Jordan Pope - Texas Longhorns
Pope is a transfer guard from Oregon State, where he was a prolific scorer and one of the top offensive players in the old Pac 12. The offense has not been there this year for the guard, and he has been putting up very pedestrian numbers and has not been averaging a high volume of points. Well, his game against New Orleans changed that and may have changed the season's outlook for Pope.
The guard scored 42 points on 15-21 shooting and was 8-12 from deep. That efficiency is what turned the guard into a scorer. He can be an efficient scorer even when he is not taking a large number of shots. If the guard can get going again this year, it would be a huge lift for Texas, and they would work their way back into getting a protected seed in the NCAA tournament.
Pope only had two rebounds, but again, a 40-point game is hard to ignore, even if the team you are playing is one of the worst defensive teams in the country.
The issue for Pope is not that his offense is dwindling. It is that he went to a team that has multiple options on offense. While at Oregon State, he was the only option for scoring, and the offense worked through him. Texas just needs him to fill a role and do it well. Pope may never score this many points this year or next but his performance warranted the player of the week. Congratulations of Jordan and the Longhorns program.