NCAA Basketball: Nebraska, SEMO with the Players of the Week
By Bryan Mauro
Mid-Major Player of the Week – Phillip Russell (SEMO Redhawks)
It is going to be a shame if Russell does not end up in some sort of postseason play this year. He is a player that I can promise no casual fan has heard of, only the true junkies of this sport know who he is. That is fine he did choose to go to Southeast Missouri State in the Ohio Valley to play his basketball and that just comes with the territory of being a middle-of-the-pack Ohio Valley team. Let’s all get acquainted with Russell.
The 5’10” guard is one of the scorers and passers in the country. He is a deadly long-range shooter and will pass when he needs to to get others involved. The point guard being the focal point of the Redhawks’ offense allows him to draw a crowd. Russell is a good enough passer that he will thread a needle or hit a player right in their shooting pocket for easy baskets.
Russell doesn’t play great defense yet, nor do the RedHawks which is why they are just at one game over .500 for the year, but that is a minor thing when you have a natural ability to score as Russell does. He is one of my favorite players to watch in all of college basketball because of the way he plays. Unfortunately for RedHawks fans, he is so good that he is also going to be a prime transfer portal addition to a lot of power five schools this year.
The point guard won this award over Zeke Mayo from South Dakota State who had a 40-point game and a near triple-double this week. Russell was just a little better and helped guide his team to a win and keep another game a lot closer than it should have been. In a win over Little Rock, the point guard scored 37 points with 4 rebounds and 10 assists.
In a narrow loss to Tennessee Tech, the guard scored 29 points with 2 rebounds and 8 assists. He was very deserving of the award and he is going to get a long look for the OVC player of the year, especially considering his play and his leadership have SEMO in prime position to win the league and potentially earn the top seed in the tournament in Evansville Indiana.