Mekhi Lairy 3rd team
Anderson M Honorable Mention
Ryan Mabrey All Freshman Team
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Congrats to Emoni Bates on his third team all-MAC selection!
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He was the best player on the third team. Oh wait, second best.
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Least Valuable Player in MAC history?
Bates actually surpassed the non-Brons for that award. At least the non-Brons won a bunch of regular season games during their careers at Akron.
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No one will top Jason Preston.
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Anderson was such a pleasant surprise this season. When I first saw his measurements, I was less than enthused. The first time I saw him on the court, he did not look like a basketball player, just someone to fill a void (literally and roster depth). By the end of the season, he was a legit player in the MAC and I think we are actually going to miss him quite a bit next year.
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He’s coming back next year? Steele mentioned it early in the season during a press conference and confirmed it when he wasn’t recognized during senior night.
We will have Mirambeaux, Morris, Potter, and Kotecki who can all play center next year. I think that’s the most depth we’ve had at that spot in a long time.
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I would like to see him put two of these 4 on the court at the same time occasionally. That might actually open things up for our perimeter players.
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I’m repeating myself, I know, but going from 1.5 points a game to Honorable Mention for a new team in a new league is really a great story.
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If Bates comes back he’s going to improve and I may be a party of one, but I think Heath is a terrific coach and will get him there. To me, Bates might be the most misranked of all. No Safford is also total BS.
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Wow not sure how I missed that. Good news. Hopefully the team is better so there are more options as you said, but that’s great. God bless pandemic eligibility.
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I watched a lot of games where Safford was the best player on the court. And what was so impressive, was even when his offensive game was missing, his defensive game was still there. He single handedly willed us to wins in multiple games. I think Lairy did the same and is deserving, but Safford is a glaring omission.
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Sometimes these lists are a good harbinger of future success (Wally as a 1st team) other times, they aren’t (Ira Newble as honorable mention).
The topline point/rebound/assist numbers are all comparable for the big 3 (although in fewer minutes for Mirambeaux). When you account for Safford’s defense and energy, there’s a very reasonable case that he was our best player this season. We went 0-4 with an average margin of 20 points in the four D1 games he missed this season. Tough omission for him.
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Miami hasn’t had even a 2nd team All MAC player since Washington in 2015. 1st team drought since Mavunga in 2012. Who does everyone feel is most likely to break this run?
Safford could be 2nd team next year.
For the last couple of months I have been calling Safford our best player. I thought it was obvious. He is second on the team in scoring, he is our best rebounder, he is our best defender. He is the toughest guy. He is the best leader.
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Strange trek for Safford.
Division II Player Of The Year (Ohio) and had a very good freshman year at Wofford.
But then…sophomore year he regressed. That turned out to be a big gain for us.
Why settle for second when first is available?
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Well it’s “his” team next year if he wants it.