 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Akron’s Isaiah Johnson, Buffalo’s Blake Hamilton, Central Michigan’s Marcus Keene, Kent State’s Jimmy Hall & Ohio’s Jaaron Simmons were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 14 First Team. Johnson, the 2017 MAC Player of the Year, has been the focal point of the Zips’ offense all season, leading Akron to back-to-back MAC regular-season championships. He leads . . . (CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE . . . ) | District 14 First Team Isaiah Johnson, Akron Marcus Keene, Central Michigan Jimmy Hall, Kent State Jaaron Simmons, Ohio Blake Hamilton, Buffalo Second Team Steve Taylor, Jr., Toledo Jonathan Williams, Toledo Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan Braylon Rayson, Central Michigan James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan |
. . . the top-seeded Zips in nearly every statistical category. Big Dog started all 36 games, averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game supported by a 62.5 percent shooting from the floor, which ranks first in the MAC and ninth in the NCAA. Johnson posted seven double-double performances during the season.
Hamilton was named second-team All-MAC as he led the Bulls in scoring this past season at 17.5 points per game and had a team-high 141 assists. Hamilton was twice named the MAC East Player of the Week and three times he surpassed the 30-point mark, the most by a UB player since Javon McCrea in 2013-14. He had a career-high 36 points against Alaska-Anchorage earlier this year and then he followed that up with 33 points at Akron and 32 points on Senior Day against Bowling Green. Hamilton scored 20 or more points in four of the final five games of the regular season and in all scored 20 or more points 13 times this past year.
Keene, a junior guard in his first season at CMU after transferring from Youngstown State, took the basketball world by storm in 2016-17, leading the nation in scoring at 30.0 points per game, the first Division I player to average 30 or more points in two decades. He set Mid-American Conference and CMU single-season records by scoring 959 points, and his 125 3-pointers was also a program high for a season. He is the only player in league history to have scored 900 points in a season.
Hall, a three time honoree, is coming off his final collegiate season in which he led the Golden Flashes to a Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship and a bid in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. On the season, Hall led the Flashes across the board with 19 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Hall's 383 rebounds is the second most ever in a single season at Kent State.
Simmons, who has started all 31 games this year, has led Ohio in assists in 28 contests in 2016-17. The Preseason All-MAC East Division selection is averaging 6.45 assists per game (200 assists) which currently ranks sixth in the nation. His 200 assists this year are the seventh-most in a single season in program history. In addition to leading Ohio in assists, Simmons also led the team in scoring (15.9 points per game).
In addition, Central Michigan’s Braylon Rayson, Eastern Michigan’s James Thompson IV, Toledo teammates Steve Taylor Jr. and Jonathan Williams and Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder were named to the NABC All-District 14 Second Team.
Keene, a junior guard in his first season at CMU after transferring from Youngstown State, took the basketball world by storm in 2016-17, leading the nation in scoring at 30.0 points per game, the first Division I player to average 30 or more points in two decades. He set Mid-American Conference and CMU single-season records by scoring 959 points, and his 125 3-pointers was also a program high for a season. He is the only player in league history to have scored 900 points in a season.
Hall, a three time honoree, is coming off his final collegiate season in which he led the Golden Flashes to a Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship and a bid in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. On the season, Hall led the Flashes across the board with 19 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Hall's 383 rebounds is the second most ever in a single season at Kent State.
Simmons, who has started all 31 games this year, has led Ohio in assists in 28 contests in 2016-17. The Preseason All-MAC East Division selection is averaging 6.45 assists per game (200 assists) which currently ranks sixth in the nation. His 200 assists this year are the seventh-most in a single season in program history. In addition to leading Ohio in assists, Simmons also led the team in scoring (15.9 points per game).
In addition, Central Michigan’s Braylon Rayson, Eastern Michigan’s James Thompson IV, Toledo teammates Steve Taylor Jr. and Jonathan Williams and Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder were named to the NABC All-District 14 Second Team.
RSS Feed