Oh there have been other MAC guys beyond my list that played (or are playing) in the NBA. I just cut off my list for guys with at least 90 games played or more to represent guys who were so good they had more than a cup of coffee in the league.
Currently in the league are:
Emoni Bates - EMU - Cleveland Cavaliers
RayJ Dennis - Toledo/Baylor - Indiana Pacers
Enrique Freeman - Akron - Indiana Pacers
Richaun Holmes - BG - Washington Wizards
Daeqwon Plowden - BG - Atlanta Hawks
Ryan Rollins - Toledo - Milwaukee Bucks
Nate Williams - Buffalo - Houston Rockets
Rollins is the only one getting consistent PT of the group. Holmes and Freeman get mop up duty here and there, though Holmes has had a 10 year career. Rest have appeared in 6 games or less.
The worst part is the guys you're naming off this list couldn't hold a candle to the 90's era.
I remember as a kid when the MAC frequently had home games with the big boys when they weren't afraid to take em. Can even remember when Casey Shaw and Greg Stempin took out Ohio A&M at Savage Hall back in 98, which I believe was the last time they went on the road voluntarily in Ohio until Holtmann got to O$U. Heck, had to explain to my brothers who went to Fiami (yes, three of them went there, but got one to go to OU for grad school so I did my job showing him the light) that Fiami used to have home-and-home's with Dayton, Cincy, Xavier, and many others would go to Oxford to play. There was a time when that was the norm, and also the norm of stepping out of league play during conference season. Not sure why conferences got so hellbent on scheduling a league-only circuit come winter, but would love to see teams mix it up in February again.
Anyways, point being is only way I see these kind of games happening is if we either commit to building them into football contracts (which financially becomes a problem-see Purdue when we had them here), or the region happens to have a kid from SE Ohio and wants a game back home.
I have said before and will say it again, our best bet of getting the big games is taking them to Columbus to Nationwide Arena for either Big Ten or ACC schools that want to recruit Columbus but can't get a game vs Ohio A&M that season. And again, for enrolling and recruiting kids to Ohio, we should be doing a game up there or in Cleveland properly. But I digress.....
You'll never see that kinda magic happen again in this league, especially after Rick Chryst sent us over the ledge for football which to this day the league is paying for that sin royally.....
Last Edited: 2/11/2025 10:53:10 AM by Buckeye to Bobcat