Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Jan. 26
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - JAN. 26 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Ron Curry • James Madison
Jr., G, 6-4, 190 - Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI
Curry averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals as JMU split a pair of road games. The junior guard scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed six rebounds and made three steals as the Dukes rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Hofstra, 69-63. He was also 5-for-5 from three-point range and poured in a team-high 21 points at Northeastern. For the week, Curry shot 56% from the floor, including 8-of-11 from three. He recorded back-to-back 20-point outings for the first time in his career.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Damion Lee • Drexel
Jr., G, 6-6, 200 - Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
Lee averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in Drexel’s 1-1 week. The junior guard scored a team-high 21 points in a 53-51 victory over College of Charleston, including the game-winning three-pointer with 17 seconds to play. He also had a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds at Hofstra. Lee played all but two minutes in the two games and shot 40% (6-15) from 3-point range and 20-of-21 at the free throw line. He’s scored double figures in 16 straight games.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Kory Holden • Delaware
Fr., G, 6-2, 180 - Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett
Holden averaged 18.0 points and 7.0 assists as Delaware went 1-1 last week. The freshman guard scored a team-high 24 points, handed out a career-best nine assists and made just one turnover in the Blue Hens’ 84-80 win over William & Mary. He also tallied 12 points and five assists at Elon. For the week, he shot 59.1% from the floor and was 10-for-12 at the free throw line.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
TIGHT RACE ATOP CAA STANDINGS: The top five teams in the CAA standings are separated by only one game, including a three-way tie for first place, as the conference race nears the halfway mark. Northeastern, UNCW and William & Mary are locked in a tie for first at 6-2. The Huskies had their five-game CAA winning streak snapped at W&M last Saturday. The Seahawks, who are off to their best CAA start since 2005-06, have won three in a row and six of seven. The Tribe has captured four of its last five overall and is riding a 12-game home court winning streak. Sitting just a game back at 5-3 are Hofstra and James Madison. Both the Pride and Dukes face William & Mary this week.
OUTSTANDING EFFORTS: There were numerous outstanding individual performances in the CAA last week. Along with the numbers put up by Co-Players of the Week Ron Curry and Damion Lee, four other players averaged better than 21.0 ppg. W&M’s Omar Prewitt averaged 24.5 ppg and 6.0 apg, including a career-high 30 points at Delaware, Delaware’s Kyle Anderson averaged 24.0 ppg and was 8-of-17 from three, Elon’s Austin Hamilton averaged 21.0 ppg, highlighted by a career-high 31 points against Delaware, and Towson’s John Davis averaged 21.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg after recording a pair of double-doubles.
CLOSE CONFERENCE GAMES: There have been 15 CAA games played since January 17, and 10 were decided by six points or less. College of Charleston has been involved in three straight two-point decisions, while UNCW’s last four games have been decided by five points or less.
ROAD TEAMS ARE 20-20 IN CAA PLAY: Road teams are a combined 20-20 in CAA play this season. Six squads are at least .500 in league road games and all 10 teams have won at least one conference road contest. Last season, home teams went 44-28 (61.1%) in CAA play.
GREEN, THORNTON ON HENSON AWARD WATCH LIST: Hofstra junior guard Juan’ya Green and William & Mary senior guard Marcus Thornton are two of 40 players named to the mid-season watch list for the Lou Henson Award, which is presented to the Division I Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. The award will be presented on April 3.
HOFSTRA AMONG NATION’S BEST ON ROAD: Hofstra is tied for the second-most road wins (7-4) in Division I through games of Jan. 25. The Pride trails only Murray State (8-1). Other teams with seven road victories are Virginia, Gonzaga, Rider, Albany, North Florida and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: There are only six seniors among the CAA’s top 30 in scoring, six seniors among the league’s top 20 in rebounding and three seniors among the top 15 in assists. Through games of Jan. 25, there were 12 juniors, 10 sophomores and two freshmen on the list of top 30 scorers, while there were nine juniors, four sophomores and one freshman on the list of top 20 rebounders.
CLIMBING THE 3-POINT LISTS: Three CAA players are climbing the career three-point lists at their respective schools. William & Mary senior guard Marcus Thornton became the Tribe’s career 3-point leader (281) on Jan. 21, passing David Schneider (278). That total also ranks 8th in CAA history. Delaware senior guard Kyle Anderson is the Blue Hens’ all-time three-pointer leader (247), passing Mike Ames (228) on Jan. 5. Elon junior guard Tanner Samson is tied for fourth with Scottie Rice on Elon’s career 3-pointers list with 204 after hitting two against Delaware last Saturday.
W&M’S THORNTON ON NATIONAL TOP 10 LISTS: William & Mary senior guard Marcus Thornton ranks fourth among active Division I players in career 3-pointers made (281) and he’s seventh in career scoring (1,881 points). The CAA preseason Player of the Year ranks second in the CAA in scoring (19.1 ppg) this season and has hit 58 treys. He also ranks third on W&M’s all-time scoring list.
HOFSTRA’S GREEN RANKS SECOND IN MADE FREE THROWS: Hofstra junior guard Juan’ya Green has made 134 free throws this season, which is the second-most of any player in Division I. BYU’s Tyler Haws leads the nation with 138. Green also ranks fourth in free throws attempted (161). He’s shooting an impressive 83.2% from the charity stripe.
CAA TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STATS LEADERS: Several CAA teams are ranked nationally in various statistical categories through games of Jan. 25. Hofstra is 10th (9.3 pg) and William & Mary is 20th (8.8 pg) in 3-pointers per game, while the Tribe is 11th (40.7%) and the Pride is 33rd (38.7%) in 3-point FG percentage. Hofstra is also 17th in scoring offense (78.7 ppg). Towson ranks 17th in rebound margin (+8.0 rpg) and W&M is 20th in FG percentage (48.7%).
MCGLYNN RANKS 2ND NATIONALLY IN FT PERCENTAGE: Towson junior guard Four McGlynn is an incredible 73-of-78 (93.6%) at the charity stripe, which currently ranks second in the nation. Last season, McGlynn led the CAA and ranked sixth nationally in free throw percentage at 91.3%. Northeastern junior David Walker is shooting 89.1% (57-of-64) from the line and ranks 17th in Division I.
TWO CAA PLAYERS AMONG TOP 35 IN SCORING: Two CAA players are among the nation’s top 35 in scoring through games of Jan. 25. Drexel junior guard Damion Lee is ranked 9th with 20.6 ppg, and W&M’s Marcus Thornton is 31st with 19.1 ppg. Thornton has scored double figures in 25 consecutive games and Lee has a 16-game streak.
For more CAA men's basketball news and notes, click on the link above for the full release or check out the
Men's Basketball Notebook on our Hoop Scoop blog.