Da'Sean Butler: Player of the Week

Da'Sean Butler

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CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia

The first week of March is always one of college basketball’s best seven-day stretches. There is the end of the regular season in many conferences, including all the major conferences, and plenty of conference tournaments also began. Furthermore, five bids were handed out for the NCAA Tournament. With a week that jam-packed, there is bound to be an abundance of top-notch performances from around the country. Of course, this week certainly fit that bill. East Tennessee State’s Micah Williams led the Buccaneers to the NCAA Tournament by averaging 21.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer averaged 19.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, while Baylor’s Tweety Carter put up 17.0 points and 9.5 assists in two wins. Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, and Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs scored 19.0 per game, including a buzzer beater. UTEP’s Randy Culpepper had 32 points in a win, and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez put up 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

In a week ripe with solid performances but nothing that stood out, there was no one better than West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler. He started the week with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists in an impressive win over Georgetown, then followed it up with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a comeback victory at Villanova. Furthermore, Butler scored the game-winning basket against the Wildcats, a driving bank shot with 5.7 seconds left in overtime. On the week, he put up 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, only turning the ball over twice. He struggled from the field, but hit plenty of clutch shots against Villanova. Butler also went 19-for-21 from the free-throw line in the two games.

Butler had a rough week last week, averaging just 8.5 points per game against Connecticut and Cincinnati. However, he bounced back in a major way this week, and will be a huge key as the Mountaineers enter the Big East Conference tournament and then the NCAA Tournament. If West Virginia wins the conference tourney and contenders from other conferences fall early, the Mountaineers could potentially sneak in as the final No. 1 seed. On the season, Butler is averaging 17.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 rebounds.

Previous CHN Player of the Week:

Mar 2: Greivis Vasquez - Maryland

Feb 23: Greivis Vasquez - Maryland

Feb 16: Jerome Randle - California

Feb 9: Donald Sloan - Texas A&M

Feb 2: Devan Downey - South Carolina

Jan 26: Jerome Dyson - UCONN

Jan 19: Scottie Reynolds - Villanova

Jan 12: Scotty Hopson - Tennessee

Jan 5: Ashton Gibbs - Pittsburgh

Dec 29: Mike Gerrity / Devin Ebanks

Dec 22: Dexter Pittman - Texas

Dec 14: Jacob Pullen - Kansas St

Dec 7: Trevon Hughes - Wisconsin