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Hustle Belt's All-MAC Teams Announced

First Team: Wilder, Simmons, Campbell, Fowler and Boothe.

Kaleb Carter

Tournament time is here but before we can get to that, we've got to acknowledge the performances held during the regular season. Some of the Hustle Belt staff submitted ballots for our crowned All-MAC performers as well as individual notices too.

First Team Second Team Third Team
Thomas Wilder (WMU) Jonathan Williams (Toledo) Eric Washington (Miami)
Jaaron Simmons (Ohio) Braylon Rayson (CMU) Bo Calhoun (Ball State)
Antonio Campbell (Ohio) Reggie McAdams (Akron) Spencer Parker (BGSU)
Chris Fowler (CMU) Jimmy Hall (Kent State) Franko House (Ball State)
Nathan Boothe (Toledo) James Thompson (EMU) Isaiah Johnson (Akron)

Player of the Year: Antonio Campbell

If Saul Philips was going to lead the Bobcats to success, it was going to mean that his star players and veterans take a big step forward, which is exactly what Campbell did. Improving his field goal percentage by ten points (58 percent), the forward for Ohio averages 17.5 points per game along with 10 rebounds in the same capacity with 15 games where he recorded a double-double performance. Putting up double-digit scores in all but five games this season, Campbell broke 20 in 11 games, in which the Bobcats when 8-3 when he scored that much, including a season-high 33 at home against Eastern Michigan. He led the MAC at regular season's end in blocks (50), flirting with 300 rebounds, and knocked down 73 percent of his free throws.

Coach of the Year: Nate Oats

You win the MAC title to go dancing. After riding a good high on success and fame, the head coach and star players left the program, leaving a lot of question marks surrounding the program led by a 2-year assistant promoted to get his first head coaching position at the Division-I level. On top of that, Nate Oats has had the unfortunate personal issues where he announced on his Facebook page that his wife would be diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, but would continue his coaching duties. Now, the Buffalo Bulls are a 3-seed headed into the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 17-14 record, 10-8 in MAC play.

Freshman of the Year: James Thompson

This one was pretty easy for us. Some troubles back at home during high school altered his collegiate landing spot from initially committing to South Carolina to where he is now with Eastern Michigan, Thompson was able to become an instant threat on the court and provide the talent EMU needed at center on both ends of the floor. By regular season's end, Thompson broke Raven Lee's freshman scoring record at EMU (464), had 17 double-double performances and averaged 15 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Defensive Player of the Year: James Thompson

We've had a good mix of votes with Khaliq Spicer (blocks) and Thomas Wilder (steals), Thompson's got the edge as our MAC DPoY as well. He finished third in the MAC at regular season's end with 44 blocks (Campbell 50, Spicer 47), but his 24 steals were three more than Campbell had and 14 more than Spicer's total. While he was able to grab the most amount of rebounds in the conference, Thompson was fourth in the MAC in defensive rebounds (188) behind Campbell (235),  Boothe (219) and Calhoun (195).