Quaintance Named MAC Defensive Player of the Year; Four Named to All-MAC Team
3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Four Golden Flashes receive All-MAC Honors
CLEVELAND, Ohio The post season accolades continued today for Mid-American Conference regular season champion Kent State as senior forward Haminn Quaintance (Sarasota, Fla. / Jacksonville U.) was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year and four student-athletes received All-MAC honors.
MAC Player of the Year, junior Al Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J. / Redlands C.C.) was named to the All-MAC First Team, Quaintance and senior Mike Scott (Indianapolis, Ind. / Northwest) were selected to the Second Team and sophomore Chris Singletary (Chicago, Ill. / Florida Prep) earned Honorable Mention status. This season marks the second time in school history (2001) the Golden Flashes have had four players named to the all-conference team.
Quaintance was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year this season joining Demetric Shaw (2001 & 2002) and John Edwards (2004) as the third KSU student-athlete to win the award. 'Q' dominated the league defensively this season leading the circuit with 2.1 blocks and ranking four in steals at 1.8 per game, making him the only player in the conference listed among the top 15 in the MAC in both blocked shots and steals.
"Q has been great for us all season," said MAC Coach of the Year, Jim Christian, "I have never coached a player who can impact a game in so many different ways and his athleticism allows him to guard any position on the floor. I'm happy for him to earn the recognition for the outstanding season he has had this year."
The only player in NCAA Division I history with over 1,300 points, 850 rebounds, 250 blocks, 250 assists and 200 steals, his season total of 65 blocked shots is more than the team totals for Ohio (61) and Ball State (47) and 18 more than the next closest player. Q is also one of just three players in the country this season and just the second MAC player in league history (Ron Harper, 1985-86) to have over 60 blocks and 50 steals in a single season.
This season Fisher, leads KSU with 14.3 points and 4.2 assists per game. A four time MAC East Player of the Week, he has been even more impressive in league play and ranks in the top ten in four categories, averaging 16.3 points per game (4th); 4.0 assists per game (4th), .859 FT percentage (2nd); .94 assist/turnover ratio (8th).
The only four year senior on the Golden Flashes, Scott was named second team All-MAC adding to a Honorable Mention honor last season and an All-Tournament nod in 2006.
Scott is averaging 13.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season, ranking him 15th and 11th in the league respectively. KSU team captain he also placed among the league leaders in Free Throw percentage (84.9 - 5th), 3-point FG percentage (40.0 - 5th), Field Goal percentage (47.7 - 14th),and blocked shots (0.8 - 9th).
He enters the MAC tournament ranked 24th all-time at KSU with 993 points and 7th with 615 career rebounds.
A sophomore, Singletary was named Honorable Mention All-MAC after earning a spot on the All-Freshman team last season. Known for his physical play and strength, Singletary was a force during MAC play this season. Averaging 10.2 ppg for the season, he improved his average to 12.2 ppg against MAC teams while ranking second with a 59.8 FG percentage. For the season he shot 44.4 percent from three and placed third in the MAC with 1.9 steals a contest.
All-MAC First Team
Al Fisher, Kent State
Tim Pollitz, Miami
Leon Williams, Ohio
Joe Reitz, Western Michigan
David Kool, Western Michigan
All-MAC Second Team
Jeremiah Wood, Akron
Giordan Watson, Central Michigan
Haminn Quaintance, Kent State
Mike Scott, Kent State
Michael Bramos, Miami
Honorable Mention
Nick Dials, Akron
Anthony Newell, Ball State
Peyton Stovall, Ball State
Nate Miller, Bowling Green
Andy Robinson, Buffalo
Carlos Medlock, Eastern Michigan
Chris Singletary, Kent State
Kenny Hayes, Miami
Jerome Tillman, Ohio
Tyrone Kent, Toledo
The Kent State Golden Flashes will await the winner of the No. 8 Toledo vs. No. 9 Bowling Green game and will take the floor in the Quarterfinal round of the 2008 FirstEnergy MAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on FSN Ohio.
