Player of the Week

Sam Young: CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week

Jeff Borzello — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:35:53 -0400

Player of the Week: Sam Young, Pittsburgh

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 tournament action. 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.

This week's group of big-time games fell into two categories: one, the major-conference performers who came up huge in marquee games, and the smaller-conference players who had an excellent string of games to help lead their team to the Big Dance. In the first group, Tyler Hansbrough averaged 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in wins over Virginia Tech and Duke, while Louisville's Terrence Williams averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.5 steals per game in two victories. Auburn's Korvotney Barber helped propel the Tigers into the bubble conversation with back-to-back double-doubles against Alabama and LSU, averaging 14.5 points and 16.5 rebounds. On the other side, Kevin Tiggs of East Tennessee State had 37 points in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Tournament, and averaged 26.3 points in three games. Morehead State's Kenneth Faried had three straight double-doubles, averaging 17.3 points and 14.6 rebounds in the Ohio Valley Tournament. Radford's inside-outside duo of Kenny Thomas and Artisom Parakhouski was outstanding in the Big South Tournament, with Thomas averaging 26.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists and Parakhouski going for 19.6 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. However, the best performance of the week came from one of the big conferences, as Sam Young of Pittsburgh was certainly a two-game stud this week.

Young, a 6-6 senior forward, ended his non-postseason career with a bang this week, leading Pittsburgh to wins over Marquette and Connecticut, as well as the possible No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday. He started off the week with 18 points and eight rebounds against Marquette, in a 15-point win for the Panthers. However, his line on Saturday against UConn really stole the show. Young was 13-of-23 from the field, en route to 31 points and 10 rebounds. He carried the Panthers early on and also put separation between Pitt and the Huskies in the second half when Connecticut tried to make a run. He was borderline unstoppable. Young is now averaging 18.8 points and 6.1 rebounds on the season.

Finalists:

- Kenny Thomas/Artisom Parakhouski, Radford

- Kenneth Faried, Morehead State

- Korvotney Barber, Auburn

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week Archive

- March 1: Sherron Collins/Cole Aldrich - Kansas

- Feb 22: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh

- Feb 15: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky

- Feb 8: Jack McClinton, Miami

- Feb 1: Talor Battle, Penn State

- Jan 25: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

- Jan 18: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky

- Jan 12: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

- Jan 5: Tyrese Rice, Boston College

- Dec 29: Alex Ruoff, West Virginia

- Dec 22: AJ Price, UCONN

- Dec 15: Dionte Christmas, Temple

- Dec 8: Stephen Curry, Davidson

- Dec 1: Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

- Nov 24: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Jermaine Taylor: High-Major Player of the Week

Joey Whelan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:19:37 -0500

High-Major Player of the Week

Jermaine Taylor - UCF
2 Game Averages: 36.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1.5 blocks

Saturday's 28 point performance on the road at Marshall was somewhat of a disappointment for Jermaine Taylor; it ended a streak of four straight games in which the senior had scored at least 35 points. He saved his best for last though as the scoring machine from Tavares, Florida went for a season high 45 points versus Rice, shooting 14-29 from the field and 12-13 from the charity stripe. Taylor's recent hot stretch has upped his scoring average to 26.1 points, ranking him third in the country in that category. His scoring performances have also gotten his name onto the boards of some NBA scouts, who at the very least will be giving the slightly undersized two-guard a little bit of consideration depending on how he does in workouts.

Finalists

Charles Jenkins - Hofstra
2 Game Averages: 27 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 54.5% FG

In just his second year at the college level Charles Jenkins has blossomed into one of the better all-around players in the CAA. The 6'3" guard is averaging better than 19 points, 4 rebounds and just under 5 assists per game, an improvement in each of those categories from his freshman year. Jenkins had his fourth 30-point game of the season on Saturday, going for 35 in a win over UNC-Wilmington in which he also dished out 8 assists and recorded 5 steals. The Pride may not be going dancing in March, but Jenkins is likely to take home some post season hardware.

