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| Monday, November 19 Updated: March 4, 1:03 PM ET Past Players of the Week ESPN.com |
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Week 16: Jan. 18-24
The freshman point guard has been sensational for the Irish this season and gets our nod for player of the week with 32 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a win at Miami on Saturday. He scored 26 points and dished out 12 assists in a win over West Virginia. Thomas leads the Big East with a 7.6 assists average. Notre Dame needed another marquee league win to feel secure about a bid and the win over Miami should silence any critics. Thomas has changed the way Notre Dame plays, allowing the Irish to gamble more defensively and push the ball even more on the offensive end. His plays are sometimes spectacular with plenty of drives-and-dishes when the defense commits, while other times he makes the easy play, look easy. He doesn't try to do too much and knows when to pick his spots. He should receive serious consideration for national freshman of the year with Memphis' Dajaun Wagner and Texas' T.J. Ford.
Week 15: Jan. 11-17
Our first two-time winner of the award this season. But, it's hard to give it to anyone else when he outscores a team by himself. Logan scored 41 points, Southern Miss scored 37 last Friday night. Logan scored 21 on Saint Louis earlier in the week. He's averaging 22.6 points a game and is the favorite for not only Conference USA player of the year but also for one of the five first-team all-American spots. He looks like Tim Hardaway and has the winning attitude that Hardaway also exuded on the court. Logan emerged into a go-to player over the past two seasons and has made the Bearcats a Final Four contender with his ability to take over a game.
Week 14: Jan. 4-10
Now we know why Cal coach Ben Braun was willing to get a lawyer and fight the NCAA for Tamir's eligibility. Tamir was sensational over the weekend against Oregon. He scored 39 points in the double-overtime victory, making 14 of 19 shots, 5 of 6 on 3s and 6 of 8 at the line. He also grabbed five boards. Tamir showed all of his skills with moves in the post down low, in the middle of the lane with a 'j' and a 3-point shot. Tamir, the 22-year old 6-foot-10 freshman out of the Israeli Army, was suspended for the first eight games of the season because of the NCAA's amateurism rule. He played on a team in Jerusalem that had professionals (former Indiana Pacer Haywoode Workman was one of them) and thus violated the amateurism rule. He could have been done for the season after playing in 30-plus games for the Israeli team. But the NCAA reduced all of the maximum penalties to eight games, making his penalty palatable. Cal got Tamir late, picking him up in the summer and beating Ohio and Northwestern for his services. Having him be a go-to scorer could change their place in the Pac-10 race.
Week 13: Jan. 28-Feb. 3
OK, we're sure we'll get some flak from Casey Jacobsen fans on why Rickert got the nod over him, but the reality is the Gophers won twice this week at home and put themselves in position for an NCAA Tournament bid. Stanford got a split at home. And the reason for the Gophers rise in the Big Ten can be attributed to the 6-10 freshman. Rickert scored 27 in the upset over Indiana (can we call a home conference win an upset anymore?) and 26 in a win over Penn State earlier in the week. Rickert made nine shots in each game, going 5 of 9 on 3s in the two games. He was 12 of 18 from the free-throw line in the two games and grabbed 11 boards. Rickert is averaging 14 points in 26 minutes a game, maximizing his time on the court. The Gophers (13-7, 6-3) have won three in a row, including wins over top two Big Ten teams, Ohio State and Indiana. But the question is how will the Gophers do with four of their next five on the road. If they can come out of that 3-2 or 4-1, then they've got a chance to still win the Big Ten and ensure themselves an NCAA berth. Going 1-4 or 2-3 could crush their chances for a bid, let alone the Big Ten title.
Week 12: Jan. 21-27
The steal of the summer recruiting scene continues to amaze the Huskies, the Big East and anyone else who comes in contact with him. The 6-foot-9 freshman big man out of the Houston area was one block shy of a triple-double in Connecticut's impressive road win at Arizona. Okafor blocked nine shots (the Huskies thought he had at least 12), grabbed 15 boards and scored 19 points. He also had 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-70 win over St. John's earlier in the week. He scored the clinching bucket off a dump pass from Taliek Brown against the Red Storm. Okafor leads the Big East with a 3.7 blocks a game average and tops the Huskies in boards with 9.4 rebounds a game. If Okafor continues to be an inside presence then the Huskies could be a second-weekend team in the NCAA Tournament.
Week 11: Jan. 14-20
Why can't the best player receive this award, especially when the performances were clearly two of the best of the week? Williams changed his game yet again, this time looking to penetrate more than shoot in the win over Maryland. He scored 34 points, making only one 3-pointer. He was 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, as well, giving him higher marks than his normally subpar performance at the line. Williams created shots for his teammates and never backed down to a Maryland run, always answering and then pushing the Blue Devils ahead. He followed that up with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win over Wake Forest. He made three 3s in that game, but still played a balanced game. His defense continues to improve, as well.
Week 10: Jan. 7-13
Jeffries led Indiana to its 4-0 Big Ten start with 21 points in the win over Michigan State and 26 at Iowa Sunday. Jeffries is playing the best basketball of his career. He's rebounding, taking players inside and/or shooting over them. His passing skills have improved to where he's just as good dishing the ball out at times as Tom Coverdale or Donald Perry at the point. Jeffries had seven assists in the Michigan State game, helping Coverdale to his barrage of 3s. Jeffries was feeling the pressure of having to do too much last season. That's not the case this season. He's relaxed and playing without the burden of trying to save Mike Davis' job like he felt last season as a freshman. Indiana has a legit chance to win the Big Ten title because they have a star player like Jeffries.
Week 9: Dec. 31-Jan. 6
This award could have gone to a number of players but Ely's numbers Saturday against Tulsa were simply amazing. Ely scored a career-high 35 points, grabbed 16 boards and had nine blocks. He has been on a mission since being reinstated by the school (and in some sense by the NCAA although they could still pull him if they wanted to for further questioning). Ely is hitting mid-range jumpers, up-and-under fakes for layups, baseline dunks and having an overall presence in the middle. If he continues to be a force then the Bulldogs do have a legit chance of being the WAC favorite again and a team to beat in the NCAA Tournament. He's also clearly helping himself in the NBA draft. His game has pushed further to the 3-point line and he's become a more consistent player around the basket. He used to go up soft and try awkward angles. But he's now looking to flush anything close to the basket and when he does he usually gets fouled.
Week 8: Dec. 24-30
Few performances were as impressive last week as Bremer's was against Connecticut. The 6-foot-2 senior guard lit up UConn in Hartford with 33 points in an 18-point road win for the upstart Bonnies under first-year coach Jan van Breda Kolff. He made four 3s among his 11-of-19 shots, all seven free throws and grabbed eight rebounds. The Huskies had no answers for Bremer, who has flourished in van Breda Kolff’s uptempo style of play. Bremer is averaging 25 points a game and shooting 41.2 percent on 3s. Bremer was a big-time scorer for the Bonnies on their summer trip to Europe. His production has put the Bonnies into contender status in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies won eight of their first 10 games, with the only two losses to ranked Boston College in Buffalo and at Oklahoma.
Week 7: Dec. 17-23
Choosing Logan over Duke's Jason Williams and Illinois' Frank Williams was one of the toughest calls we've had to make this season. But Logan put together four games that were tough to match versus one sensational game each for Jason Williams and Frank Williams last week. Logan averaged 29.3 points last week in leading the Bearcats to the Las Vegas Classic title. He scored 40 points in a win over previously unbeaten Mississippi State and 29 in the championship game win over Purdue. Logan shot 62.5 percent overall, 60 percent on 3s and 90 percent at the line. The 6-2 senior guard is making Cincinnati a defensive pest and a national contender. Logan has been one of the most improved players over the course of his four-year career. He's a determined player who got his weight down to shed the image of being labeled a little fat kid when he got to Cincinnati. His grandmother died last spring, the person who he has told people raised him, and it touched him so much that he had her image tattooed on his abdomen and has dedicated his senior season to her.
Week 6: Dec. 10-16
Final exams meant fewer games to choose from this week, but it would have been hard to pass up on Bell in any week after he scored a career-high 42 in a win over Iowa State on Tuesday. Bell converted 17 of 17 free throws and was fouled three times in the first half on 3-point shots, converting 7 of 7 free throws (one of them was a four-point play). Then, on Sunday, he scored 24 points in a win over Holy Cross for the undefeated Eagles. Bell made 5 of 6 free throws, making the first five and missing the sixth to snap a 30 consecutive made free-throw streak. The junior all-American guard is playing like he's ready to repeat as a Big East co-(or maybe) solo player of the year.
Week 5: Dec. 3-9
Bonner was simply sensational in one of the biggest weeks of the season for the Gators. The much-maligned alleged third option for the Gators scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 boards in a midweek win over Michigan State. He then topped that with 31 in 29 minutes, including 13 of 16 field goals in a win at previously unbeaten South Florida. Bonner wasn't selected as the SEC player of the week (it wasn't Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince either, rather Ole Miss' Justin Reed). Bonner isn't considered even the player of the team on the Gators -- at least nationally. But he should be because without him Udonis Haslam and Brett Nelson can't be as effective. They need him to keep the defense honest. Respecting Bonner's jumper or drive to the hoop will benefit both Haslam inside and Nelson on the perimeter.
Week 4: Nov. 26-Dec. 2
Sidney was bold in our ESPN.com preview, saying the Eagles would win all of their non-conference games. So far, he's not backing down. Sidney averaged 25 points, 13.5 rebounds and six assists in two road wins for the Eagles at St. Bonaventure in Buffalo and at Michigan. Neither game was against a super power, but the Eagles nonetheless took care of business by beating the teams they're supposed to beat. Sidney is taking some of the heat off of Troy Bell, who was coming off of knee surgery. If Sidney continues to be a big-time scorer then the Eagles have a shot to repeat last season's run.
Week 3: Nov. 19-25
The 6-4 sophomore is making the most of his first season of eligibility (he was academically ineligible as a freshman). He's averaging 20.8 points overall, but led Marquette with 30 points and seven assists in the win over the Volunteers in the first-round of the Great Alaska Shootout. He put up 21 on Indiana in the semifinals and then a modest, but still key 13 over Gonzaga in the championship game. He's pulling down 9.2 rebounds a game, not bad from the combo spot on the perimeter. His turnovers are still way too high (46 to 24 assists), including nine against Gonzaga. But that's to be expected after playing only five games of Division I ball. Gonzaga coach Mark Few said Marquette is playing in mid-season form, a credit to coach Tom Crean, but also to Wade, who Few said has a scorer's mentality and can put the ball in from anywhere on the floor.
Week 2: Nov. 12-18
Williams, who is facing a possible three-game suspension after the Preseason NIT for a violation of a school policy, led the Orangemen to wins over Manhattan and DePaul in the first two rounds by averaging 23.5 points and shooting 50 percent overall, 53.3 on 3s. He added 15 against Binghamton Sunday. Williams was converted to point from shooting guard after Billy Edelin was dismissed from school prior to the season. Williams proved he can be a leader and played with purpose on each possession, but still needs to get his assist-to-turnover ratio in check (he was 1-to-1.4 in the Preseason NIT).
Week 1: Nov. 8-11
The junior point guard was sensational in leading the Wildcats to a stunning IKON Classic Coaches vs. Cancer title. Gardner took control of the Wildcats from the opening tip in the win over Maryland Thursday and then Friday against Florida. He scored 23 in both games. But he also got Will Bynum, Salim Stoudamire and Rick Anderson involved in the offense, built their confidence and taught them all how to follow his lead.
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