NCAA Basketball: Kendric Davis, Brice Williams among Players of the Week

Power Conference Nominees for Player of the Week

Marcus Carr

Carr is now on his third team as he started out at Pitt, before becoming a star at Minnesota and now coming in a running the offense for a top 10 team in Texas. Everyone knew Carr could catch fire and score in bunches, but it was always a question of how he could play in a team with a lot of other scoring options. He has fit in wonderfully with the Longhorns and the point guard is trying to create some positive news for Texas. In two games last week he had it working. In a win over Texas A&M Commerce, the guard scored 41 points.

In that game, he made 10 threes by himself. It was impressive to watch, everyone knew Carr was going to shoot it and everyone knew he was going to make it. He took a little step back in the second game of the week. In a win over Oklahoma, the point guard only scored 13 points to go with 2 assists and 1 rebound.

Kobe Brown

Missouri has been a force early in the year and they are playing their way into one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament. Head coach Dennis Gates can really coach, and he has turned the Tigers program around and appears to be ready to make them into a top contender in the SEC for years to come. This is the second week in a row that Brown has found his name on the list and when you are the best player on the floor in a huge win over Kentucky that tends to get you recognized as one of the best players in the country. In that win over the Wildcats, the guard scored 30 points with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. It was also the second consecutive game for Brown that he scored 30 points and both were huge wins for Mizzou.

Oscar Tshibwe

The big man is not likely going to score 30 points. He will score in the mid 20’s and likely get the same number of rebounds. He can dominate a game with the best of them and that is why he is the reigning Naismith player of the year. He is playing like he wants the award again. He has been on this list multiple times, and while he has yet to win it he is still being recognized for what he is. A steady dominant force in the middle of the floor that Kentucky can rely on the get a tough bucket in the paint. In a loss to Missouri, the big man scored 23 points with 19 rebounds. Then to follow up that performance Tshibwe scored 24 points with 14 rebounds in a win over Louisville.

Umoja Gibson

Gibson is now in his sixth season in college and that is in part due to his Covid year, as well as his season-ending injury in the second game of his freshman year on the floor in Lincoln. I was at the game where Gibson hurt his knee while he was a Freshman at North Texas. He has blossomed after that and is one of the best three-point shooters in the country. The guard now plays for DePaul, and he the Blue Demon fans have not had much to cheer about this year, but Gibson gave them something over the last week to cheer about. In a win over Georgetown, the guard scored 31 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. That would be the best game he has had last week as he really struggled for only 10 points and 1 rebound in a loss to Providence.

Brandon Murray

Georgetown is a mess, they have set the consecutive loss record in the Big East with 25 losses in a row. Head coach Patrick Ewing can’t figure it out and the players do not seem to want to play for him anymore. Enough about that because they do have some talent and one of those players Murray, could get minutes for any team in the country. He is playing his heart out for the Hoyas even though they are losing most of their games.

In a loss to Depaul, the guard scored 29 points with 4 rebounds. It was a great performance that kept Georgetown in that game. In a loss to Butler, he only scored 11 points with 2 rebounds and 4 assists. So, Murray, much like the Hoyas, has had many good moments as well as bad moments.

KJ Simpson Jr.

The Colorado Buffaloes have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the country. They are good enough to beat anyone as evidenced when they beat Tennessee early in the year. They are also bad enough to lose to anyone, like when they lost to California. Simpson Jr. is the point guard and best player for the Buffaloes and can fill the stat sheet. He did that last week in two games. In a win against Stanford, the point guard scored 31 points to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. It was the second 30-point game of the year for Simpson. In a loss to California, the point guard scored 25 points with 3 rebounds and 5 assists. He was not the reason that the Buffaloes lost to California later in the week.

Jamarius Burton

Pitt has been the brunt of the jokes in the ACC for a while but that ends this year. The Panthers are well on their way to the NCAA tournament and have been playing some of the best basketball in the country over the last month and a half. To be great you have to have some guys, step up and win a game every once in a while. Last week it was Burton who stepped up and won a game for Pitt.

In a win over North Carolina, the guard scored 31 points with 6 rebounds and 1 assist. He was all over the floor in the second half and getting to the rim with ease. He was able to put his team on his back and win that game for the Panthers. It was only one game, but it put the Panthers on the radar as a legitimate threat in the ACC this season.

Hunter Tyson

Tyson is in his fifth year of college basketball and for the first four seasons, he was more of a three-and-D guy who would play a lot. He fit his role well and helped Clemson win a lot of games because of it. This season the forward has taken his game to an entirely new level. He has developed into one of the best three-point shooters in the country and to go with that he is currently one of the best rebounders in the ACC.

Tyson has been a surprise this year as he continues to impress. In a win over NC State, the forward scored 31 points to go with 15 rebounds. If you watched the game, you would have noticed that Tyson was the only getting the rebounds or scoring for Clemson in the second half. He was very impressive to watch.

Drew Timme

Gonzaga is almost unstoppable with Timme plays well. He does so much for the Bulldogs that when he is playing well, he opens up the floor and allows the shooters to get open looks. When Gonzaga is playing that way, they are so much fun to watch and can beat anyone in the country. The big man has been on a hot streak of late and has really been playing well. It has meant that Gonzaga is back to being one of the most prolific offenses in the country.

In a win over Eastern Oregon, the big man scored 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in just 17 minutes of action. It was the return to West Coast Conference play that found Timme on this list. In a win over Pepperdine, the big man scored 35 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. It was one of the best games that Timme has had in college. Gonzaga is not as good this year but when Timme is playing like he is capable they are still a title threat.

Kris Murray

The Iowa Hawkeyes struggled mightily when their star was out of the lineup with a hurt foot. Murray missed about a month of time with an injury, and one week back and he finds himself on the Player of the Week list again. He was a mainstay on the list before he was hurt, and he is likely going to remain a mainstay on this list now that he is healthy. I can say with certainty that the Iowa offense is glad to have him back and once he is back at full strength the Hawkeyes will likely be just fine.

In a loss to Nebraska Murray scored 17 points with 8 rebounds and 2 assists. That was his tune-up for his next game against Penn State. In a loss to Penn State, the forward scored 32 points to go with 8 rebounds. It was the third 30-point game for the star forward already this season. He plays for Iowa, so they are going to give him the volume and run the offense through him.

Hunter Dickinson

It has been a while since College Basketball has seen a player as polarizing as Dickinson. Michigan fans love him, but every other fan base, especially those he has alienated do not care much for him. Even with all of his antics can not take anything away from his basketball ability. He can take over a game and dominate. It has been a while since the big man asserted him to the level he did over the last week.

Michigan did lose to Central Michigan which is likely going to be this year’s most confusing loss. In that game the big man scored 13 points with 6 rebounds. He was neutralized all night by the Chips defense. In a 40-point win over Maryland, the big man had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. As I mentioned, it has been a while since he has taken over a game like that.

Kendric Davis

The Memphis guard was the most coveted transfer on the market this offseason. He had a long list of suitors because no matter where he decided to go that team was going to be instantly better. Davis has done that to the Memphis backcourt. He is not shooting the ball that well from deep yet, but I am sure that is coming. Memphis has been running the offense through their new star and it has paid off immensely.

Davis is more than just a scorer. He fills the stat sheet and plays fantastic defense. In a win over South Florida, the point guard scored 24 points with 9 assists and 2 rebounds. Then in a loss to Tulane, he scored 31 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Davis transferred within teams in American and he is going to have a solid case for the American player of the year.

That will complete the Power 5 portion of the Nominations. Who was the winner this week?