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NCAA Basketball: Who won the week in college basketball? Summer Edition Part 1

By Jerome Scherwin Jr

Dec 5, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes responds to a question during a post-game media conference after Wisconsin defeated the Temple Owls at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Temple 76-60. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes responds to a question during a post-game media conference after Wisconsin defeated the Temple Owls at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Temple 76-60. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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Is Nigel Hayes or Rick Pitino the Winner of the Week in NCAA basketball?

It’s the summer, so figuring out which player, or team, or mascot, or fan base, or conference, or commissioner, or Plumlee won the week is a little more difficult than it is once November rolls around. But even in the off-season, there are still a plethora of winners in college basketball if you know where to look.

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So I took it upon myself to dive deep into collegiate news feeds, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat in hopes of giving the Busting Brackets faithful what they want.

Pure winners.

Every week we will choose one thing that won the week. At the end of the off-season, we’ll have a tournament/vote to figure out who/what in college basketball won the summer. This week, we have quite the “stunner”.

Winning the week during the summer is quite easy really.

Got a video of you and your teammates flipping half full water bottles around the practice facility?

You’re definitely getting me to turn my head.

Was there a coach that took the opportunity to go on live radio and “LeBron subtweet” the bejeezus out of the coach of his teams’ biggest rival? Big win for that coach, bigger win for those of us that love a good “don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house,” borderline rap beef.

Got some candid pictures of that subtweeted 63-year old coach rocking all black Yeezy 350’s with ankle high white Adidas socks? I’d say that would be the second sweetest thing I’ve seen this week:

Now, could you imagine if Rick Pitino landed a spot in Kanye’s next music video from The Life of Pablo where he’d surely be rocking pleather pants and a Louisville hoodie mouthing “Your love is fadin'” as the camera cuts in and out from the rap mogul?

That’s the type of thing that would win all of the weeks.

But I digress.

While all of the things we mentioned were worthy of winning the week (and proceeding weeks before that), they were ultimately surpassed by a man that is primed to take the NCAA and Big Ten by storm. The leader of what should be a Top-10 team in the league. A guy that stole our hearts time and time and time again and continues to do so:

While Hayes didn’t end up getting that road game against Toledo — despite his best efforts — he did get himself an alter ego for the upcoming season and it just so happens to resemble a wrestling heel…

Ladies and gentleman, I give you, Nigel “The Rattlesnake” Hayes:

I think we should all stand up and applaud the senior forward for how he’s handled himself since getting the news that he probably wasn’t going to be a first round draft pick, and (wisely) deciding to return to Wisconsin to work on the weaknesses NBA GM’s and scouts saw.

It would’ve been easy for Hayes to drown in his sorrows, but instead, he’s ripping a page out of the Frank Kaminsky’s “How to have a fun senior season” handbook and having a ball around campus.

While he may not be riding a hoover board or scooter or golf cart while holding hands with Bucky, is there really anything better than him Stone Cold Stunning his underclass teammates while also trying to start the next Running Man Challenge?

Next: Breaking down Duke's starting lineup

The answer is a resounding no and that’s why Nigel “The Rattlesnake” Hayes is our first NCAAB Summer ’16 Winner of the Week.

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