Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 2/25 - 3/3]

The best of the best as these two have become familiar faces in this segment...

Player of the Week:

 

Otto Porter

 

The Georgetown Hoyas got more of the same from Otto Porter this past week – he was the team’s leading scorer in both of their victories, which included a game winning shot in double overtime on the road. He finished with 22 points and 5 rebounds in the aforementioned double overtime victory at UConn and 28 points and 8 rebounds in their home victory against Rutgers. I wrote last week that Porter was a lock for Big East Player of the Year, and his performances last week just added to his cushion. National Player of the Year is within grasp, but that would likely require further success for the Hoyas (given that they have only gained significant recognition as of late and haven’t been a national darling like some others over a longer time horizon). And given how he and the Hoyas have played as of late, that is certainly not out of the question. If the Hoyas victory at Syracuse was the official Otto Porter coming out party, then the Big East Tournament could be a full-fledged Otto Porter production.

 

Rookie of the Week:

 

JaKarr Sampson

 

Just as Otto Porter is a lock to be the conference’s Player of the Year, JaKarr Sampson is a lock to be Rookie of the Year. This is the seventh time this season he has earned Rookie of the Week honors. And while the Johnnies lost both of their games last week, it wasn’t due to the lack of production from Sampson. And with D’Angelo Harrison now suspended for the remainder of the season, Sampson has become the team’s leader in points and rebounds per game (15.0 and 6.6 respectively). Last week Sampson accumulated 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals against Pittsburgh and 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks at Providence.

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 2/18 - 2/24]

The Georgetown Hoyas swept the individual awards this week, and rightfully so.  Each player finished with a career high in points in an individual game; a feat that one player accomplished in one game while his teammate did it in another.  One was just a little bit more important than the other…

Player of the Week:

Otto Porter

Otto Porter finished with 33 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals in the Hoyas enormous win at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.  Porter played all 40 minutes and pretty much singlehandedly willed Georgetown to a 57-46 victory in their last conference game at the Carrier Dome.  Otto had been slowly creeping his way into the National Player of the Year discussion, and his performance over the weekend put him smack dab in the middle of it.

Porter also accumulated 11 points and 3 rebounds in an easy win over DePaul earlier in the week at home.  He banged his knee and ended up only playing 20 minutes, as the fate of the game was pretty much determined fairly early into the second half.

Rookie of the Week:

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera tallied a career high 33 points in Georgetown’s win over DePaul in the middle of last week.  That was the best freshman scoring performance for Georgetown in 17 years. He finished 10 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.  He also made 8 of his 10 free throw attempts while chipping in with 3 rebounds in the 34 minutes of playing time he got.  Georgetown tends to struggle from the field for longer than desired stretches (including Satruday – everyone but Porter struggled), but if Smith-Rivera can become more consistent the Hoyas will become less prone to erratic offensive performances.  

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 2/11 - 2/17]

Player of the Week:

Otto Porter

Otto Porter has led the Georgetown Hoyas on a seven-game winning streak, including three wins over ranked opponents.  In two wins last week over Marquette and on the road at Cincinnati, Porter finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 16 points, 7 rebounds respectively.  Early in the season the verdict was out on the Hoyas and it looked as if they were going to be a middle of the pack Big East team this year, but led by Porter, Georgetown is tied for first in the conference with six games to go.

Rookie of the Week:

Omar Calhoun

Calhoun is the youngin’ in the talented trio of guards – with Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright - that make the Huskies go.  It would have been easy for the talented freshman to withdraw from UConn before even playing a game given their postseason ineligibility, but he stuck to his word and is now the third leading scorer on the team (behind Napier and Boatright), averaging 11.5ppg. He has consistently gotten better as the season has progressed and he had his best week of the season yet last week, finishing with 15 and 16 points against Syracuse and Villanova respectively, including multiple big shots against their home upset victory over the Orange.  

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 2/4 - 2/10]

Player of the Week:

Kadeem Batts

Providence only played one game last week, but they made the most of it by beating their first ranked opponent (#17 Cincinnati) of the season. It was a low scoring affair, 54-50, but that wasn’t due to any shortcomings from Kadeem Batts. The junior forward nearly finished with 50% of the Friars’ points, as he ended the game with 25. He also added 9 rebounds in the contest. PC has been playing better ball as of late, and much of that has to do with Batts.

Rookie of the Week:

JaKarr Sampson

JaKarr Sampson has done it again – he has now been the recipient of the Rookie of the Week award six times. I know there is still a month left in the season, but it is going to take some serious stat-sheet stuffing from one of these other rookies to surmount Sampson for Big East Rookie of the Year. This past week JaKarr led the Johnnies in scoring in both of their contests – an 18 point effort in a win over UConn and a 21 point outing in a loss at Syracuse. He also chipped in with 6 rebounds and 2 assists in each game. Is there anyone else you would vote Rookie of the Year for right now?

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 1/21-1/27]

Player of the Week:

Darrun Hilliard

Darrun Hilliard had not been the most significant contributor for Villanova to date, but he came up big in an upset win against #3 Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. After the opening tap the game started with Hilliard going on a 7-0 run by his lonesome, and he finished with a game high 25 points along with seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ 75-71 overtime victory over the Orange. Earlier in the week when Nova toppled then #5 Louisville Cardinals, Hilliard chipped in with 11 points to help get the monumental week get off to a court stormin’ start. The fact that Villanova knocked off the #3 and #5 teams in the same week meant that someone on the team was bound to be Player of the Week. And while it takes a team effort to pull off such a feat, it was Hilliard who had the biggest game of his teammates in the two contests.

Rookie of the Week:

JaKarr Sampson

JaKarr is becoming a regular in this segment as this is his second consecutive week and fifth overall (in 11 weeks) being named Rookie of the Week. Sampson is currently the second leading scorer on the Red Storm -- averaging 14.3ppg while also leading the team in rebounding at 6.5rpg. Last week he finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in a 72-60 win at Rutgers and 19 points and five rebounds in a 71-67 win against Seton Hall. The Johnnies are currently riding a four game winning streak and are sitting fourth in the Big East (5-3). While this team’s youth shows at times, they have been playing better as of late and will continue to make noise in the convoluted Big East.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac