The Associated Press announced its national players of the week in men’s and women’s basketball for Week 3 of the season. On the women’s basketball side:
Azzi Fudd, UConn
The graduate guard averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 58% from the field in wins over No. 6 Michigan and Utah last week. She had a season-high 31 points against the Wolverines, including scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter. Fudd also hit four free throws down the stretch to secure the 72-69 victory.
Runner-up
Nunu Agara, Stanford. The junior forward averaged a double-double with 20 points 10 rebounds in the Cardinal’s two victories. She had 24 points, going 10 of 10 from the field against Lehigh and then followed that up with a career-best 16 rebound effort against UC Davis.
Honorable mention
Aaliyah Collins, High Point, Clara Strack, No. 16 Kentucky, Syla Swords, No. 6 Michigan.
Keep an eye on
Richmond forward Maggie Doogan led the Spiders to two strong wins, including a come-from-behind victory over Navy where she had 17 points. She nearly had a triple-double against Temple with 31 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while hitting six 3-pointers.
And for men’s basketball:
The 6-foot-4 junior guard had a huge week, averaging 31.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in three games.
The Big 12 player of the week started with 31 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Tulsa, becoming the first Wildcats player to post a 30/10 double-double since freshman star Michael Beasley in 2008. He followed with 37 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in a win over Mississippi State to start the Hall of Fame Classic.
He closed with 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a loss to Nebraska in the Classic’s championship game.
He made 34 of 59 shots (.576) for the week and is the first Kansas State player to open a season with six straight games of 20 or more points, making him the nation’s leading scorer (28.0) as of Monday’s games.
Runner-up (tie)
Utah State’s M.J. Collins Jr. and SMU’s B.J. Edwards.
Collins, a 6-4 senior, had 40 points in a win over Davidson to help the Aggies win the Lowcountry bracket of the Charleston Classic. In 28 minutes, he made 14 of 19 shots, 8 of 12 3-pointers and all four of his free throws. That marked one of two 40-point games in Division I last week, coming after the Mountain West player of the week had 21 points to open the tournament with a win against Tulane.
Edwards, a 6-3 senior, had 24 points, 13 assists and 10 steals in a win against Arkansas State, marking only the second triple-double in Atlantic Coast Conference history involving 10 steals. The ACC player of the week made 9 of 13 shots and 3 of 6 3-pointers and had five rebounds with just two turnovers while playing 34 minutes. The 13 assists were tied for the most in Division I last week, while he’s the only player all year to reach 10 steals. Edwards also had 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds in a win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Honorable mention
Michael Ajayi, Butler; Jaden Bradley, No. 2 Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., No. 8 Alabama.
Keep an eye on
Myron “MJ” Amey Jr., Loyola Marymount. The 6-2 redshirt senior was West Coast Conference player of the week in helping the Lions start 6-0 before Monday’s loss to Florida Atlantic in the Sunshine Slam. He had 29 points and five rebounds while making 6 of 7 3-pointers in last week’s comeback from 14 down to beat UCSB in overtime. He’s leading the team in scoring (16.1) and shooting 41.2% from behind the arc.
