MAC Basketball Top 25: #2 F Demetrius Treadwell, Akron Zips

Because Demetrius Treadwell is a team player, he'd likely say last season was a failure because of where the team ended the season. Individually, though, Treadwell had about a successful season as a player can have.

Let's run through the numbers. Treadwell averaged a little over fifteen points per game, good enough for fifth in the conference. He lead the league in rebounds with 293 and was fourth in rebounds per game with a little over eight and a half. Although double-doubles aren't a stat in college basketball, Treadwell ended up with sixteen. Akron played 34 games last season, so the math says that Treadwell notched a double-double in almost half of the games he played in. That's pretty good.

There is one common feature in Treadwell's game: intensity. He is intense in everything he does, from getting the ball in the low post to grabbing defensive rebounds to diving for loose balls. Treadwell does everything with a sort of controlled insanity that works. He isn't reckless and careless with the ball as some players are. It gets scary sometimes when he brings the ball up the floor off of a rebound, but he doesn't turn the ball over all that much.

There is one weakness though: free throw shooting. Treadwell has never been a great free throw shooter, but he has improved year-to-year. He has gone from shooting 50% from the line during his freshman and sophomore seasons to hitting over 60% last year.

His inconsistency at the line is really puzzling. If you look at his game log from last year, you'll see he had some pretty solid games from the line. Against Detroit he went 12-15; Buffalo 9-12. But no game was more evident of the issue than the MAC Tournament Semifinals against Western Michigan, where he went just 3-10 from the line and missed some down the stretch that were needed.

Treadwell will be a much more effective player this year if he can straighten out his demons at the free throw line. For a player that averages over seven free throw attempts per game, hitting around 70% of them puts the team in a much better position to win games. Now, free throw shooting isn't just a Treadwell issue, it's a team issue. But if that's all that's really wrong with Treadwell's game that's not much to complain about.

This year marks Treadwell's senior season and gives him the opportunity to be a leader. He can finally call this team his team as he (and Deji Ibitayo) are the only seniors that have been there all three years. Treadwell's energy both on and off the court really make him a great leader and he'll be asked to mentor the younger players on the team.

Now that Treadwell is the primary scoring option, look for him to get multiple looks at the basket when he's on the court. There aren't a lot of guys who can match-up with him on both ends of the court, especially after guys like Majok Majok and Shayne Whittington graduated. Treadwell has a really great chance to be the MAC Player of the Year this year and will be counted on to lead the program back to the MAC Tournament finals.