Ryan Tillema - Green Bay
2 Game Averages: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 55.5% FG, 64.3% 3FG

The Phoenix have been a nice surprise in the Horizon League this season, staying hot on the tail of conference leader Butler most of the way. The biggest reason has been the play of 6'8" guard Ryan Tillema who has had a very strong senior campaign. A very gifted perimeter shooter and a match up nightmare at this level, Tillema did the bulk of his damage from beyond the arc this week, netting 27 of his total 56 points on three-pointers. The senior just missed out on his second double-double of the year on Saturday, going for 28 points and 9 rebounds in a one point loss to conference foe Wright State.

Last Week's Winner: Brandon Ewing (Wyoming)

Duquesne's Jackson is A-10 Player of the Week

Press Release — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:31:45 -0500

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne senior guard Aaron Jackson (Hartford, Conn./Worcester (Mass.) Academy) earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors for a school record fourth time this season and freshman guard Eric Evans (Detroit, Mich./Northwestern) was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the fourth time following wins at La Salle and at Massachusetts this past week.

With the honor, Jackson ties Bruce Atkins (1979-82) for most career Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors with six. He also surpasses Mark Stevenson (three times in 1990) for most POW honors in a single season. Evans is the fifth player in school history to earn Rookie of the Week honors four or more times.

Jackson, who averaged 21.0 points and 8.5 assists and shot .630 (17-of-27) in the two wins, shares this week's honor with George Washington's Damian Hollis.

Jackson had 25 points and eight assists at La Salle and followed that with 17 points and nine assists in helping the Dukes to their first win at UMass since 1989. The 6-4 Hartford, Conn. native directly figured in 50.8 percent of Duquesne's 67 field goals in the two games (Jackson had 17 field goals and 17 assists). Jackson enters this afternoon's game vs. Rhode Island tied with former teammate Kieron Achara (2004-08) for 19th on Duquesne's all-time leading scorers' list with 1,240 points.

Evans averaged 12.5 points and shot .500 from the field (5-of-8 from 3-point) in the two games. He had 11 points and three assists at La Salle and followed that by hitting a season-high four 3-pointers in scoring 14 points in the victory at UMass. With the honor, Evans joins Robert Mitchell (5 times in 2007), Kevin Price (4 times in 1995), Tom Pipkins (4 times in 1994) and Tony Petrarca (4 times in 1987) as the only players in DU history to earn ROW honors four or more times.

Jackson, who has never missed a game in his DU career (112 in a row), joins lofty company with Atkins who was a two-time first team all-conference performer while competing in an eight-team Eastern Eight. Jackson, leads the Dukes in scoring (18.0 ppg.), and assists (5.7 apg.), competes in a 14-team league.

Duquesne (17-9, 8-5) - which has the school's best record since 1980-81 - hosts Rhode Island this afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Mike Trimboli: America East Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:19:30 -0500

BURLINGTON, Vt. - University of Vermont men's basketball senior Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) was named the America East Player of the Week on Monday, earning the honor for the third time this season.

Trimboli, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field to help his team extend its win streak to six straight. He had 15 points to go with five assists in a 77-65 road win at UMBC on Tuesday and followed up with a game-high 24 points in the win over Buffalo in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest that was televised on ESPN2. Trimboli, who also earned weekly accolades December 15 and 22, also added seven assists and six rebounds Saturday.

The America East's active leading scorer with 1,968 points, Trimboli is fifth among scoring leaders (16.3 ppg), second in assists (4.9 apg) and second in steals (1.9 spg).

Vermont (22-7, 12-3 America East) returns to action on Sunday, March 1 when it travels to face Maine in the regular season finale starting at 1 p.m.

Big 12 Award Winners: Collins/Anderson/Warren

Press Release — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:21:02 -0500

IRVING, Texas - Guards Sherron Collins (Kansas), James Anderson (Oklahoma State) and Willie Warren (Oklahoma) have been chosen as the latest Phillips 66 Big 12 Players and Rookie of the Week for Feb. 16 - 22 in voting by a panel of media covering the conference. It is the second player accolade this year for both Collins and Anderson. Warren has been the top rookie seven times in 2008-09.

CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, Jr., 5-11, 200, Chicago, Ill./Crane

Collins averaged 22.0 points as Kansas improved its league record to 11-1 with victories over Iowa State (72-55) and Nebraska (70-53). The junior guard shot 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the field, including 60 percent (6-of-10) from 3-point range. He also had 10 assists with no turnovers, while recording two rebounds and two steals in each contest. It was the second time this year he has posted consecutive 20-point outings and the eighth time overall he has had 20 points or more in a game.

James Anderson, Oklahoma State, G, So., 6-6, 195, Junction City, Ark./Junction City

Anderson helped OSU extend its win streak to three games with wins at Texas Tech (92-82) and over Baylor (84-74). The sophomore guard averaged 22.0 points in his two outings, connecting on 12-of-28 (.429) shots from the floor. He was also 16-of-19 (.842) from the free throw line with nine rebounds, four assists and five steals. Anderson has scored in double figures in five straight games, including 20 points or more in the last four contests.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Willie Warren, Oklahoma, G, Fr., 6-4, 207, Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley

Warren carried the Sooners in their only game of the week, a 73-68 loss at Texas. The freshman guard scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including 6-of-12 from 3-point territory. He netted 17 of his points in the second half after OU lost national player of the year candidate Blake Griffin to an injury. Warren also grabbed two rebounds and added one steal. He is the top-scoring freshman in the Big 12 with 15.4 points per game. The seven rookie honors this season is the second-most in Big 12 history, one less than the record set by Kansas State's Michael Beasley a year ago.

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: DeJuan Blair

Jeff Borzello — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:06:47 -0500

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh

Although there are plenty of critics, BracketBusters weekend is one of the most exciting two days of college basketball all season if you’re someone that likes mid-major basketball. Bubble teams that are trying to make a move so they can get one of the last spots in the NCAA Tournament attempt to catch the committee’s eyes with a big win, while conference leaders need to grab solid victories to boost their resumes in case they don’t win the conference tournament. However, despite all the hoopla surrounding the non-BCS teams this weekend, the performances that caught everyone’s eyes came out of the power conferences – and we might have had our closest race yet for the weekly honor.

Any talk of the top single-game performances of the week has to include Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez. The fiery junior had one of the more memorable games of the season, finishing with a triple-double – 35 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists – as well as two steals and three blocks in an overtime win against North Carolina. However, the Terps were destroyed earlier in the week by Clemson, so it was tough to justify giving him the award. One of the best team performances of the week came from Florida State, mainly on the shoulders of Toney Douglas, who averaged 23 points and four assists in wins over Miami (Fl.) and Virginia Tech. Unlike last week, there was not a multitude of phenomenal performances, but Marquette’s Wesley Matthews (23.5 points per game in two wins) and Kansas’ Cole Aldrich (20.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg) were very solid. In the world of the BracketBusters, Omar Samhan of Saint Mary’s had 17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in a must-win over Utah State (as well as 20 and 10 earlier in the week against San Diego), while Butler’s Gordon Hayward finished with 27 points and nine rebounds at Davidson. The best performance of the week, though, had to go to Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, the Collegehoops.net Player of the Week.

Heading into Pittsburgh’s showdown with Connecticut on Monday, all the talk was of UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet and his rise into the Player of the Year discussion. Apparently Blair was tired of it. He had 22 points and 23 rebounds – six offensive – against Thabeet, thoroughly dominating the 7-3 center all night long. He followed that up with a 20-point, 18-rebound – ten of them offensive – performance in just 23 minutes of playing time against DePaul. On the week, Blair averaged 21 points, 20.5 rebounds (8.0 offensive rebounds) and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting 56 percent from the field. On the season, Blair is averaging 15.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game, shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. Furthermore, according to Ken Pomeroy’s statistics, Blair is by far the best offensive rebounder in the country. He could lead Pitt to the Final Four.

