robbie hummel

College Basketball Awards: Carmichael, Primm, UMASS, Hummel

Greg Mengelt — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:33:15 -0800

A review of the week that was in college basketball focusing on the best (and worst) performances. Check in every Monday morning for our weekly awards.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State: The Cardinal junior forward had a 47-point, 27-rebound week as Illinois State knocked off Missouri State and Southern Illinois last week.

Carmichael, who hit his first career 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Evansville on Jan. 7, had 26 points and 16 rebounds to help the Cardinals knock off Missouri State, 76-69 on Wednesday. He made 8-of-15 shots from the field and 10-of-12 at the foul line and added two assists, a block and a steal.

In Saturday’s 60-40 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday, Carmichael scored nine of the Cardinals’ first 12 points en route to 19 points and 11 rebounds for his seven double-double of the season and the 12^th of his career, including three in his last four outing. He was 8-for-12 from the field and had three blocked shots in the triumph.

For the season, Carmichael is averaging 13.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per contest.

Last week's Player of the Week was Washington St's Faisal Aden.

MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE WEEK

J.P. Primm, UNC-Asheville Senior Guard: Primm scored 53 points and had 10 assists in a pair of pair of Bulldog Big South victories this week.

Primm went 16-for-31 from the field, connected on 10-of-22 3-pointers and made all 11 of his free throws as Asheville knocked off High Point and Campbell to improve to 11-1 in the conference.

“J.P. Primm can score in a lot of different way,” Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach said.

Primm is averaging 16.3 points while making 41 percent of his 3s and 83 percent of his foul shots. He’s also averaging 4.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and two steals for the 16-7 Bulldogs, who maintain a game-and-a-half lead over Coastal Carolina in the Big South.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Massachusetts: A week after knocking off Richmond on the road, the Minutemen knocked off Saint Louis Saturday at home to move into a first-place tie with LaSalle and St. Bonaventure in a wild Atlantic 10 race.

Led by Raphiael Putney’s 22 points and 10 rebounds, UMass shot 65.5 in the first half and built a 19-point halftime lead over the 16-5 Billikens, who were also playing for spot at the top of the A-10 standings.

The Minutemen, who shot 50 percent from the field and held Saint Louis to 34, go to Rhode Island on Wednesday. The Rams are coming off of an 86-81 win at Dayton for their first league win.

SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Brandon Richardson, Nebraska Senior Guard: Richardson finished with a career-high 25 points in the Cornhuskers’ first Big Ten road victory in school history at Iowa.

Richardson made 9-of-10 field goals, including six of his seven 3-point attempts, grabbed six boards, handed out five assists and got two steals as Nebraska toppled the Hawkeyes, 79-73.

The Cornhuskers, who were coming off a 34 points home loss to No. 6 Ohio State, are now 11-9 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten heading into Thursday’s contest at Northwestern.

UPSET OF THE WEEK

Samford 77, Davidson 74: At just 6-13 entering the contest, Samford certainly wasn’t expected to be the squad to hand the Wildcats their first Southern Conference loss in Birmingham on Saturday.

Jeffrey Merritt scored 20 points and Will Cook hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to left the Bulldogs to their biggest win of the season.

“This is probably No. 1 in my college career,” Cook said. “Davidson was the top team in the conference, so this was a huge victory to knock them off.”

The Bulldogs have another tough one today when they host the College of Charleston.

WIN OF THE WEEK

Valparaiso 55, Milwaukee 52: In its fourth straight road game, Valpo knocked off Milwaukee Saturday to break a second-place tie in the Horizon League.

The Crusaders pulled within a half-game of Cleveland State, which they beat 72-66 on Jan. 15 in their last home game.

Valpo held the Panthers to 17-for-48 from the field, including 6-of-22 from the 3-point line, and held Milwaukee to 17 second-half points and rally from an 11-point second-half deficit.

“Our players did all the work. It was a joy to sit there and watch them play,” said first-year Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew.

Ryan Broekhoff led the Crusaders with 11 points, 11 boards, three assists and three steals.

LOSS OF THE WEEK

Notre Dame 50, Connecticut 48: For the second week in a row, the defending national champions get the dishonor of being getting the “Loss of the Week” after Sunday’s 50-48 home loss to Notre Dame.

The 19-for-47 shooting night, which included 3-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc, led to the Huskies third loss in a row and fifth in seven games. What’s worse is UConn has lost back-to-back games at home after starting 10-0 at Gampel Pavilion.

Eric Atkins (13), Jerian Grant (11) and Scott Martin (10) scored in double figures for the Irish. Martin also had seven boards. UConn’s Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with 16, but he missed a 5-footer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

“If Jeremy’s shot had gone in, I wasn’t going to be jumping,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. “The game was lost over the 40 minutes. It particularly was lost as we began the second half.”

