“Cedrick Middleton’s offseason started at the free-throw line at Quicken Loans Arena in front of a national audience. Middleton walked to the foul line with 12 seconds left in the game and the Zips ahead two points in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship game.”
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Cedrick Middleton’s offseason started at the free-throw line at Quicken Loans Arena in front of a national audience.

Middleton walked to the foul line with 12 seconds left in the game and the Zips ahead two points in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship game. There were 10,000 fans and an ESPN audience waiting to see the University of Akron advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1986.

Middleton missed the front end of the one-and-one and watched Miami University’s Doug Penno bank in a 3-pointer with less than one second left, stripping the Zips of their tourney birth.

To make matters worse, Penno’s heroics were replayed countless times on national sports highlight shows.

I didn’t watch TV for a while after, Middleton said. It was tough.

Since Middleton missed the free-throw that preceded the game-winnner, a lot of fans placed the blame on him, which head coach Keith Dambrot said made it especially tough because Middleton is so dedicated.

Middleton, who is well known for his workout habits, implemented a stringent workout routine in the offseason.

Already one of the quickest guards in the conference, the 6-footer said he woke up around 5 a.m. during the summer to condition himself for his senior season. His ultimate goal was to never feel tired throughout any given game.

He goes to the Rec Center and shoots before practice, Dambrot said. And he stays after practice to work on his game.

Although he’s soft-spoken, Middleton’s attitude makes him the prototypical lead-by-example senior.

It also helps that he’s the perfect fit for Dambrot’s system. He’s one of the Zips’ best on-the-ball defenders and his quickness allows the offense to play uptempo and is one of the MAC’s most dangerous offensive players in the open court. He has the speed and strength to finish around the basket and is one of the better 3-point shooters in the conference, connecting on 39.4 percent of his threes,good for eighth in the MAC last season.

His 3-point percentage is a testament to his hard work. Never a bad shooter, Middleton’s percentage has risen every year. As a freshman, he shot 35 percent from behind the arc and 38 as a sophomore.

It’s no surprise that his points-per-game average has jumped accordingly, from five in his freshman season to 11 last year when he was named MAC Sixth Man of the Year.

We can’t win games without him, Dambrot said.

Middleton, however, may no be in the same role this year, at least to start the season.

Dambrot has indicated that since freshman Ronnie Steward’s hip injury may take up to six weeks to heal, Middleton will probably be starting the season alongside Nick Dials in the Zips’ backcourt, even though Dambrot prefers to utilize Middleton’s energy by bringing him off the bench, if he’s healthy enough.

Middleton was forced to sit out the Zips’ exhibition game against Walsh College two Saturdays ago because the arthritis in his knee, which he has battled for the last two years, was bothering him. Dambrot said it was precautionary and that he would more than likely be fine for the season opener Friday at the Top of the World Classic in Alaska against South Carolina Upstate.

Middleton was so eager, he dressed and went through warm-ups even though he knew he wasn’t going to play.

He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever had, Dambrot said. And I’ve had a lot of hard workers over the years.

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