hamilton had 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists last Tuesday in a road victory at Central Michigan and then he finished with 23 points on Saturday in the win over Miami, including hitting a career high five three pointers.
Michael Weathers, Miami, Guard
Freshman, Roeland Park, Kan. (Shawnee Mission North)
Weathers led the Miami offense averaging 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this past week. He finished 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) from the field and 15-for-17 (88.1 percent) from the free throw line. He had 11 assists, three blocks and three steals for the week. Against Kent State on Tuesday, Weathers led the RedHawks with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes of action. He followed that up with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals despite foul trouble in 24 minutes of action at Buffalo Saturday.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Freshman, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German averaged 23.5 points per game, shooting 60 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line, as he made the first two starts of his collegiate career. In his first start against Ball State (Feb. 14), German tied a career-high with 20 points while also recording three rebounds, two steals and a block. German then set a new career-high with 27 points against Toledo (Feb. 18) on 11-of-14 shooting with three assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers.
Jaaron Simmons, Ohio, Guard
R-Jr., Dayton, Ohio (Archbishop Alter)
Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) helped lead the Ohio men's basketball team (17-8, 9-5 MAC) picked up two big Mid-American Conference wins last week to run the Bobcats' winning streak to three in a row. Simmons nearly averaged a double-double over two games with a team-high 9.5 assists per game coupled with 16.5 points, which ranked second on the squad. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals over a team-high 36.5 minutes. He shot 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the field and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line. Simmons scored seven points, handed out a game-high eight assists and collected two steals over 37 minutes to help Ohio grind out a 79-71 win over West Division foe Eastern Michigan last Tuesday (Feb. 14) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. He went 5-of-6 from the line in the victory. On Saturday (Feb. 18), Simmons tallied a game-high 26 points and 11 assists to post his fifth double-double of the 2016-17 season and help Ohio score a 95-75 victory over East Division rival Bowling Green in front of 8,150 fans at the Convocation Center in Athens. He shot 10-of-12 from the field -- including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc -- and sank three of his four free throw attempts. He also collected three rebounds in 36 minutes.
Nate Navigato, Toledo, Forward
Sophomore, Geneva, IL (Geneva)
Navigato topped Toledo with 17.0 points per game last week to help the Rockets split a pair of contests. Navigato posted impressive shooting numbers with a 55.6 field-goal percentage (10-of-18), 53.8 three-point field-goal percentage (7-of-13) and 87.5 free-throw percentage (7-of-8). Navigato tied for the team scoring lead against both Akron and Northern Illinois, tallying 13 points vs. the Zips followed by 21 against the Huskies. In UT's 88-80 (OT) win at NIU, Navigato scored the final four points of regulation to send the game to overtime and then hit a big three to give the Rockets an 82-78 lead with just over a minute remaining in the extra session.
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