PLAY OF THE WEEK

Hummel’s floater lift Boilers past Northwestern: Four nights after missing two potential winning shots in a 66-64 loss to Michigan, Hummel hit a baseline jumper with eight seconds to play to give Purdue a big 58-56 win over Northwestern in Evanston.

With the score tied at 56-apiece, Hummel took a pass from Lewis Jackson in the right corner. Hummel went by Wildcat freshman Dave Sobolewski and nailed the 15-footer to lift Purdue to 5-4 in Big Ten play. Northwestern’s John Shurna missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Wildcats dropped their third straight.

Hummel finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

“It was a game we had to have,” the fifth-year senior said. “It was really that important.”

- Editor: Check out Greg's recent Feature on Robbie Hummel.

Robbie Hummel: Fighting Adversity (And MSU Fans)

Greg Mengelt — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:14:48 -0800

It’s a shame what happened to Purdue senior Robbie Hummel at the Breslin Center during Saturday’s 83-58 loss to the Spartans.

Hummel was reportedly taunted by a Michigan State fan, who shouted at Hummel that he hoped he would tear his ACL a third time, according The Lafayette Journal & Courier’s Jeff Washburn.

Hummel, who has been one of the best players in the Big Ten since arriving at West Lafayette in 2007, has had a heartbreaking career at Purdue and he deserves more respect than that.

Purdue coach Matt Painter agrees. He called out the student for his behavior and lectured him during the game.

“I was just trying to fight,” Painter told Journal & Courier. “I think (the Michigan State student section is) great. But if they are going to say, ‘I hope you tear your ACL again,’ I’m going to say something. He doesn’t deserve that.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said if he had heard it, “I would throw the guy out of here. It’s just uncalled for. It’s ridiculous. So if that made Matt Painter mad, I completely understand.”

What’s even more of a shame is the affect Hummel’s knee injuries have had on his game. The Valparaiso, Ind., native averaged 11.4 points as a freshman, 12.5 as a sophomore and was having a Big Ten Player of the Year-type season when he suffered his first injury at Minnesota late in his junior season. At the time, Hummel was averaging 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds, and the Boilermakers were 19-3 and riding a 10-game winning streak and were ranked third in the nation.

Without Hummel, Purdue went 4-3 down the stretch and lost to eventual national champion Duke in the Sweet 16.

Hummel returned for the 2010-11 season, only to tear his ACL on the first day of practice. Even without Hummel, the Boilermakers raced out to a 15-1 start before going 26-8 and finishing second in the Big Ten at 14-4.

Boilermaker fans are left only to wonder about what would have happened during those two seasons had Hummel been healthy. A serious argument can be made that the Hummel-led Boilermakers may have gone to back-to-back Final 4s and made runs at a national title or two.

The good news was that Hummel got to return this season. The problem is his surrounding cast – outside of fellow-senior point guard Lewis Jackson – simply doesn’t have enough high-level Big Ten talent. Through Tuesday, the Boilermakers are 14-7 overall, 4-4 in the Big Ten – after back-to-back home losses to Wisconsin and Michigan – and are in danger of making Hummel’s senior season less than memorable.

As good and courageous as Hummel has been, it’s clear he’s not 100 percent healthy. He leads the Boilermakers with 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, but his field goal percentage is down significantly.

Through no fault of his own, Hummel has also disappeared late in games, likely a sign of a fatigued knee. Against Xavier and Butler, he shot 7-of-21 and 6-of-17, respectively, and went scoreless down the stretch in both games, allowing the Musketeers and Bulldogs earn come-from-behind victories after being down double-digits in the final 10 minutes.

In Saturday’s loss to No. 9 Michigan State, Hummel’s career hit a low point. He didn’t make a shot for the first time in his career, going 0-for-11 and finishing with two points in a 83-58.

“I thought I got a lot of good looks and just didn’t make them. It’s pretty frustrating, really,” Hummel said. “There’s not much to say really. It’s pretty embarrassing that I didn’t make a shot.”

In Tuesday’s loss to No. 20 Michigan, Hummel scored 16 points, but he missed two 3-point attempts late as the Boilermakers lost 66-64.

“I got great looks, I just didn’t knock them down,” Hummel said. “I was basically wide open.”

“I would run that play 100 more times,” Jackson said of Hummel’s final game-winning attempt. “Rob’s a great shooter.”

And he’s been a great, great player – arguably the best in the Big Ten over the past half-decade and one of Purdue’s greatest of all time. It would be a shame to see Hummel’s career end the way it appears to be heading.

He deserves better.

Poll: Will Purdue Earn a #1 Seed Without Hummel?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:54:05 -0800