Carry, Senderoff and Hamilton Earn Top MAC Honors
3/9/2022 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cleveland, Ohio - The Kent State Golden Flashes took home multiple Mid-American Conference awards, highlighted by Sincere Carry being named Player of the Year, Rob Senderoff being named Coach of the Year and Justyn Hamilton being named Sixth Man of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.
Coach Senderoff earns his first Coach of the Year award in his 11th season as the Flashes' head coach. It's the first time a Kent State coach has taken home the award since Geno Ford in 2011. Senderoff has crossed off multiple milestones this season, including his 200th career win, his 100th career MAC victory and climbed the MAC coaching ranks to seventh place in all-time wins. He also set a program record with his seventh 20-win season.
"First off, it really should be staff of the year," said Senderoff. The assistants (Aaron Fuss, Julian Sullinger, Randal Holt, Jon Fleming), graduate assistants (Avery Van Reeth & Kevin Zabo), support staff (Brice Cox, Brent Leiby, Kerrie James-Hunter) deserve credit for this award. Second, it's a team award. Our team deserves a lot of credit for battling throughout the course of the year and finishing off the regular season in incredible fashion. Lastly, I want to thank my wife, Lauren, who handles so much of the things I can't handle because I'm working with our team. She deserves credit for this along with my two kids."
Carry is just the fourth Golden Flash in program history to win Player of the Year, all of whom have come in the last 17 years. The Solon, Ohio native finished the regular season on a tear, winning three straight Player of the Week honors to close the season while leading the team to a 12-game winning streak. Carry was also named to the All-MAC First Team. He is the first Kent State player to win Player of the Year since Justin Greene in 2011 and it marks the sixth time in the last eight years with a Golden Flash on the all-conference first team.
"I am blessed in a lot of areas, not just basketball," said Carry. "I'm blessed to have my family around to support me. Last year, I was just coming to Kent to be a regular student. But the relationship that me and Coach Sendy built made me want to play basketball and be part of the family that he has. I would not be able to receive this award without giving credit to my teammates. They put a smile on my face every day, make it fun and make me a better player. I think this award defines my character more off the court than on the court because I had to fight for this."
"I'm really happy for Sincere and proud of what he has done," said Senderoff. "His journey to Kent, his level of consistency in practice and every game is tremendous. This is well deserved. There were a lot of really good players in the league that had good years. For him to get this recognition is a heck of an honor and accomplishment."
Along with Senderoff and Carry taking home prestigious awards, senior Justyn Hamilton was named the Sixth Man of the Year. After starting every game a season ago, Hamilton moved to a bench role this year and brought a spark to the Flashes' bench. He ranks sixth in the MAC in field goal percentage (.528) and is third in the league with 39 blocked shots. Despite the bench role, Hamilton is third on the team in minutes played and plays a large role in the Flashes' success.
"It means everything to me," said Hamilton. "In the beginning of the season, I lost my father. Every time I step on the court, I go hard for him. This proves that when you go hard, the hard work pays off. I just want to shout out to my father."
"Last year he started every game for us," said Senderoff. "His willingness to accept and thrive in his role coming off the bench this season talks about the selflessness of not just him but our entire team. With some of the personal trials and tribulations he has been through this year, it is a great achievement for him to be recognized."
The Golden Flashes grabbed three of the five major conference awards, but they weren't done there. Malique Jacobs was the runner-up for MAC Defensive Player of the Year and both he and Carry earned spots on the All-Defensive team. Jacobs was also named to the Honorable Mention All-MAC team. The Flashes were the only team to get two players on the defensive team and deservedly so. Kent State ranks in the top three in the MAC in scoring defense (64.1), field goal percentage defense (.404), three-point field goal percentage defense (.306), blocks (3.6), steals (7.4) and turnovers forced per game (13.9). The Flashes also rank in the top-40 in the country in both scoring and field goal percentage defense.
"To have two guys on the all-defensive team is a testament to what we have done in the regular season on the defensive end," said Senderoff. "Malique [Jacobs] is the engine to our defense and Sincere [Carry] has done a great job all year as a defender. For us to get two players on there is quite an accomplishment, and it is something I'm really proud of for both them and our entire group."
The highly decorated Golden Flashes will travel to Cleveland tomorrow for the MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed where they will host the No. 7 seed Miami RedHawks in game three at approximately 4 p.m.
2021-22 MAC Men's Basketball Postseason Awards
Coach of the Year: Rob Senderoff, Kent State
Player of the Year: Sincere Carry, R-Jr., G, Kent State
Freshman of the Year: Payton Sparks, Fr., C, Ball State
Defensive Player of the Year: Enrique Freeman, So., F, Akron
Sixth Man of the Year: Justyn Hamilton, R-Sr., F, Kent State
All-MAC First Team
Jeenathan Williams, Sr., F, Buffalo
Sincere Carry, R-Jr., G, Kent State
Mark Sears, So., G, Ohio
Ben Vander Plas, R-Sr., F, Ohio
Ryan Rollins, So., G, Toledo
All-MAC Second Team
Ali Ali, So., F, Akron
Enrique Freeman, So., F, Akron
Josh Mballa, Sr., F, Buffalo
Ronaldo Segu, Sr., G, Buffalo
JT Shumate, Jr., F, Toledo
All-MAC Third Team
Payton Sparks, Fr., C, Ball State
Daeqwon Plowden, 5th-Sr., G/F, Bowling Green
Jason Carter, 5th-Sr., F, Ohio
Setric Millner Jr., Jr., F, Toledo
Lamar Norman Jr., Jr., G, Western Michigan
Honorable Mention
Xavier Castaneda, Jr., G, Akron
Kevin Miller, Fr., G, Central Michigan
Malique Jacobs, R-Jr., F, Kent State
Dae Dae Grant, Jr., G, Miami
Keshawn Williams, So., G, Northern Illinois
All-Freshman Team
Payton Sparks, C, Ball State
Jaylin Sellers, G, Ball State
Kevin Miller, G, Central Michigan
Mo Njie, C, Eastern Michigan
Ra'Heim Moss, G, Toledo
All-Defensive Team
Enrique Freeman, So., F, Akron
Daeqwon Plowden, 5th-Sr., G/F, Bowling Green
Josh Mballa, Sr., F, Buffalo
Malique Jacobs, R-Jr., F, Kent State
Sincere Carry, R-Jr., G, Kent State
