After having a monster week to start the 2011, we have our first three time winner in the form of a rising Seahawk Tyler Murray. After leading Wagner to it's fourth straight win, Murray has been given the honor of this week's NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week.
Player of the Week
Tyler Murray (Toronto) – Junior, Wagner
In his first three games of the 2011, Tyler Murray played incredibly and is making a case for himself as an All Northeast Conference player. In the three games, Murray averaged 24.7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals in 36.7 minutes per contest. In leading his team to three wins, he was shooting the ball extremely well hitting 21-of-37 from the floor, including a remarkable 13-of-19 from the three, and making 19-of-23 free throws. For his efforts, Murray was named NEC Player of the Week and we will honor him also as the Can Ball Report’s NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week.
In the Seahawks’ first game of the year on Jan. 3, Murray was great in the 73-68 win over Quinnipiac. In 37 minutes, he posted a career high 28 points to go with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and three steals. He shot 7-of-10 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, as well as 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
In the team’s second game of the week three days later against Robert Morris, Murray put on a Herculean effort it the 83-78 overtime win. He posted a team high 26 points going 7-of-16 from the field, which included 4-of-7 from the three, while also contributing 3 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block in 44 minutes. Murray also made 8 of his 10 free throw attempts in the win.
In Wagner’s last game of the week on Jan. 8 against St. Francis (PA), Murray continued on his hot streak. Scoring 20 or more points for the third consecutive game, he went off for 15 first half points on his way to 20 for the game. He went 7-of-11 from the field along with 4-of-6 from three point line and making both his free throw attempts in season low 29 minutes of action. Murray also corralled a rebound, handed out 3 assists and got both a steal and a block to finish off the game and cap off the team's third win.
For the season, Murray is averaging 17.7 points, 5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 37 minutes per contest. He’s shooting 45.2% from the floor, 52.9% from the three and 85.4% from the free throw line. He is currently ranked in the Top 20 in the Northeast Conference in scoring (1st), rebounding (19th), assists (14th), free throw percentage (7th), 3Pt FG% (1st),3PT FG Made (3rd – 2.4 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (15th).
Honorable Mention: Kris Joseph, Syracuse: 15 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast, 2 stls, 3-of-8 FGs, 1-of-3 3PT FGs, 8-of-17 FTs, 37 mins in win vs. Seton Hall Jan. 7
Rookie of the Week
Tristan Thompson (Brampton, ON) – Freshman, Texas
Freshman Tristan Thompson has been having a great season playing like anything but a freshman. In the Texas Longhorns’ two games of the first week of the year, Thompson had been great averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals and 2 blocks in 26.5 minutes. He also shot 13-of-20 from the floor in helping the Horns split their two home games played. For his efforts, Thompson is named the Can Ball Report’s NC-Double-Eh Rookie of the Week.
In the Jan. 4 game against Arkansas, Thompson was amazing having 14 points, 7 rebounds, an assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a very efficient 23 minutes in the 79-48 blowout win. He scored all his points from the field shooting 7-of-11 from the floor.
In the Horns’ game against Connecticut four days later in Austin, Thompson put up a similar performance. In 30 minutes of action, he posted 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 2 blocked shots in the overtime loss to the Huskies, 82-81.
For the season, Thompson is averaging 12.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 2 blocks in 30.1 minutes of action. He leads his team in both blocks and rebounds and is in the top ten in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding (4th), blocks (3rd) and offensive rebounds (1st-4.07 per game).
Honorable Mention: Laurent Rivard, Harvard: 23 pts, 3 rebs, 7-of-15 FGs, 3-of-9 3PT FGs, 6-of-6 FTs, 33 mins in win vs. Boston College Jan 4
Line of the Week
Tyler Murray (Toronto) – Junior, Wagner
You probably already read above that we have named Tyler Murray our NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week. Well, we’re all giving him credit for having the line of the week too. You should all know that Murray had played three games this week. You should also know he made 21 total field goals out of 37 in that span of which were 13 were threes. To be exact Murray made 13-of-19 threes. That is 68.4%. That’s a decent free throw percentage for some players. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a player in the week that shot at a better clip from behind the arc. Murray is been a very dangerous three point threat all season and the best part is that he still managed to hit the threes with defenses clearly aware of his stroke. I can’t wait to see what he does next week.