Minnie Earns Back to Back Player of the Week Honors
MAC East Division Player of the Week
CJ Massinburg, Buffalo
Guard, Junior, Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff)
Junior CJ Massinburg led the Bulls to a pair of wins this past week as Buffalo locked up the MAC Regular Season title and the #1 seed in the MAC Tournament. Massinburg averaged 22.5 points per game, beginning with the win over Akron on Tuesday as he led UB to victory with 26 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. He went 8-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Massinburg added 19 points in 26 minutes during a dominating 100-70 win at Bowling Green on Friday night. He went 7-of-12 from the floor, hitting three shots from behind-the-arc, including a Top 10 nominee where he banked in a three-quarter heave that was meant to be a pass. Massinburg added three assists and two steals. Massinburg is UB's leader in scoring and rebounding at 17.4 and 7.5 per game, respectively.
MAC West Division Player of the Week
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Redshirt Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Lincoln Park)
Playing mere days after the untimely passing of his mother, Elijah Minnie put together one of the best two-game stretches of his season in Eastern Michigan's third straight 2-0 week. The redshirt junior scored 21.5 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the floor and 35.0 percent from the three-point line. He added 8.5 rebounds per contest, was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, and also had three blocks and two steals on the week. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in EMU's dominating 74-58 win over in-state rival Western Michigan, Feb. 27, and added a 25-point, eight rebounds showing in the Eagle's come-from-behind victory over MAC West winner Toledo on the road. Minnie leads Eastern Michigan in scoring on the season with a 16.8 points per game average, good for sixth in the conference. He's also third in blocks per game (1.7), fourth in steals per game (1.8), fifth in free throw percentage (84.5), and 16th in rebounding (5.9 per game).
Other Nominees
Cecil Williams, Central Michigan
Forward, Junior, Columbia, Mo. (Moberly Area Community College)
Junior forward Cecil Williams played an integral role in two dominating Central Michigan victories last week. On Tuesday, in a 75-51 win over Ball State, Williams totaled 18 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals in helping the Chippewas earn a season split with the Cardinals. He shot .500 overall (7-of-14) and .500 from 3-point range (2-of-4). On Saturday, in CMU’s 84-71 win over rival Western Michigan, Williams posted 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal, helping to prevent the Broncos from earning an automatic bid to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament and securing the Chippewas’ its first-ever conference postseason home game. Williams has been a consistent force for CMU this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg), assists (78), blocks (33) and steals (35) and third in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
Danny Pippen, Kent State
Forward, Sophomore, Detroit, Michigan (Allen Academy)
Kent State sophomore forward Danny Pippen averaged a double-double this week with 12.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game against Miami and Akron. Against the RedHawks, Pippen had one of the best performances of his career, scoring 17 points and yanking down a career-high 18 rebounds in a 90-83 overtime win. His 18 boards ties for the most in a single game by a MAC player this season. Pippen played an especially important role in overtime scoring seven of Kent State's 15 points down the stretch on 3-of-4 shooting. Against arch-rival Akron on the road, Pippen scored seven points with five rebounds in a losing effort. He finished the week perfect from the free throw line.
Nike Sibande, Miami
Guard, Freshman, Indianapolis, Ind. (Crispus Attucks)
Sibande was Miami's leading scorer for the week, averaging 20.0 points in two games. That included five shots from behind the arc and 15 free throw makes. He also dished out six assists, and had three steals. Against Kent State on Tuesday, Sibande scored 17 points, to go with two assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes of action. He followed that up with a career-high 23 points against Ohio on Friday. He also had four assists and three steals in 38 minutes of action.
Eugene German, NIU
Guard, Sophomore, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
Eugene German finished his remarkable regular season by averaging 26.0 points and 4.5 rebounds during the final week of the year, culminated with a game-winning, pull-up jumper in the final seconds to lift the Huskies to a 66-65 victory over Ball State. German started the week with 27 points and four rebounds against Toledo (Feb. 27) before his 25-point, 5-rebound effort against Ball State (March 2) to close the regular season. The leading scorer in the MAC, German’s 25 points against the Cardinals marked his 18th 20-plus point effort this season, including seven of the last eight.
Mike Laster, Ohio University
Guard, Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical)
Senior guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) helped the Ohio men's basketball team (14-16, 7-11 MAC) close out the 2017-18 regular season with a pair of victories over Mid-American Conference East Division rivals, helping the Bobcats clinch the No. 10 seed in the upcoming league tournament. Laster averaged a team-high 19.0 points, shooting 50 percent (16-of-32) from the floor. He also averaged a team-high 5.0 assists to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Laster went out a winner in his final home game at the Convocation Center last Tuesday (Feb. 27), helping Ohio pick up a 75-59 Senior Night victory over Bowling Green by tying for the team lead with 19 points and distributing a career-high seven assists. He also tallied four rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes. Laster then finished with a team-high 22 points to help the Bobcats close out the 2017-18 regular season with a 75-66 win over Miami on Friday (March 2) at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio. He made 10 of his 17 attempts from the field en route scoring at least 20 for the seventh time this year. He also chipped in four rebounds, three assists and a steal over 37 minutes.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior, Wilmar, Ark.
Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game last week and registered the second triple-double in program history. Fletcher tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Rockets' 97-67 win at Northern Illinois. He tallied five assists before scoring his first points in the game. Against EMU, Fletcher was limited to nine points but still contributed six rebounds and five assists in the Rockets' two-point defeat.
Seth Dugan, Western Michigan
Center, Junior, Otsego, Mich. (Otsego)
Averaged 20.5 minutes for the Broncos against in-state rivals Eastern and Central Michigan. Dugan against EMU shot 50 percent from the floor and grabbed two rebounds to go along with four points. In the final game of the regular season against CMU, Dugan scored a season-high 16 points and corralled eight rebounds. From the free-throw line, Dugan shot a career-high 6-of-9 while going 5-of-8 from the field.
