Caldwell and Roundtree Earn MAC Player of the Week Honors
MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Rodrick Caldwell, Bowling Green
Guard, Sophomore, Dayton, Ohio (Wayne)
Caldwell led the Falcons to a 3-1 record last week. For the week, Caldwell averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. He shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field, an absurd 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from downtown, and 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the free throw line. Caldwell capped his week with consecutive 20-plus point games, setting his career high in points in both contests. Caldwell started the week with 18 points, and a career-high eight assists in a win over Lake Erie. He then racked up 18 points and seven assists in a victory over USC Upstate, before posting 20 points, five assists, and three rebounds in a win at Campbell. In Sunday’s game versus Abilene Christian, Caldwell scored a career-high 25 points, tied his career high with six rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Caldwell hit a career-high six triples versus Abilene Christian, as he went 6-for-9 from downtown.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan
Guard, Junior, Edwardsville, Ill. (Mineral Area College)
Roundtree led Central Michigan to a 3-0 record and the Mid-American Conferences first and only Great Alaska Shootout championship in the 40th and final edition of the historic tournament. In the opener vs. Sam Houston State, Roundtree scored a game-high 20 points to go along with six assists and three rebounds in a comfortable 71-60 win for the Chippewas. In the semifinals, Roundtree came through in the clutch, draining a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to lift CMU to a 56-53 win over Cal Poly and into the title game. In the championship game, Roundtree shined once again, scoring a team-high 15 points. He also tied his season-best with six assists. For his standout performance throughout the tournament, Roundtree was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Alaska Shootout. After six games, Roundtree leads CMU in scoring (14.2 ppg) and assists (28). For the week, Roundtree averaged 15 ppg., 1.0 rpg. & 5.6 apg.
Other Nominees
Tayler Persons, Ball State
Guard, Junior, Kokomo, Ind. (Kokomo)
Persons led Ball State in both games on the road last week, scoring 21 points at Bucknell and 18 at Indiana State. The junior point guard reached the 1,000-point mark in the Bucknell contest, needing just 69 career games to accomplish the feat. He went 9-for-9 at the free throw line and nearly helped the Cardinals to a win over a Bucknell team rated 78th nationally by Ken Pomeroy. The Bison overcame a six-point deficit in the final six minutes to win 87-83 on their home floor. Persons then led Ball State to a 93-85 road victory over in-state rival Indiana State. He was 7-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from 3-point range as part of the Cardinals best shooting night against a Division I opponent in 15 years. Persons also added 5.0 assists per game for the week. He leads the Cardinals at 16.7 points and 4.5 assists per game for the season.
CJ Massinburg , Buffalo
Guard, Junior, Dallas, TC/South Oak Cliff
Massinburg was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Cayman Classic after he averaged 18.3 points and 5.0 rebounds over the three games during the tournament. Massinburg began the tournament with a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulls lost by just six to #12 Cincinnati last Monday. Massinburg had 20 of those points and nine rebounds in the second half as the Bulls cut within four late to the nationally ranked program. UB was the only team to lose to Cincinnati by less than 20 points in the tournament. Massinburg added 16 points on Tuesday in an overtime win over UAB as he went 6-of-12 from the floor. 14 of those points came in the second half and overtime for Massinburg. He added 10 points in the final game of the tournament against South Dakota State. Massinburg leads the Bulls this year at 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Redshirt Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Lincoln Park)
Minnie helped Eastern Michigan University to a 1-1 week, as the Eagles picked up their first road win of the season at South Florida to improve to 5-1 on the season. The redshirt junior led all scorers in EMU's loss to Indiana with 20, and added a nine point, seven rebound, three assist, three block, and two steal performance in the Green and White's win over USF. Not only was the Pittsburgh, Pa. native perfect from the charity stripe in the two games (7-of-7), but he also added a 35 percent (6-of-17) mark from beyond the three-point line. Minnie's 20-point performance at IU marked the fourth time in the young season that he has topped 20 points. The forward is in the top 10 in the conference in scoring (16.8 ppg), top 5 in blocked shots (1.3 bpg), top 12 in steals (1.5 spg), top 20 in rebounding (5.8 rpg), and leads the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage (27-of-27, .964).
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Guard, Jr, Inkster, Mich. (Romulus HS)
Walker led the Flashes this week in their effort at the Savannah Invitational, in which two out of three games were against top 100 teams. Walker averaged 18 points a game, a team-best, while hitting 9 3-pointers. His best game came at home against Southeastern Louisiana, where he scored a season-high 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting. He was 4-for-12 from beyond the arc. He also scored 15 points against Valpo and 13 against Loyola Chicago, earning a spot on the Savannah Invitational All Tournament Team.
Levi Bradley, NIU
Wing, Junior, Milwaukee, Wis. (Pius XI)
Bradley averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and made a game-winning floater against Manhattan, in NIU’s four games this past week. Bradley opened the week with 14 points and seven rebounds, shooting 50 percent (4-of-8) from the field against Penn (Nov. 20). The junior from Milwaukee then had 13 points and five rebounds against Florida Atlantic (Nov. 21) before finishing the Gulf Coast Showcase with 22 points, going 9-of-17 from the floor, against Manhattan (Nov. 22). Bradley’s 22 points included a floater with 15 seconds left to break a 68-68 tie against the Jaspers as the Huskies won, 70-68. Bradley finished the Gulf Coast Showcase averaging 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. In NIU’s final game of the week against Rockford University (Nov. 26), Bradley scored 11 points, playing just 19 minutes in the comfortable win. Bradley finished the week shooting 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from the field and a perfect 18-of-18 from the free-throw line.
Teyvion Kirk, Ohio
Guard, Freshman, Joliet, Ill. (Joliet West)
Kirk continued the strong start to his rookie campaign, tallying a career-high 20 points for the second game in a row to tie for the team lead as the Ohio men's basketball team (3-2) asserted itself in a dominant 96-77 victory over Mount St. Mary's last Friday (Nov. 24) at the Convocation Center. Kirk shot 7-of-14 from the floor -- including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc -- in addition to sinking four his five free throw attempts. He also matched his career high with six assists to tie for the team lead and grabbed five boards in 32 minutes.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior, Wilmar, Ark. (Univ. of Colorado)
Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher posted a pair of double-doubles and led the Rockets with 19.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 4.0 apg in two games at Syracuse and Cornell last week. Fletcher tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 72-64 setback to the Orange before notching 20 points and 12 boards in an 80-77 setback at Cornell.
Drake LaMont, Western Michigan
Center, Senior, Plantation, Fla.
In the first start of the season for LaMont he finished with 14 points and six rebounds. LaMont scored the first six points for the Broncos against Northwood and had 10 points in the first half. LaMont was efficient from the field in his best performance of the season going 7-of-9 from the field. The senior center grabbed a season-high six rebounds (2 offensive, 4 defensive) along with registering one assist, one block and one steal in 23 minutes of play. It was the 22nd time that LaMont has scored in double digits and second time this season. LaMont has played in all six games this season and is averaging 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and is shooting .607 from the field.
