Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 1/7 to 1/13]

This post should have been sent out yesterday, but better late than never.

Player of the Week:

C.J. Fair

The Syracuse Orange have looked rather unimpressive in their last couple of games, needing late surges in the second half to pull away from both Providence and Villanova. And while Michael Carter-Williams is probably the team’s most important player in terms of being successful, it is C.J. Fair that has been the team’s best player. He leads the team in rebounding; pulling down 7.1 boards per game, and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 per contest. Like I wrote about Brandon Triche in this same section last week, Fair is far from flashy. From time-to-time you actually forget about him on the court. But the Junior forward has become more aggressive this year in terms of getting to the rim to throw down powerful dunks or draw contact to get to the line. His play down the stretch last week was instrumental in the Orange emerging victorious in both contests (he finished with 23 pts/11 rebs against PC and 22 pts/5 rebs against Nova), thus earning him Player of the Week honors.

Rookie of the Week:

Chris Obekpa

The Red Storm lost both of their games last week – a tough fought loss to Rutgers in which the Johnnies got the final look and a blowout loss to a volatile Georgetown team. However, history was made during the beat down from Georgetown as freshman shot-blocking sensation Chris Obekpa broke the single season record for blocks at St. John’s (he had six in that game). Obekpa already has 82 blocks, breaking the record of 76 that was set in the 1985-86 season by Walter Berry. And with only half the season in the books, he should set a lofty bar that will be difficult to touch any time in the near future. And he continues to hone in his craft as he has cut down on his fouls while increasing his minutes played as the season has progressed. Now he just needs to improve his offensive game. [If you would like to read more about the record and the pace he is on click here.]

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac