TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week Announced
DENVER – Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for December 7 through December 13.
Blacksher, a sophomore guard from Oakland, Calif., led the Lopes to a statement win over Nevada and a near-upset of 23rd-ranked Arizona State. Against the Wolfpack, the reigning WAC Freshman of the Year set a new career-high with 22 points, adding four assists, in an 87-77 win. He followed that up with 21 points, five assists and four steals in a 71-70 loss to the Sun Devils, nearly hitting the game-winning shot at the buzzer as his attempt rimmed out. On the season, he is averaging 14.0 points per game, leads the league with 5.6 assists per game, and is tied for third with 2.0 steals per game.
Other nominees included: California Baptist's Reed Nottage recorded a team-high 22.0 points per game in wins over St. Katherine and Fresno Pacific … Chicago State guard Levelle Zeigler led the Cougars with 12 points in a road loss at Loyola-Chicago … Dixie State's Cameron Gooden led the Trailblazers to their first Division I road win, putting up 23 points in a 73-70 win at Denver … Tarleton guard Shakur Daniel played all 40 minutes of the Texans' 84-43 win over Arlington Baptist, scoring 14 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and five steals … Quinton Johnson II from UT Rio Grande Valley scored 20 points to go with seven rebounds in a road win at rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … Utah Valley's Fardaw Aimaq continued his domination with two more double-doubles in a pair of home losses, including a career-high 27 points and a school-record 20 rebounds in a loss to Wyoming.