Finalists:

- Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

- Toney Douglas, Florida State

- Omar Samhan, Saint Mary’s

CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week Archive

- Feb 15: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky

- Feb 8: Jack McClinton, Miami

- Feb 1: Talor Battle, Penn State

- Jan 25: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

- Jan 18: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky

- Jan 12: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

- Jan 5: Tyrese Rice, Boston College

- Dec 29: Alex Ruoff, West Virginia

- Dec 22: AJ Price, UCONN

- Dec 15: Dionte Christmas, Temple

- Dec 8: Stephen Curry, Davidson

- Dec 1: Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

- Nov 24: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Brandon Ewing: High-Major Player of the Week

Joey Whelan — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:02:38 -0500

This week's CollegeHoops.net High-Major Player of the Week is..

Brandon Ewing - Wyoming
2 Game Averages: 25.5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 52% FG, 61.5% 3P

Ewing has been one of the top performers in the Mountain West Conference all season long and this week was a prime example of what he can do. The 22 points on Saturday at San Diego State were nice, but the Cowboys came up short in that contest. Wednesday night though was a surprise upset of UNLV with the senior dropping 29 points on 8-16 shooting, including 5-8 from beyond the arc.

Honorable Mention

Charles Jenkins - Hofstra
2 Game Averages: 29 points, 5.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 58.8% FG

Thanks to a four game winning streak Hofstra has made itself a definite factor in the CAA as the regular season starts to wind down. The Pride picked up a pair of wins in the last week over Delaware and in overtime versus James Madison; both wins were due in large part to one of the more promising youngsters in the conference, Charles Jenkins. The sophomore out of Queens, NY upped his scoring average netting 26 points at Delaware and pumping in 32 just a few nights later, his second highest total of the season. Even more impressive were the rest of his numbers in the win over JMU. Jenkins just missed out on a triple-double, grabbing seven rebounds (he's only 6-foot) and dishing out a season best 13 assists.

Kevin Palmer - Texas A&M CC
2 Game Averages: 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3.5 steals, 48.8% FG

The Islanders were well on their way to the top seed in the Southland Conference Tournament before dropping two games in a row, putting them in a 4-way tie for first place. The losses certainly were no fault of leading scorer Kevin Palmer though. The junior swingman has been a consistent offensive presence all season long, having failed to reach double figures just twice all year. Palmer put up 23 points in a tough loss to Sam Houston State, and then came up even bigger on Wednesday by dropping 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on Texas-San Antonio. The numbers weren't enough though as the Islanders dropped that contest 73-66.

Kevin Anderson - Richmond
2 Game Averages: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1 steal, 60% FG, 93.8% FT

It's been a good week for one of the A-10's bright young stars. Despite being overlooked for most of the season, Kevin Anderson put fans on notice with a pair of 20-point games versus Dayton and La Salle, the second of which was a win. Anderson actually eclipsed his season averages in every major statistical category over the course of the last week and went a outstanding 15-16 from the charity stripe.

MVC Basketball: Weekly Notebook & Awards

Press Release — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:52:42 -0500

Three league teams still have a shot at the league's regular-season title. UNI (12-3), Creighton (11-4), and Illinois State (10-5) are the only schools mathematically alive for a regular-season crown and No. 1 tournament seed. Notes on the leaders ....

?•?UNI needs one more conference win to earn the most league victories it has ever had. This year’s club is tied with the 2003-04 team with 12 conference wins. That team tied for second in the Valley and won the State Farm MVC Tournament. UNI has league games remaining against Drake, at Illinois State, and against Evansville.
?•? Creighton has 20 or more wins for 11-straight years and has 10 or more league victories for 13-straight years -- both marks extend CU's Missouri Valley records. Creighton has Evansville, at Missouri State, and Illinois State remaining.
?•?Illinois State has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1996-97 and 1997-98. Since joining the Valley in 1981-82, the Redbirds have had 10 or more league wins 14 times (including this year). Illinois State plays Wichita State, UNI, and at Creighton to close the league season.

For a comprehensive printed version of the weekly MVC release (which includes school-by-school results and notes), please click on the downloadable PDF link near the bottom of the this page.

