Brits in College: Week 6 Recap

By Rowan Shiell on December 20, 2013

It is hard to believe that six weeks have passed already, but here we are. For those just joining us, this is an update of the best weekly British performers in NCAA division one hoops.

The week in question runs from Friday to Thursday. As we near the holidays there are less games played so if your favourite player is missing there is a good chance his team didn’t play this week.

Player of the Week

Ovie Soko | Duquesne | Forward | Senior

Ovie Soko’s performance took a nosedive, after a great start to the season, but this week he rebounded in a spectacular way. On Saturday he scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a four point loss to Robert Morris.

Then on Tuesday, Soko recorded 23 points and 12 rebounds in a victory over St Francis (PA).

The 6’8” forward has shown that he has a knack for getting to the free throw line but this week he was exceptional making a total of 18 out of 20 attempts.

Soko is currently tied for fourth place in free throw attempts per game ,10.2, of which he makes 70%.

Best of the Rest

Fahro Alihodzic | University of Alabama at Birmingham | Senior | Forward

UAB are currently on a streak, winning their last five games. Although Alihodzic hasn’t shined brightly, statistically, he is a big part of their success.

They added Georgia Southern and Chattanooga to their list of victims on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively. Alihodzic scored a total of 17 points and thirteen rebounds in both games. He also established himself as a shot blocker, recording a total of six over the week.

Chris Caird | Drake | Junior | Forward/Guard

Despite a 13 point effort from Caird, Drake lost in overtime to New Mexico State on Saturday. The 6’6” forward was pivotal in forcing overtime. He made consecutive three pointers to bring Drake within a point of New Mexico in the closing minutes of the game.

After a teammate eventually tied the game with free throws, Drake got outscored 14-2 in overtime.

Wednesday saw Drake in another tightly contested game in which they prevailed by three points. Caird scored ten points, three rebounds to go with three dimes in the victory.

Robert Gilchrist | Florida State University | Senior | Forward

Gilchrist got some quality minutes in Florida State’s 44 point victory over Charlotte on Tuesday. The big man scored 11 points, blocked a shot and grabbed five rebounds.

Will Neighbour | UALR | Senior | Forward

Against Memphis UALR came up way short in the victory column, last Friday. Neighbour had a poor shooting night, albeit against a tough opponent, but still managed to score 15 points to go with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks.

It was truly a game of two halves as UALR took a seven point lead into the break. Neighbour scored 10 of his points in the first half but would only score five in the resultant half.

Luke Nelson | UC Irvine | Guard | Freshman

Nelson scored 13 points in a victory against Eastern Washington on Sunday. He also had three rebounds and two blocks.

Tuesday, UC Irvine came up short in a test against Oregon. Though Nelson would score 13 points again, it would be a blowout loss. He also had six assists and five rebounds against the national contender.

Alex Young | UC Irvine | Guard | Sophomore

Young recorded eight points, two steals, seven rebounds and four assists in the victory over Eastern Washington. In the loss to Oregon he had six points, five rebounds and two assists.

Will Saunders | Charleston Southern | Junior | Forward

Charleston Southern lost both their games. First they lost by 14 to Alabama on Saturday. Then it was an eight point loss to Western Carolina on Wednesday.

Saunders was almost nonexistent in the stat sheet, against Alabama, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds. He rebounded to score a dozen points against Western Carolina, to go with three rebounds and two assists.

Adam Thoseby | South Dakota| Sophomore | Forward

Thoseby recorded 11 points in 19 minutes of action in a loss to Morehead State, on Thursday, which was a significant improvement over his performance against Green Bay where he only had three points and two rebounds.

Prince Ibeh | Texas | Sophomore | Centre

Texas picked up a significant win Wednesday against North Carolina. Prince Ibeh logged 16 quality minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds though he was one foul short of disqualifying.

Previously he scored seven points, six rebounds and three blocks in a victory over Texas State on Saturday.

Texas, a team that lost 18 games last season, is now 10-1.

Thoughts?

Image Credit: Duquesne Dukes

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix