MAC Men’s Basketball Top Player Countdown: #13 Jimond Ivey, Akron Zips

The Akron Zips had a great season last year, falling just short in the MAC tournament. The vast majority of players on that team are gone, as is head coach Keith Dambrot. One player that returns, however, is 6’5 guard Jimond Ivey. The Glenville product had a productive season last year, averaging 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Impressively, he shot 52% from the floor.

With the loss of Isaiah Johnson, Kwan Cheatham Jr., Noah Robotham, and Antino Jackson, it’s likely that Ivey will have to shoulder a much bigger load this season. I fully expect him to be able to handle it.

John Groce returns to the MAC after a stint in Champaign, and is now the head coach of the Zips. He’ll lean heavily on Ivey because quite frankly, he has to. While I don’t think Ivey will maintain that awesome shooting percentage, he will most certainly get more than the 6.8 shot attempts he had last season. In fact, it’s looking like it might be closer to 12-15.

My way too early prediction is that Ivey will be around 15+ points per game, along with a decent amount of rebounds and assists. The East is exceptionally hard to predict right now, but I expect him to be the main player on a decently good team. So while right now I have him as a third team All-MAC, the ceiling is pretty high. I would not be shocked if he is second, or even first team by the end of the season.