CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Bucknell senior center Nana Foulland was selected Patriot League Men’s Basketball The Rock Player of the Week for the first time this season, while Army West Point forward Alex King received his first The Rock Rookie of the Week honor when weekly awards were announced by the League office on Monday.
Foulland – the 2017 Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year - posted career highs with 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in a loss to VCU to earn his third-career player of the week and seventh weekly honor of his career. King scored a career-high 24 points in Army West Point’s victory over St. Francis Brooklyn last week to become the sixth different Patriot League freshmen to earn rookie of the week honors this season.
Colgate senior guard Sean O’Brien scored 21 points, to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while freshman teammate Jordan Burns had 17 points and five assists in a win over NJIT to earn spots as weekly honorable mentions. Boston University senior guard Cedric Hankerson averaged 21.0 points per game for the Terriers last week to also earn a spot on the honorable mention list.
The Patriot League Men’s Basketball The Rock Player and Rookie of the Week awards are selected in a vote by League media members and each school’s sports information director, who are not eligible to vote for their own student-athletes.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nana Foulland, Bucknell, Sr., C/F, 6-10, Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic
Foulland posted career-highs with 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in an 85-79 loss to VCU on Saturday. The 2016 Patriot League Player and Defensive Player of the Year was 9-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Foulland also added two blocks, moving him into a tie for 10th among the Patriot League career blocks leaders.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK ROOKIE OF THE WEEK,
Alex King, Army West Point, Fr., F, 6-8, Columbus, Ind./Columbus North
King led the Black Knights with a career-high 24 points, connecting on 8-of-13 field goal attempts, including 3-of-5 from three-point range in Army West Point’s victory over St. Francis Brooklyn. The freshman forward also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and two steals in the victory. King was limited to two points in a win over Air Force, snapping his five-game double-figure scoring streak.
WEEKLY HONORABLE MENTION
Sean O’Brien, Colgate, Sr. G, 6-2, Lafayette Hill, Pa./Penn Charter
O’Brien scored a season-best 21 points to go with four rebounds and four assists to lead Colgate to an 87-76 victory over NJIT, securing its first 4-0 home start since 2011-12. The senior guard shot 6-for-8 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Raiders. O’Brien leads the Patriot League and is fifth in the nation with a 4.56 assist/turnover nation.
Cedric Hankerson, Boston University, Sr. G, 6-5, Miami, Fla./Coral Reef
Hankerson scored 20 points or more in consecutive games for the first time this season during a 0-2 week for Boston University. The senior guard scored 20 points and had four rebounds in the Terriers’ setback versus UMass Lowell. He finished with 22 points, four assists and two steals in BU’s loss to Elon on Sunday.
Jordan Burns, Colgate, Fr. G, San Antonio, Texas/John Marshall
Burns finished with 17 points, five assists and two rebounds in Colgate’s 87-76 win over NJIT on Tuesday. The freshman guard shot 7-for-11 from the field for his eighth double-digit scoring effort of the season. Burns leads all Patriot League freshmen in scoring (12.5 points per game).
Previous Patriot League Men’s Basketball Weekly Award Winners
12.11.17
Player: Kahron Ross, Lehigh, Sr., G
Rookie: Austin Butler, Holy Cross, Fr. G
12.4.17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Justin Jaworski, Lafayette, Fr. G
11.27.17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Jimmy Sotos, Bucknell, Fr., G
11.20 17
Player: Jordan Fox, Army West Point, Jr., G
Rookie: Jordan Burns, Colgate, Fr., G
11.13 17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Caleb Green, Holy Cross, Fr., G
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.