DEC. 2 (awards based on games played Monday-Sunday)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame
We're not talking about the pigskin at South Bend, but rather the hardwood. Notre Dame is off to its best start since 1979-80 (7-0), and a key reason is Ryan Humphrey.
He is having a monster year. Humphrey has been a catalyst, providing a spark on the inside. With the departure of Troy Murphy to the NBA, Mr. Humphrey has been dominating.
His performances against Army (27 points, eight rebounds) and DePaul (18 points, 16 rebounds) give you an indication of how active he is on the interior. His quickness and explosiveness around the basket has been sensational.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Kansas
I've said since Day One that the Jayhawks would have a phenomenal year. Kansas has an outstanding starting five and some quality freshmen.
That this is a top-five team was evident in its win at Arizona. Drew Gooden was super, scintillating and sensational. Diaper dandy Keith Langford came off the bench to chip in with 19 big points. Aaron Miles is also a solid contributor, and yet another freshman, Wayne Simien, is coming back from an injury.
Gooden and Nick Collison form as good an interior tandem as you can find. Roy Williams' gang will be one of the teams to beat in the Big 12. Kansas got a big W over Jason Gardner and the Wildcats in Tucson.
COACH OF THE WEEK: Steve Lappas, UMass
I'm very happy to see Steve Lappas get off to a solid start at Massachusetts. At the end of his tenure at Villanova, given his record there, he did not receive the kind of fairness he deserved. Massachusetts made a great choice hiring Lappas, since his enthusiasm and energy is special.
He has made an impact already -- he has the Minutemen playing with lots of emotion. Massachusetts started the week with a big win over Oregon (the Ducks had put a hurting on Louisville). Then the Minutemen had a super road win at N.C. State. It isn't easy to win on the road at an ACC site.
SHOCK OF THE WEEK: Pepperdine over UCLA
It was shock city as Paul Westphal and Pepperdine pulled a big surprise over UCLA. It seems like the Bruins get upset by a West Coast team every year, slipping last year against Cal State-Northridge.
It was a brilliant performance by the Waves, who played solid en route to the upset. Westphal's squad turned the ball over just nine times. Jimmy Miggins scored 20 points and grabbed 11 boards, and Craig Lewis added 18 points to offset a fine performance by Jason Kapono (28 points).
DIAPER DANDY OF THE WEEK: Ben Gordon, UConn
Freshman guard Ben Gordon has put points on the board coming off the bench for Connecticut. He had 23 points (8-for-12 from the field) against New Hampshire.
Gordon came through when Taliek Brown got into foul trouble against George Washington, scoring 19 points for Jim Calhoun's Huskies. Gordon played at Mount Vernon High School in New York.
