Update: 9:50 a.m.
Ohio senior guard D.J. Cooper was named the Mid-American Conference player of the week Wednesday with 16 votes.
The player with the next-highest vote total, Akron senior center Zeke Marshall, had less than half the amount of Cooper.
The award was voted on by members of the media.
With the nod, Cooper becomes the first Ohio player since Gary Trent to be named the MAC player of the year.
Trent garnered the nod three-straight times from 1992-1995.
Cooper was named to the MAC's first team three times and was honored on its all-freshman team during his rookie campaign. He was also last season's MAC Tournament MVP.
A reasonable case can be made for each of the MAC's first team performers for the conference’s player of the year honor.
With the exception of Marshall, who is known for his defense, each of the first team players ranks within the MAC’s top 10 scorers. Four of five are within its top 10 rebounders. Two lead the conference in two or more statistical categories.
Ohio coach Jim Christian said that he thinks the number of the utmost importance isn’t listed on individual stat sheet: wins.
“It shouldn’t be a numbers game,” he said. “It’s a winning game, and guys have to produce. The numbers only lead to winning if they mean something.”
Christian said he would be disappointed if Cooper didn’t walk away with the honor this season, and cited his leadership and game-management qualities as reasons why.
“He’s hit game-winning shots, he’s kept us in games, he’s broken records, he’s set national criteria — I mean, I don’t know how you can have that type of career and never be the conference player of the year,” Christian said.
Judging by the priority Christian places on wins, Cooper’s main competition for player of the year is Marshall, who is the Zips’ defensive backbone and main interior presence.
Ohio and Akron finished the regular season with 14 wins apiece and shared the regular season conference crown.
The three remaining MAC first-teamers rank within the conference’s top four most prolific scorers, as each averages more than 16 points per game.
Christian admitted his bias, but said he thinks Cooper’s 2012-13 performance has paced the MAC thus far.
“Because he plays for me, of course I think he deserves it,” Christian said. “I don’t think anybody in our league has had a better year.”
MAC awards
Aside from Cooper’s all-MAC first team nod, Ohio’s Reggie Keely, a senior forward, and Walter Offutt, a redshirt senior guard, were named to the conference’s third team.
Keely, who has averaged 4.6 rebounds and a career-best 12 points per game so far this season, said he was humbled by the award but was hoping for a higher honor.
“I felt like I worked really hard and put myself in position to earn some type of award, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed about not getting first or second team,” he said.
Aside from his conference honor, Offutt was named the MAC’s No. 1 “floor burner” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which is given to the player most likely to sacrifice himself for his team.
“You want everybody to think of you as somebody who lays it on the court for your team, so that’s a good award to be given,” Offutt said. “I’m proud of it.”
Tournament update
The first day of the MAC Tournament featured three games that were decided by a combined 14 points Monday.
On Akron’s side of the bracket, No. 8 Buffalo topped No. 9 Central Michigan by two points in overtime.
No. 7 Eastern Michigan prevailed by one against No. 10 Northern Illinois and No. 11 Miami upended No. 6 Bowling Green by 11.
Cooper said Ohio doesn’t take too much time following the MAC Tournament’s early contests.
“We do a little bit here and there, but most of the time we have practice,” he said. “We got the ESPN app on our phones and stuff like that, but that’s probably the most we watch them.”
Alumni connection
Cooper’s high school, Seton Academy (Chicago), fell by six points in its highly controversial Illinois 2A State Championship game Saturday.
Seton Academy refused to accept its second-place trophy because of the ejection of their top offensive player, Mark Weems Jr., who brushed against an official, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.
Cooper said he spoke with players from his old school after their loss, and said he is still “kind of a family” with some of them.
“They were disappointed in how they lost the tournament,” Cooper said. “They had a lot of controversy during the game and stuff. It’s hard to get down state (to the finals), especially playing in Illinois.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
