City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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After two fairly slow weeks due to finals and the holidays, college basketball was back in full swing this week and a number of players with local ties took advantage and earned their way onto their respective conference’s weekly awards lists.

Pookie Powell (La Salle /RS-Soph.)
The Memphis transfer did it all for La Salle in its two wins this week. Powell cashed in for 13 points, while adding in eight assists, four rebounds and four steals in his squad’s win over St. Louis and just three days later the 6-foot-1 guard torched Duquesne for 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Powell’s stellar week earned him the title of Big 5 Player of the Week he also made it onto the Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Roll.

Jalen Brunson (Villanova/Soph.)
Brunson continued his strong play in Big East action, averaging 19.5 points per contest in Villanova’s two games this week on his way to earning spots on the Big 5 and Big East's Weekly Honor Roll. After scoring a game-high 23 points in Villanova’s loss to Butler on Wednesday, Brunson poured in 16 points, while also grabbing five rebounds and dished out four assists in the Wildcats’ win over Marquette on Saturday.

James Demery (Saint Joseph’s/Jr.)
In the first week back from injury after being sidelined by a stress fracture for 10 games, the junior forward made his presence felt for the Hawks. Demery was named to the Big 5 and Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Rolls after turning in a solid performance of 17 points and eight rebounds in his team’s loss to Rhode Island, and he followed that up with a career-high of 27 points and matched his career-best of 8 rebounds in the Hawks’ win over Fordham.

Quinton Rose (Temple/Fr.)

Rose continued to be a key contributor off the bench for Temple this week, as he earned his third American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honor. Rose scored 14 points and stole the ball five times in Temple’s loss to SMU and repeated his 14-point performance, while adding in two steals and four rebounds in its win over East Carolina.

Ryan Betley (Penn/Fr.)
After missing Penn’s first nine games due to injury, Betley jumped right into the starting lineup and his impact was felt immediately. After solid performances against Drexel and Fairfield before the New Year, Betley scored a career-high of 11 points and also added in two steals in Penn’s loss to Princeton and also was named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in his career.

Darnell Foreman (Penn/Jr.)
Foreman stuffed the stat sheet for the Quakers in their loss to Princeton on Saturday. The 6-foot-1 guard scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and added in a steal. This performance in Penn’s first Ivy League contest earned Foreman a spot on both the Big 5 and Ivy League Weekly Honor Rolls.

Josh Warren (Cornell/Fr.)
The Downingtown West graduate turned in two solid performances for Cornell this week. First, he scored three points, hauled in two rebounds, dished out three assists and added in both one steal and one block in his squad’s loss to Albany. He followed that up with an eight-point, six-rebound performance in a win over Fisher to make his way onto the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll.

Ryan Daly (Delaware/Fr.)
Daly continued his stellar freshman season for the Blue Hens. The 6-foot-4 guard used another impressive week to repeat as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Week. Daly scored a team high of 20 points and added in six rebounds in his team’s loss to College of Charleston and followed that up with a career-high of 28 points in a loss to UNC-Wilmington, while also sandwiching an eight-point performance against Northeastern in between his two 20-point outings.

Sa’eed Nelson (American/Fr.)
Although his team turned in two losses, the Saint Augustine Prep (N.J.) graduate had a great week as he earned his third Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor of the season. After scoring 18 points and grabbing four rebounds in a loss to Bucknell, Nelson poured in 19 points, reeled in eight boards and dished out three assists in a loss to Lehigh.

Matt Klinewski (Lafayette/Jr.)
The Eastern Regional HS (N.J) graduate was a force offensively for the Leopards in their 1-1 week. He followed up a 21-point performance in a win over Army West Point on Thursday with a career-high 34 points and also hauled in seven rebounds in a loss to Boston University on Sunday.

Mikey Dixon (Quinnipiac/Fr.)
Dixon was a huge reason why his Bobcats turned in a 2-1 record this week. The Sanford School (Del.) product started the week off by scoring 23 points, including the game-winning bucket, against Niagara and continued to stay hot by scoring 16 in his team’s loss to Canisius. After the loss, Dixon ended the week on a high note as he scored another 23 points and added in seven assists in a win over Manhattan.