CLEVELAND, Ohio — When you’re hot, you’re hot, and right now no player in the Mid-American Conference is hotter than Akron senior Kwan Cheatham.
The 6-10, 235-pound forward has been the perfect compliment to fellow senior and Cincinnati product Isaiah Johnson, Akron’s 6-10, 290-pound center. As the Mid-American Conference season hits the midway point, both are on a Player of the Year course.
For Johnson, averaging 16.4 points on the season, it was arguably expected. But for Cheatham, averaging 12.0 points a game, it was not.
While Cheatham has been a starter since his sophomore season, he never averaged in double figures. He scored 7.9 points a game as a sophomore and 7.2 points a game as a junior. Even this season, prior to MAC play, he was only averaging 8.2 points a game.
But once the lights came on for league play, Cheatham has been blazing. He has averaged 16.6 points in nine conference games with a career high of 31 points against Buffalo.
He is shooting 45.3 percent on 3-pointers this season and 80 percent on free throws. And Cheatham leads the Zips in rebounds at 9.4 a game.
Akron coach Keith Dambrot said Cheatham’s sudden improvement is evidence of his hard work over the past several seasons. The only area where the coach issues even mild criticism is offensive rebounding.
Still, with nine MAC games to play and the Zips on a 12-game winning streak, complaints are few and far between for Cheatham and the undefeated Zips in MAC play.
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