Greivis Vasquez: CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week (Again)

Jeff Borzello — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:06:12 -0800

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

The number of impressive performances has been increasing over the past few weeks, as players from around the country try to put up superhuman efforts in an attempt to lead their teams to important victories as the season winds down. Bubble teams need bids, teams that are locks want to improve their seeding, and mid-majors jockey for league titles. In each case, there were a multitude of standout games. It’s tough to start without mentioning Syracuse’s Rick Jackson averaging 23.5 points and 8.5 boards in two wins or Marquette’s Lazar Hayward getting 22.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in back-to-back overtime road wins. There was also Notre Dame’s Tim Abromaitis going for 18.0 points in wins over Pittsburgh and Georgetown and Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado averaging 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and setting the NCAA record for blocked shots. Non-BCS guys also did fantastic this week, with New Mexico’s Darington Hobson going for 17.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in two road wins; Xavier’s Jordan Crawford averaging 22.5 points in wins over Saint Louis and Richmond; Marshall’s Hassan Whiteside putting up 16.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 8.5 rebounds in a couple of victories; and Omar Samhan of Saint Mary’s averaging 26.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. Statistically, you can’t really argue with Lipscomb’s Adnan Hodzic averaging 30.5 points and 18.5 rebounds in a couple of wins or Fairfield’s Anthony Johnson averaging 26.0 points and 17.5 boards.

However, when it came down to it, we went with a first in Player of the Week history: a player winning the honor two weeks in a row. It was simply too tough to pass up on Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez again. He started off the week with 15 points and 13 assists in an impressive win over Clemson at home, but then really solidified the honor with his performance on Saturday. Against Virginia Tech, Vasquez poured in 41 points and also contributed seven rebounds and six assists. More importantly, he led the Terrapins to a double-overtime win over the Hokies on the road. For the week, he averaged 28.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.5 steals. Vasquez was also perfect from the free-throw line.

Maryland has won five in a row and 11 of its last 12, and much of that has to do with the outstanding play of Vasquez. The 6-6 senior guard is averaging 19.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists and has made himself one of the leading candidates for ACC Player of the Year. The Terrapins are still in the hunt for the ACC title, but Vasquez will have to continue his stellar play if Maryland is going to knock off Duke on Wedneday.

Previous CHN Player of the Week:

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

Greivis Vasquez: CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week

Jeff Borzello — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:32:37 -0800

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

One of the most jam-packed weeks of the season is always the week leading up to, and including, Bracket Busters weekend. With many of the top mid-majors in the country battling against one another, plus several big-time conference clashes and bubble battles, there were plenty of great games – and great individual performances. Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh was a star of Bracket Busters, scoring 23 against Old Dominion after scoring 17 against Creighton earlier in the week, while VCU’s Larry Sanders was no slouch, averaging 22.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in two wins. One of the biggest team weeks belonged to Duquesne, which was led by Damian Saunders’ 15.5 points in wins over Charlotte and Dayton. Don’t forget James Anderson, who averaged 25.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in wins over Iowa State and Baylor, or Kansas State’s Denis Clemente, who put up 24.0 points and 4.5 assists in a couple of victories. Andy Rautins of Syracuse went for 26 points and seven rebounds in a win at Georgetown, while BYU’s Jimmer Fredette continued his great season by averaging 29.0 points in two road wins. Louisville’s Samardo Samuels averaged 25.0 points in a couple of must-wins, and Connecticut’s Kemba Walker averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. Also, don’t leave out any of Kentucky’s big three of John Wall, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins, who led the Wildcats to wins at Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

However, it’s difficult to argue with the three-game week that Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez had. Because of the snowstorm last week, the Terrapins had to reschedule its game against Virginia for Monday. Vasquez kicked things off that game with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists. In the second game of the week, Vasquez dropped 26 points, four rebounds and six assists in a comeback win at North Carolina State. Not to be outdone in his final performance of the week, Vasquez finished with 18 points, five rebounds and eight assists in a buzzer win over Georgia Tech. In the latter game, he had a half-court three at the buzzer negated because of a timeout called by Maryland assistant Keith Booth. Overall for the week, Vasquez averaged 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists, shooting 50 percent from the field and 16-for-18 from the free-throw line.

Vasquez has been a huge key in Maryland’s turnaround in ACC play. The Terrapins have won nine of their last 11 to stay in the conference race, sitting 1.5 games behind Duke after this weekend. Vasquez got off to a slow start in the early part of the season, scoring in single-digits in the first four games of the season, but he has been a statistical monster ever since. On the season, the 6-6 senior guard is averaging 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists.