Like in that great movie/tv series from the later century The Highlander, there can only be one.  And the Can Ball Report has finally come up with that player.  Help us congratulate Montreal's own Kris Joseph of the Syracuse Orangemen as this week's Can Ball Report NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week. 

Player of the Week

Kris Joseph (Montreal) – Soph., Syracuse

With most athletes cramming for the last exams before the winter break, there weren’t too many games being played last week.  But in the one game that Syracuse’s Kris Joseph played this past Saturday, he had a great one helping the Orange defeat the visiting St Bonaventure Bonnies 85-72. 

Increasing his role on the fifth ranked Orangemen over the last few weeks, Kris Joseph has made a case for being one of the most improved players on the team if not the Big East Conference.  Coming off the bench, Joseph had a season high 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot playing 33 very effective minutes for legendary coach Jim Boehiem.  For the game, he shot 7 of 9 from the floor, also a season high, and made all three of his free throw attempts.  

As an excellent candidate for the Big East Sixth Man of the Year, Joseph is currently averaging 10.2 points per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals on the season.  He is the team’s fifth leading scorer, third leading rebounder and fourth in steals.  Look for Joseph to build on this current success now for a brighter future come this March.

Honorable Mention:  Andrew Nicholson, St Bonaventure – on Dec 19:  18 pts, 5 rbs, , 1 stl, 1 blk, 9 of 10 from the floor, 32 minutes.

Line of the Week

Gonzaga’s Canucks – Dec 19

In what can really only be classified as equivalent to a New York mugging, the Gonzaga Bulldogs got handled rather roughly by the Duke Blue Devils this past Saturday in Madison Square Garden.  The final score was 71 – 41 in favor of Duke and if you had the (dis)pleasure of watching the game looking for a colossal fight, well you were disappointed with the outcome.  So then why would we want to highlight this particularly bad game here?  Well, primarily because our Canadians boys had a great collective game despite the mangling at the Garden. 

Rob Sacre, Manny Arop, Kelly Olynyk and Bol Kong have all played significant roles on this year’s Zags team contributing to the success they have had to this point in the season and here is how they fared in the game:

Of the 41 total points scored by Gonzaga, our Canadian boys accounted for half (20) with nine coming Sacre who started at center.  They accounted for a third of the rebounds (10 of 29) with Manny Arop coming off the bench to grab a team high six.  They accounted for half (7 of 15) of the made field goal attempts and Sacre was responsible for half the Zags’ free throw makes (5 of 10).  Is it a line to be proud of?  Sure.  It means that our boys down in Spokane are making meaningful contributions to a Top 25 team.  But I’m sure they would have gladly given stats up for a better outcome in that forgettable game in the Garden.

Honorable Mention – Andrew Nicholson, St Bonaventure:  18 pts, 5 rbs, 1 stl, 1 blk, 9 of 10 FG, 32 mins.  Vs. Syracuse.