Illinois and Minnesota Claim Weekly Men’s Basketball Honors

by | Dec 31, 2019 | Basketball Blogs, Headlines, RRSN News | 0 comments

Illinois’ Cockburn and Minnesota’s Oturu earn awards
Player of the Week
Daniel Oturu, Minnesota
C – So. – 6-10 – Woodbury, Minn. – Cretin-Derham Hall– Major: Sports Management
Posted 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for Minnesota in an 89-62 win against Florida International on Saturday, shooting 8-of-12 from the field in 32 minutes
Displayed the first Minnesota 20-20 double-double performance since Tom Kondla had 33 points and 23 rebounds at Kansas State on Dec. 1, 1966
Became the first Big Ten player with a 20-20 double-double since Michigan’s DeShawn Sims with 20 points and 20 rebounds versus FGCU on Dec. 22, 2008
Marked a new career-high in rebounds, his previous being 18, which he hit twice in November against Utah and DePaul
Notched his seventh double-double and third first-half double-double this season, leaving him one short of his double-double total last season
Earns the first Player of the Week accolade of his career; claimed Freshman of the Week twice in 2018-19
Last Minnesota Player of the Week: Gabe Kalscheur (Dec. 23, 2019)
Freshman of the Week
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
C – Fr. – 7-0 – Kingston, Jamaica – Oak Hill Academy (Va.) – Major: General Studies
Scored a career-high 26 points in Sunday’s 95-64 win over North Carolina A&T, tying the most points by a Big Ten freshman this season (Northwestern’s Boo Buie, 26 vs. MSU, 12/18/19)
Topped his previous career-high of 23 points, set twice earlier this year
Marked his fourth 20-point game of the season, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, with the 11 made field goals marking the most by a Big Ten freshman this season
Posted a game-high 9 rebounds, falling just one board shy of a double-double, and 2 blocks in 28 minutes of play
Leads Illinois and is the Big Ten’s freshman leader in both scoring and rebounding for the season, averaging 16.0 ppg and 9.7 rpg
Earns the fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor of his career
Becomes the first Illinois player to earn Freshman of the Week five times in one season in Big Ten history, ties Michigan State’s Miles Bridges (2016-17) with five Freshman of the Week awards
Last Illinois Freshman of the Week: Kofi Cockburn (Dec. 16, 2019)

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