BEST of the WEEK | March 1, 2004
Awards based on games from Monday through Sunday

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justin Gray, Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons had a couple of big wins, and sophomore guard Justin Gray, was a key reason for the team's success. Gray scored 31 points as Wake rallied to defeat Florida State. He also scored 22 points in a tough victory at Maryland. It's always tough to play Maryland on the road, but Gray didn't shrink from the moment.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Texas
The Longhorns are coming on strong, with 16 wins in their past 18 games. It was a solid week for coach Rick Barnes' team -- a pair of wins over top-25 opponents. They started the week with a blowout win over Kansas on ESPN's Big Monday and then won a close one against Texas Tech.

	Leitao

CO-COACHES OF THE WEEK:
Lorenzo Romar, Washington and Dave Leitao, DePaul
Both coaches are trying to get their teams into the NCAA Tournament, and both came up big. Washington won at Arizona and at Arizona State. With wins in 10 of its past 11 Pac-10 games, Washington has moved past Arizona into second place in the league standings.

Meanwhile, the Blue Demons -- who've been in the NCAA Tournament just once in the past 11 years -- are trying to return to the Big Dance. Leitao's team upset Louisville at Freedom Hall and followed that up with a blowout of Southern Mississippi.

SHOCK OF THE WEEK: Navy over Lafayette
That's right, baby, let's go to the Patriot League. The Midshipmen came in with a 3-22 record and were 0-12 in conference play, while Lafayette was 18-7 and 9-3 in the league. On top of that, Navy was playing without leading scorer Carlton Baldwin, who was taking exams back at Annapolis. Also, two other Midshipmen were out due to deaths in their respective families. Despite all this, coach Don DeVoe -- who is retiring at the end of this season -- was given an early going-away gift in this 75-71 stunner.

DIAPER DANDY OF THE WEEK: Leon Powe, California
Golden Bears freshman Leon Powe posted a couple of big double-doubles in two victories (20 points, 11 rebounds vs. Oregon and 23 points, 10 rebounds vs. Oregon State).

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before providing color commentary for ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he's been an analyst for ESPN ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.