State Farm Missouri Valley Player of the Week
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, Jr., 6-3, Gd., Chicago (Ill.) Phillips Academy?
? Eldridge led Illinois State to a pair of road victories last week, scoring the game-winning shot at Evansville and posting his fourth double-double of the season at Drake. Eldridge led the Redbirds in scoring in each game last week, averaging 16 points and six rebounds per game. At Evansville, Eldridge drove the lane and laid the ball off the backboard with one second remaining. Surprisingly, that served as Eldridge's first-ever career game-winning field goal at any basketball level. Against the Bulldogs, Eldridge poured in 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead ISU to a 22-point road victory at the Knapp Center.

Newcomer of the Week
Toure' Murry, Wichita State, Fr., 6-4, Gd., Houston (Texas) Klein Forest High
? Murry averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and made his second game-winning shot of the season when he hit a trey with five seconds remaining against Missouri State in a 62-61 Wichita State victory. Against Missouri State, he scored a career-high 23 points, including the game-winner, on 9 of 16 shooting. For the week, he shot 45.8 percent from the field and made six-of-eight free throws in the two wins, one that was against league-leading Northern Iowa, snapping the Panthers eight-game road winning streak in league play.

?In addition to the league’s player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:

Tony Boyle, SIU -- Scored a career-high 20 points at UNI and averaged 16.0 ppg for the week.
Justin Carter, CU -- Averaged 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists as Creighton picked up two double-digit wins last week.
Jonathan Cox, DU -- Averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in two games last week.
Jordan Eglseder, UNI -- Averaged 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last week for the Panthers, while averaging just 15 minutes per game.
Shy Ely, UE -- Scored 24 vs. Illinois State and 20 vs. BU to increase his league-leading scoring average to 17.7, the highest it's been since early January.
Rashad Reed, INS -- Averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and three assists per game for the Sycamores in two wins last week.
Harry Marshall, INS -- Averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game in two wins for the Sycamores last week. Marshall shot 52.6 percent from the field (10-for-19).
Jordan Printy, INS -- At MSU, grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists to go along with 10 points.
Chris Roberts, BU -- Averaged 11.5 ppg and adding 4.0 rpg and 1.0 spg as the Braves split a pair of games last week.
Jay Tunnell, INS -- Averaged 19.0 points per game and shot 70 percent from the field (14-for-20) in two wins for the Sycamores.
Kyle Weems, MSU -- Averaged 16.0 points in two games last week while extending his team-best streak to five-straight double-digit scoring games.
Theron Wilson, BU -- Had one of the best all-around games of his two-year Bradley career in Saturday’s win against Evansville: 26 points, seven rebounds, a career-best five assists and two steals.
Booker Woodfox, CU -- Averaged 16.5 points and 1.5 steals per game as Creighton defeated Bradley (79-65) and Southern Illinois (82-60) by double-digits last week. He made 54.5 percent of his shots from the field (12-22).

Can I See Your ID?
?Creighton and Illinois State are two of the 17 schools with 21 or more wins this year (thru 2/15).

Wins (School)
25 -- Oklahoma
24 -- Connecticut, Utah State
23 -- Dayton, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
22 -- Missouri, Memphis, Butler, Davidson
21 -- Creighton, Illinois State, Xavier, Marquette, Illinois,Niagara, LSU

MVC Champs = NCAA
?Including Drake last year, 15-straight Missouri Valley regular-season champions have reached the NCAA tournament. Illinois State (1992-93) was the last to win the league’s regular-season crown and not make it. Drake is the first Valley team since 1998 (Illinois State that year) to sweep the regular-season and tournament titles.

Shockers Rolling
?Wichita State is looking to make history, recent history, anyway. In the last 50 seasons, 23 teams have started a conference season with 0-6 records or worse. All of the previous 22 finished last, second to last (or tied for second-to-last) in the MVC standings. WSU started the 2008-09 league campaign at 0-6 and has won seven of its past nine to move into a tie for fifth (7-8).

