Senior of the Week
Forward Lahat Thioune South Dakota
Not a bad way to break onto the scene in the Summit League. In his first week as a South Dakota Coyote Thioune wins the Senior of the Week award. For good reason too! After only playing 17 minutes against a non division 1 team, in a game which it seemed Coach Eric Peterson wanted to expand the bench. Thioune had an impressive 24 points and 10 rebound performance against UT Rio Grand Valley. Thioune is an intriguing piece for the Coyotes going forward. For the week Thioune averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, and the Coyotes picked up two victories.
Others receiving votes
Guard Tommy Bruner Denver
G Kareem Thompson Oral Roberts
Junior of the Week
Forward Touko Tainamo Denver
The junior class put up some impressive numbers this week, and this makes Tainamo’s accomplishment that much more impressive. Early in the season, Tainamo has shown he put in the work this offseason. Tainamo has been a dynamic scorer and an animal on the boards. For the week Tainamo averaged 22 points and 13.5 rebounds. Tainamo might be showing us early in the season we didn’t realize he was going to have a big year.
Others receiving votes
Guard Zeke Mayo South Dakota State
Sophomore of the Week
Forward BJ Omot North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks had more buzz coming into this year than in any year in recent memory. Some of that was because of some of the new additions but also because folks thought Omot was ready to take another step. For one week they seemed very wise. Omot and fellow sophomore Treyson Eaglestaff led the charge for North Dakota this week and contributed to the Fighting Hawks start to the season. There seems to be a better feeling in Grand Forks than in recent years. For the week Omot averaged 22.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
Others receiving votes
Forward William Kyle III South Dakota State
Freshmen of the Week
Guard Isaac Bruns South Dakota
We have a pair of Coyotes receiving Player of the Week honors, which makes some sense given their start. Bruns joins Thioune as the only pair of teammates this week. The numbers for our freshmen class work as impressive as others, but Bruns seems to want to stake an early claim to be mentioned in the freshmen of the year discussions as the year goes along. Which makes some sense given there has already been a Bruns to claim the award in the Summit League. For the week Bruns averaged 10.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and an assist per game. Nice start to Bruns’ college career.
Others receiving votes
Guard Jayson Petty Kansas City
Guard Kalen Garry South Dakota State
Forward Carter Bjerke St. Thomas
Defensive player of the week
Forward Deshang Weaver Oral Roberts
Early in this season the Golden Eagles have really struggled on the boards and have a lack of size in the starting lineup. That however has not stopped Weaver from having a major impact on the defensive end. In the first week of the season, Weaver was dominant in blocking shots, which led to his selection as defensive player of the week. For the week Weaver averaged 4.5 blocked shots per game.
Others receiving votes
Guard Charlie Easley South Dakota State