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MAC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

Nov 27, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Ohio Bobcats guard Jason Preston (0) controls the ball against Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Ohio Bobcats guard Jason Preston (0) controls the ball against Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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MAC Basketball Kent State Golden Flashes forward Jimmy Hall (35) and Golden Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff (L)  Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
MAC Basketball Kent State Golden Flashes forward Jimmy Hall (35) and Golden Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff (L)  Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Jimmy Hall

While Hall didn’t begin his career in the MAC, he found his way into the conference and certainly didn’t regret that choice. A 6’7 forward from Brooklyn, he chose to stay close to home and played his freshman season at Hofstra. After just seven games, he was arrested on burglary charges and dismissed from the program. Two years later, he’d pop up at Kent State and would have three fantastic seasons with the Golden Flashes.

Hall showed no sign of rust when he got back on the court in 2014, averaging 15.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in his first year at Kent State. He took the Golden Flashes on a run in the CIT and had a nice junior year, but his final collegiate campaign was the special one. Hall had 19 points and 18 rebounds in a season-opening win against Cleveland State, a sign of good things to come. He’d average 19.0 points and 10.6 rebounds and led Kent State to the MAC Tournament title, finishing his career with a 20-point, 15-rebound game against UCLA in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Bouncing back after making mistakes at Hofstra, Hall was named First Team All-MAC in each of those three seasons in the league. He was one of the conference’s top scorers and rebounders every year and was the blocks leader as a senior. Nobody in the nation made more 2-point field goals than Hall in that final season and he was paramount in Kent State’s trip to the Big Dance, the most recent one that the program has made.