Going for No. 500
?Now in its 57th year of MVC membership, Bradley enters Tuesday’s game against Missouri State with a 499-374 (.572) all-time league record. Drake, which was a charter Valley member in 1907 and is playing its 97th MVC season overall, owns the record for the most MVC victories with 511.

Busting the Brackets
?The Valley has had good success in games resulting from the ESPNU BracketBusters concept. Overall, the Valley is 33-20 in previous games (which includes a 19-9 record in televised games).

New and Improved
?Five different newcomers have led Wichita State in scoring this year. A newcomer has led the Shockers in scoring in 21 of 26 games. That figure (21 games with a first-year player as the top scorer) leads the nation. WSU has won seven of their past nine league games after an 0-6 start.

Jermaine Taylor: Conference USA Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:26:42 -0500

Jermaine Taylor is the CUSA's Player of the Week for the 4th time this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jermaine Taylor, UCF

Senior, G, Tavares, Fla.

Taylor averaged 36.5 ppg. and 6.5 rpg in a pair of games. He shot 53.5 percent overall, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent at the free-throw line against UTEP and Tulsa. On Saturday, he led the Knights to a 74-72 victory over Tulsa after UCF trailed by 17 points midway through the second half. Taylor totaled 22 of his game-high 35 points after intermission and 16 points during a 32-11 UCF run. He also added seven boards and set the UCF career scoring record. He began the week by tying a career-high with 38 points in only 33 minutes at UTEP, hitting 13-of-22 shots. Taylor connected on four triples and went 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. This is his fourth C-USA Player of the Week honor this season and sixth of his career.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Paul McCoy, SMU

Freshman, G, Chester, Pa.

McCoy averaged 19.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, and 2.5 apg in games against Houston and UAB. He shot 48.4 percent (15-31) and hit 6-of-11 three-pointers. At UAB, he scored a game-high 29 points in the Mustangs' 78-75 loss. His point total is the second-most most by a C-USA freshman this season (he also had 32 points in a game on Dec. 31). Against UAB, McCoy hit 12-of-20 from the floor, 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds and three assists as SMU nearly upset the Blazers which are now 11-0 at home. This is McCoy's second C-USA Rookie of the Week honor.

Griffin/Warren Big 12 Weekly Award Winners (Again)

Press Release — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:26:34 -0500

IRVING, Texas - Oklahoma teammates Blake Griffin and Willie Warren have been selected as the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player and Rookie of the Week for Feb. 9 - 15 in voting by a panel of media covering the conference. It is the fifth player accolade for Griffin in 2008-09, while Warren is tabbed for rookie recognition for the sixth time. It is also the third time this season the duo have won conference awards in the same week.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So., 6-10, 251, Oklahoma City, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School

Griffin averaged 29.0 points and 16.5 rebounds in Sooner victories at Baylor (78-63) and over Texas Tech (95-74). The sophomore forward recorded his nation-leading 21st and 22nd double-doubles of the year, extending his streak to eight-straight games with a double-double. The 22nd of the year set an OU single-season record and is the third-most in Big 12 history. The top performance came against Texas Tech, as he finished with career-highs of 40 points and 23 rebounds. Griffin is the first player in Big 12 history with at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in the same game and now has three 20-20 outputs this year. Prior to this season, no Big 12 player had recorded more than two 20-20 games in a career. Griffin leads the nation in rebounding (14.2) and ranks 10th in scoring (22.8). The five conference player of the week honors ties for the most in one season (Andre Emmett, TTU, 2003-04) in Big 12 history.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Willie Warren, Oklahoma, G, Fr., 6-4, 207, Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley

Warren scored in double figures for the 19th and 20th times this year in Oklahoma's two wins. The freshman guard averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 assists, shooting 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field. He also connected on 11-of-13 (.846) from the free throw line, while contributing four rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Warren ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game, a mark that leads all Big 12 freshmen. In OU's eight road games, he has averaged 19.1 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 53.8 percent, including 50.0 percent from 3-point range. Warren's six Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards this year ties for the second-most (Kevin Durant, UT, 2006-07) in league history.