This week we honor a player that has been bestowed this award twice before already. He's steadily making a case for himself as a First Team Atlantic 10 despite not being on a top tier team. So this week, we applaud Andrew Nicholson for being give to title of NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week, again ...
Player of the Week
Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, ON) – Junior, St. Bonaventure
Andrew Nicholson had a couple of not-so Nicholson weeks (which weren’t terrible by any stretch) but he came back this past week to show why he is a legit All Atlantic 10 candidate. In St. Bonaventure’s two games, he averaged 25 points, 8.5 rebounds, an assist and 3.5 blocks in 36 minutes. Nicholson shot 21-of-35 from the floor including 1-of-3 from the three point line and made 7 of his 11 free throw attempts. He helped his team to a 1-1 record this week in conference play and his performances have earned his third NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week.
In the Bonnies game against Dayton on Feb 2, Nicholson had his best game in two weeks posting a game high 35 points, 11 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks in the narrow 63-61 loss. He shot 15-of-23 from the floor, including hitting his fourth three of the season, and he made 4-of-6 of his free throws in his 35 minutes of action.
The following game, against then conference leading Duquesne three days later, Nicholson had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks helping St. Bonaventure to an upset 64-62 win. He converted 6 of his 12 field goals and made 3 of his five free throws in his 37 minutes to help lead his team to victory.
For the season, Nicholson is averaging 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1.5 blocks per game in 34.7 minutes. He is shooting 54.4% from the field and 70.7% from the line. Nicholson’s per game averages place him in the top ten in the Atlantic 10 Conference in rebounding (6th), field goal percentage (4th), blocks (1.5), defensive rebounds (3rd with 6.0) and minutes (10th). His scoring average places him 20th in the NCAA and second to Xavier’s Tu Holloway in the conference.
Honorable Mention: Nem Mitrovic, Portland- 18 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 spg, 12-of-27 FGs, 8-of-16 3PT FGs, 4-of-5 FTs, 32.5 mpg, two games.
Rookie of the Week
Tristan Thompson (Brampton, ON) – Freshman, Texas
Tristan Thompson has been having a great freshman season and though he’s not scoring as much as early on, he’s still been a vital part of the Texas starting lineup. This week, he played well helping the Longhorns to two victories averaging 10.5 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3 blocks in 25.5 minutes. Thompson shot 8-of-18 from the floor in the two wins again earning this week’s NC-Double-Eh Rookie of the Week honors.
In the Longhorns’ 69-49 blowout win over a then ranked 16th Texas A&M Jan 31, Thompson had 10 points (on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor and 4-of-10 from the line), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks in an unusually short 23 minutes.
In the following game on Feb 5, Thompson posted similar numbers against Texas Tech in a 76-60 romp. Thompson posted 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks in 28 minutes. He shot 5-of-9 from the floor to help the Longhorns to their eighth straight win.
For the season, Thompson is averaging 12.7 points on 52.5% from the field, 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, a steal and 2.3 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game. His per game scoring and rebounding averages are good for second on the team behind All America candidate Jordan Hamilton. Thompson’s stats rank him among the top in the Big 12 Conference in scoring (20th), rebounding (7th), blocks (1st) and offensive rebounds (1st with 3.7). His block average is good for 20th in the NCAAs.
Honorable Mention: Cory Joseph, Texas – 8.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1 spg, 7-of-17 FGs, 2-of-6 3PT FGs, 1-of-1 FTs, 31 mpg in two games.
Line of the Week
Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, ON) – 15-of-25 from the floor against Dayton
Our NC-Double-Eh Player of the Week has been scoring on an incredible clip all season and it makes in interesting note to look at one of his highest point games of the season. It took Nicholson 23 field goals attempts to make his 35 points (including only 4 made free throws) against Dayton Feb 2. Now that is a hell of a lot of shots! To put it in perspective, that is exactly half of the team’s total shot for the game. His 15 made makes from the floor accounted for 60% of the total baskets by the team, which was 15 of 25. To put into further perspective, Nicholson’s 15 made field goals were almost as many made as Duquesne’s starting lineup (15 to 16). To put this total into even further perspective, when Nicholson scored his career high 44 points earlier this season against Ohio, he only took 19 shots in that quadruple overtime win (though he was helped by making 16-of-25 free throws). To break it down, that is 19 shots in 60 total minutes which amounts to a shot every 3 minutes. In contrast Nicholson took a shot once every minute and a half in that game against Dayton. To sum it up again, he took a lot of shots to get his 35 points.