NCAA Basketball: UC Davis and Penn State headline Players of the Week
By Bryan Mauro
Mid-Major Player of the Week – Elijah Pepper
I can say with confidence that there are not many people who are going to read this article who have ever watched Pepper play. The guard plays on the West Coast and plays in the Big West for UC Davis. The Aggies play in the Big West and very few of their games are carried on ESPN or any other network so not many people have seen UC Davis play. Those that have not seen the guard play let me just fill you in, there is not a player at the mid-major level who has been playing better over the month of February. The guard has taken his game to the next level as UC Davis makes their final push for seeding in the Big West tournament.
Pepper is currently averaging 22 points per game and is one of the top scorers in college basketball. Even with his already high scoring average the Aggie guard has now scored over 30 points per game four games in a row. The unfortunate part of that for UC Davis is they have lost 3 out of those four games. This week Pepper was stuffing the stat sheet and showing how elite of a scorer he can be. In a win over Cal State Northridge, the junior guard scored 32 points with 8 rebounds and 2 assists. In a loss to Big West leader UC Irvine, the guard scored 32 points with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. He is a very good rebounder for his size and often turns his rebounds into points.
It has already been a weird season for Pepper. He is good enough to lead the entire state of California in scoring. That is a positive but the strange things about his season are he is showing career-worst three-point shooting and free throw percentage. He is, however, having his most efficient offensive year for all of the shots he takes. It shows that he has become a more dynamic scorer and not just a shooter. The guard is also the guy this season and has not ever had the lion share of the offense like he has this year.
Pepper is on a great run, but has been one of the most consistent scorers in the country all season long. If you have not had a chance to watch him play, do yourself a favor and watch. The guard is very good and will absolutely play at the next level.