This week we honor a great set of performances when his team really needed him to step up against some tough competition at Madison Sqaure Gardens. This week the NC-Double- Player of the Week goes to Syracuse senior Kris Joseph ...
Player of the Week
Kris Joseph –Senior, Syracuse
Kris Joseph had a great Thanksgiving week to help propel Syracuse to a 2-0 record and the NIT Tip-Off Classic title. For the week, Joseph averaged 19 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in 37.5 minutes in the wins. He shot 15-of-31 from the floor, including 2-of-7 from the three, as well as 6-of-7 from the free throw line. His performance not only earned him Big East Player of the Week honors, it also earned him NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week honors also.
In Syracuse’s 69-58 win over a very pesky Virginia Tech team, Joseph came away with his first double-double of the young season (fourth in his career) going for 20 points and 10 rebounds in 39 minutes. He also dished 2 assists and got 3 steals while shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and hitting all five of his free throws.
Two nights later against Stanford, Joseph again helped lead his team to victory with a near double-double performance. He would end the weekend with an 18 point, 9 rebound performance in the tight 69-63 affair. Joseph also managed 2 assists and 4 steals while shooting 8-of-16 from the floor in 36 minutes.
For the season, Joseph is averaging 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 27.1 minutes. He is shooting .487 from the floor, .414 from behind the arc and .739 from the line. He is the team leader in points and is second in rebounds.
Honorable Mention: Christian Kabongo, New Mexico State – 18 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1 spg, 9-of-23 FGs, 2-of-7 3-PT FGs, 33-of-35 FTs in 27.7 mpg in three games.
Rookie of the Week
Justin Edwards – Freshman, Maine
Justin Edwards continued his first month of play like he was a savvy vet ready for the big time. In his third college game he eclipsed the 20-point mark again hanging 22 on Holy Cross this past Sunday in the Black Bears’ 72-60 victory. He also added 7 rebounds, 6 steals and a block in his 37 minutes going 9-of-15 from the floor making one of his two treys. Edwards is looking more and more like he could be the next big mid-major Canadian since former West Coast Conference Player of the Year Sean Denision.
For the season, Edwards is averaging 22 points, 7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.7 blocks and 4.3 steals in 31 minutes. He’s also shooting .605 from the floor, .500 from the three and .769 from the line. His scoring average places him second in the America East and ninth in the NCAA while he leads the country in steals. He also ranks in the top 5 in the America East in rebounding (tied for 5th), field goal percentage (4th), three point field goal percentage (tied for 2nd), blocks (4th) and defensive rebounds (4th with 5.3 per game).
Honorable Mention: Khem Birch, Pitt – 9 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 bpg, 9-of-14 FGs, 9-of-15 FTs in 23.3 mpg in three games.
Line(s) of the Week
Christian Kabongo, New Mexico State – 33-of-35 from the free throw line
The other Kabongo who plays for the Aggies tallied a phenomenal amount of free throw attempts in his three games last week. 35 total free throws were attempted and he made all but two of them. That is .942 percent of his attempts. His season high in free throws made and attempted so far is 15 which he accomplished against Southern Mississippi on Nov 25. That night, he scored 19 points and made only two field goals. The moral of his story: learn to shoot your free throws.
Bryson Johnson, Bucknell – 15 threes made over two games
Johnson is a gunner, plain and simple. He started the season off not shooting the ball that well but it was only a matter of time before he would explode. In back-to-back games this past Saturday and Sunday, Johnson connected on 15 total threes in 27 attempts for .555. He hit for a season high 9 treys for 27 points against West Alabama Saturday, tying the most threes by a Canadian this season and possibly the season so far. He followed that game up by connecting on 6 threes in the Bucknell win over Morehead State. It’s safe to say that he may be back, people.