Kent State Sports

It looked for a long time like Kent State would be a No. 3 and possibly even a No. 2 seed.

Lots of upsets over the last couple of days could lead to KSU dropping to a No.4 seed, and maybe even a No. 5 seed … which would be a shame because a drop could end up sending Kent State on the road for round one.

As soon as I hear any news or rumors about KSU and round one of the NIT, I’ll post it here.

The first Mid-American Conference quarterfinal game is about to tip off at Quicken Loans Arena… No. 2 Central Michigan vs. No. 7 Western Michigan…

For those who like to keep track, Terry Wymer, D.J. Carstensen and Lamar Simpson are the officials for the Chippewas-Broncos matchup. That’s one of the best crews you can get in the tournament.

… And I just heard Bo Boroski will be working the Akron-Eastern Michigan game.

So there are a few names to cross off your list for tonight’s Kent State-Ohio game.

I’ll be here at courtside all day if anyone has any questions, comments or thoughts …

Kent State tight end-wide receiver Jameson Konz improved his stock this morning during his Pro Day workout with the Cleveland Browns.

Konz recorded a vertical of 46-inches, actually out-reaching the top of the bar and forcing KSU to re-adjust to allow scouts to measure again.

With Konz’ measurables, which include sub-4.4 speed, he should have the kind of workouts that force the attention of pro scouts.

I just checked my email while sitting at courtside here at Quicken Loans Arena and found the announcement that Chris Singletary had been named to the All-MAC first while Justin Greene was selected for the All-MAC second team.

It’s obviously a well-deserved honor for Singletary, who was my vote to be the MAC’s player of the year. I had a feeling Greene would be on the second team, although I thought he should have been a first-team selection. The selections obviously came from a different voting panel, but it’s interesting that the league’s third leading vote-getter for player of the year only rated a second-team All-MAC selection. Don’t feel sorry for Greene, though. I see a first-team selection in his future.

It’s a typically sparse crowd here at Quicken Loans Area for the afternoon session of the women’s tournament. KSU is scheduled to tip off in aless than an hour and I don’t see many Kent State fans in the building. They may be blending in with a decent Toledo crowd sitting behind what is usually the Cleveland Cavaliers bench … but I don’t think that’s the case.

I’m sure the attendance will pick up as we move along. Bowling Green always travels well to support its women’s team. In fact, the women’s basketball team at BGSU enjoys far more support than its men’s team.

Kent State’s Geno Ford has been named the Mid-American Conference’s player of the year by a 24-member media panel.

Ford edged Akron’s Keith Dambrot by a vote of 13-to-10. Ball State’s Billy Taylor received one vote.

This honor should help Ford get the contract extension he deserves.

Western Michigan’s David Kool beat out KSU senior Chris Singletary by a 13-to-6 vote. KSU’s Justin Greene received two votes while Eastern Michigan’s Carlos Medlock, Northern Illinois’ Xavier Silas and Buffalo’s Rodney Pierce each received one vote.

I voted for Singletary, and while I think his value was overlooked due to his somewhat average statistics, it’s hard to argue with the selection of Kool. I benefitted from seeing just about every game Singletary played this year so it may be easier for me to have an appreciation for what he brought to what was easily the best team in the MAC this year. While I only saw Kool once, his performance in Kent was the best individual effort I witnessed all year.

The favorites all won in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament, setting up the quarterfinals just about everyone expected Thursday in Cleveland.

Technically, No. 9 Ohio University is an “upset” over No. 8 Ball State, but really, who thought the Cardinals would win that one. Even when the Cardinals built a nine-point second half, it was hard to believe they would do anything but choke that game away. Ball State ended up losing by eight in overtime, ending a humiliating close to a once somewhat-promising season…. four straight losses to Eastern Michigan, Toledo of all teams, Western Michigan, and then finally Ohio.

Ball State holding on would have been a shocker. Bowling Green gave Western Michigan a surprising scare, and even Northern Illinois came close to an upset before finally falling 65-59 at Eastern Michigan. Buffalo, meanwhile, took care of business with an easy 72-54 win over lowly Toledo.

So now it’s on to Cleveland where Kent State and Akron both have scary quarterfinal games.

What are your predictions for the games in Cleveland?

That type of blowout was not what I was expecting.

I thought Kent State could win, but I didn’t think the Flashes would dominate to that extent. As Keith Dambrot said after the game, it wasn’t anywhere near as close as the score.

I caught up with Ford and a few members of his staff late last night and they were clearly very touched to have a pretty large group of KSU fans meet the team bus when it returned to the M.A.C. Center late Friday night, then stick around to watch them cut down the nets.

Last night’s game should have solidified Anthony Simpson as the MAC’s sixth-man of the year … but, the ballot was due in by noon Friday, eight hours before the final game tipped off. The league’s coaches vote for sixth-man.

The media ballots (we select player of the year, coach of the year and freshman of the year) had to be turned in by 10 a.m., so we couldn’t consider the performances from the finale in casting our votes, either.

My guess is Ford will be named coach of the year, and if that happens Kent State should move fast to extend his contract. He deserves it. When you consider the way players like Justin Greene, Frank Henry-Ala and even Anthony Simpson made such dramatic improvements in their games in the last year, and then when you look at how Kent State turned so many games around in the second half following halftime adjustments, it’s hard to deny how good Ford and his staff were this season.

Last thought of the night … During tonight’s game, I kept thinking, if only this team had just a little perimeter shooting … just a little … they would be really dangerous in the NCAA tournament.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, go to Cleveland.com and read Elton Alexander’s story on Chris Singletary from today’s Plain Dealer.

It’s a great look at a young man who has been through more than I can imagine. In fact, as Elton will tell you, there’s even more to his story than could fit into his feature story.

As some of you know, I’m a big believer in Control Theory, so I’m particularly impressed that Singletary refuses to talk about the problems he’s had as if things were “happening” to him. Instead, he talks about choices. To me, that’s the sign of a young man who gets it.

Elton ends the story with Chris’ words at Saturday’s post-game press conference at the M.A.C. Center. I thought you all might like to read the complete transcript of Singletary’s emotional thank-you to Kent State following the Miami game. It was from the heart, and it showed just how much he appreciated the way everyone at Kent State stood beside him during the last four years:

CHRIS SINGLETARY: “When God puts people in your life to help you through tough situations. You guys that have been here these four years, you guys have seen the bad. You guys have seen the good. Through it all Kent State stuck with me. That means a lot to me and means a lot to my family, and is something I will never forget.

“These last four years are something I will always cherish. There is no telling where I would have been.

F’RANK HENRY-ALA: “There he goes again, crying,”

CHRIS SINGLETARY: ”These last four years I’ve spent more time with these guys, the coaches, Mr. (Laing) Kennedy than my own family, than my own daughter. It means a lot. I’ve had bad days. I’ve had rough days, but these guys help me get through it, Mr. Kennedy help me get through it. That means so much.

“The first incident, they could have easily gave up one me, kicked me to the side. But, they have seen something in me I probably didn’t even see in myself. Words can’t explain. Guys wonder why I be so into it, well, this is all I got. Frank, intelligent, pre-med. Not me. It’s all I got.

“I thank God for putting people like Mr. Kennedy, the whole athletic department, my coaches, my teammates in my life. It’s a blessing.”

“For me it means so much, because I have been through so much, and yet people continue to have trust and faith in me. The days when I don’t even have faith in myself, just want to give up and go home, be with my daughter and be with my family you guys have done so much for me. I just want to take this time to say ‘thank you.’

Based on last night’s results from the MAC’s other season finales, Kent State or Akron would have the easier road to the Mid-American Conference tournament championship game with a loss tonight and next week’s No. 3 seed.

At No. 3 seed will find itself on one side of the bracket with most of the West Division and Bowling Green. The quarterfinal for the No. 3 seed will most likely be against No. 6 Eastern Michigan. The semifinal opponent will probably be either No. 2 Central Michigan or No. 7 Western Michigan (the Broncos host No. 10 Bowling Green on Sunday).

Based on Kent State’s dominance of the West Division over the last two years (13-0), it’s hard to argue the No. 3 seed’s appeal.

The No. 1 seed will probably have to run another East Division gauntlet – an quarterfinal against the high-scoring offense of No. 9 Ohio University (my pick to win Sunday’s opening-round game at No. 8 Ball State), then a meeting with Miami or Buffalo in the semifinals.

Buffalo is probably the most difficult matchup for KSU … The one advantage the Flashes have over just about everyone in the field is their post play and their willingness to bang and bully teams inside. Buffalo is big and strong and harder to bully. It’s an uncomfortable matchup of strength vs. strength that takes away much of KSU’s usual matchup advantage against MAC opponents.

As Geno Ford said last week, “when you have a chance to hang a banner and get rings, you try to hang a banner and get rings.”

So, Kent State will come into tonight’s game at Akron eager to do anything in its power to win a MAC regular-season championship.

But, if you are a Kent State fan, maybe a loss tonight wouldn’t be the end of the world.

What do you think?

I just got the list of officials scheduled to work Friday night’s Kent State-Akron battle…

Terry Wymer

D.J. Carstensen

Darryl Smith

That’s a pretty good veteran crew. Wymer is a veteran of the KSU-Akron rivalry. He worked the Jan. 23 game in Kent and last year’s season-finale in Kent.

Actually, both teams have had success with either Wymer, Smith or Carstensen on the floor this year. The Zips are 7-3 in those games while the Flashes are 5-2.

Neither team has lost with Smith as an official this season. Akron is 3-0 with wins at Ball State, at Miami and over Howard, while KSU is 1-0 with its home blowout of Buffalo.

Thought you all would be interested considering the way we all tend to fixate on the officiating in the MAC.