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Today marks the beginning of a grand experiment.
After the success that has been two seasons of MAC Fantasy Football, we're expanding into different sports and going to Men's Basketball for our next league. Our basketball writers got together over the last week and a half and drafted 10-person teams, comprised of players form all the MAC institutions (sorry UMass).
Let's go through the ground rules right quick:
Each team has to start at minimum one guard, one guard or forward, one forward, one forward/center, and one center. Each roster also gets two FLEX spots for sixth and seventh men, which can be any position. There are three spots on the bench (which are also comprised of any position) and each team can hold up to two players on injured reserve and claim other players through the free agent wire. This allows for flexible lineups, as one can start three forwards, or three guards, or even three or four centers if they want to (though I don't know why you'd want to.)
Okay, got the rules? Cool. Here's how the draft went down. Each owner was assigned a number based on when they joined the league (1-8), and from there, a random number generator created the draft order. It was a snake draft, with the eighth pick getting two picks in a row every odd round, and the first pick getting two picks in the even rounds.
The participants are: Nick "Frenchy" Fries (CMU contributor), Sam Barloga and Keith Schesselee (MAC Women's Basketball contributor and Ball State basketball contributor, respectively), Brendan Carducci (general MAC Basketball contributor), myself (CMU team manager, women's basketball contributor), Kaleb Carter (Ohio basketball contributor), Matt Hammond (Akron basketball contributor), Russ Johnson (Kent State basketball contributor), and Grant McPherson (CMU basketball contributor, MAC Olympic Sports contributor).
Without further ado: Here are the rosters!
| Round/Direction | Frenchy | Slammy/Kieth | Carducci | James | Kaleb | Hammond | Russ | Grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 --> | Chris Fowler (CMU) | Sean Sellers (Ball) | Raven Lee (EMU) | JOHN SIMONS, F, (CMU) | Jimmy Hall (KSU) | Noah Robotham (Akron) | Eric Washington (Miami) | Lamonte Bearden (Buffalo) |
| 2 | Aaric Armsted (NIU) | Franco House (Ball State | Jeremie Tyler (Ball) | Taylor Person, G/F (Ball) | Antonio Campbell | Connar Tava (WMU) | Pat Forsythe (Akron) | Nathan Boothe (Toledo) |
| 3 --> | Kenny Kaminsky (Ohio) | Zack Denny (BGSU) | Reggie McAdams (Akron) | Braylon Rayson (CMU) | Jaaron Simmons (OU) | Tucker Haymond (WMU) | Rayshawn Simmons (CMU) | Kwan Cheatham Jr. (Akron) |
| 4 | Bo Calhoun (Ball) | Geovonie McKnight (Miami) | Jonathan Williams (Toledo) | Khaliq Spicer, F/C, Kent | Spencer Parker (BGSU) | Drake LaMont (WMU) | Jarryn Skeete (Buffalo) | Darrell Bowie (NIU) |
| 5 --> | Marin Maric (NIU) | Travon Baker, G | Galal Cancer (KSU) | Thomas Wilder, G/F, WMU | Jordan Lauf G (Toledo) | Isaiah Johnson (Akron) | Xavier Pollard (Kent State) | Josh Kozinski (CMU) |
| 6 | Jeremiah Davis (Ball) | Ryan Webber, BSU | Willie Moore (Miami) | Chris Ortiz, F/C, Kent | Dion Wade G Miami | Luke Meyer (CMU) | Jake Kretzler (Akron) | Rodell Wiggington (Buffalo) |
| 7 --> | LJ Livingston (Miami) | Brandon Nazione (EMU) | Tim Bond (EMU) | Jodan Price G (EMU) | Antino Jackson G (Akron) | Josh Williams (Akron) | Treg Setty (Ohio) | Austin Stewart (CMU) |
| 8 | Raheem Johnson (BUFF) | Logan McLane (Miami) | Rocco Belcaster, Ball | AJ Avery, G/F, WMU | Nate Navigato C (Toledo) | Jimond Ivey (Akron) | Jake Wright (Miami) | Kellen McCormick (WMU) |
| 9 --> | Kellon Thomas (KSU) | Mike Laster (Ohio) | Jordan Martin (EMU) | Francis Kiapway, G, Ball | Wes Alcegaire G (Ohio) | Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Akron) | Rosell Hurley (Kent) | Stuckey Mosley (Toledo) |
| 10 | Taylor Perry (WMU) | Nate Wells, (Ball State) | Bik Gill (Ball) | Chuks Iroegbu, FLEX, (NIU) | Gavin Block G (Ohio) | Peter Agba (Akron) | Tajae Teague (Ball) | David Joseph (Bowling Green) |
The league starts up November 16th, when MAC teams begin their non-conference schedules. Like the HB Fantasy League for football, updates will be provided weekly, and all matchups will be decided by face-to-face points.