Today we honor a player for being both the Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week after a spectacular week. Find out who that player is right here ...
Player of the Week AND Rookie of the Week
Tristan Thompson (Brampton, ON) – Freshman, Texas
Tristan Thompson continues to show why he’s the cream of the Canadian Freshman crop by having another spectacular week. In the Longhorns two games, he averaged a double-double with 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while adding 1.5 assists and 3 blocks per contest. He also shot 16-of-24 from the field and made 13-of-22 free throws in 36 minutes per game. He was recently named the Big 12 Rookie of the Year while also being named to the All Big 12 2nd Team, the All Big 12 Defensive Team and of course the Big 12 Rookie First Team also and for good measure was also named Big 12 Rookie of the Week again. For his great week, we honor him by being the first NC-Double-Eh Player and Rookie of the Week.
In the Longhorns’ game against Kansas State on Feb. 28, Thompson was incredible despite his team losing the close game 75-70. In his 38 minutes, he had a game, and season, high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He added 3 assists and 3 blocks to round out the stat sheet. He also shot 9-of-14 from the field and made 8-of-13 from the foul line.
In the next game on March 5 to end the regular season against Baylor, Thompson was great again. In his 35 minutes, he had 19 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double on the year and second in two games. He also included 3 blocks while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe to help seal the 60-54 win.
For the season, Thompson is averaging 13.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1 steal and 2.3 blocks while shooting 54.0% from the floor in 30.7 minutes per game. He’s currently the team’s leading rebounder and shot blocker and is tied for first in steals while placing second in scoring and third in assists. He currently sits among the leaders in the Big 12 Conference in scoring (tied for 15th), rebounding (2nd), blocks (1st) and offensive rebounds (1st with 3.7). Thompson is also tied for 30th overall in blocks in the NCAA as well as 7th with 117 total offensive rebounds.
Player of the Week Honorable Mentions:
Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara – 22 ppg, 6 rpg, 1 apg, 1.5 bpg, 17-of-28 FGs, 1-of-4 3-PT FGs, 10-of-11 FTs, 33 mpg in two games.
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina – 18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3 apg, 2.5 spg, 1 bpg, 15-of-25 FGs, 1-of-2 3-PT FGs, 6-of-10 FTs, 33 mpg in two games.
Rookie of the Week Honorable Mention: Jason Calliste, Detroit – 14 ppg, 2 rpg, 7-of-11 FGs, 4-of-5 3-PT FGs, 10-of-10 FTs, 19 mpg in two games.
Line of the Week
Nik Cochran, Davidson – Mar. 3 vs. UNC Greensboro
Nik Cochran had a decent game against UNC Greensboro going for 9 points but it’s the shot selection that will impress you more. In the Wildcats’ 72-64 loss to the Spartans, Cochran played 22 minutes off the bench. In that time he attempted a pretty impressive 17 of Davidson’s 75 shots. That would account for 22.7% of the shot attempts and it equals to a shot every 77.6 seconds, of game time might I add not possession time. To add to this amazing stat, Cochran had attempted 12 of the team’s 34 threes in the game. He attempted four more threes than UNC Greensboro for the game. Wow! Those are some Hedo numbers if I ever saw them! What we can all take away from this is that Nik Cochran is a gunner who is not shy to put up a shot if he needs to and that he obviously doesn’t have a conscious.