Each week, Dan and I will each pick a player of the week. We’ll take your suggestions on Twitter. You can tweet us your suggestions @LoHudInsider and @LoHud_DeFran using the hashtag #POTW.
I’ll keep a log of our selections every Monday. As you can see below, Somers’ John Decker and Peekskill’s Jay Cabell were our first winners. Here’s a look at who we chose this week:
Josh’s POTW: Demarcus Miller, Stepinac —
The sophomore was still hobbled from an ankle injury he suffered playing football when the basketball season began. Clearly, Miller is feeling better. Much better.
His explosiveness was on display during a 2-0 week for the 7-1 Crusaders. Miller had 24 points and seven steals in a 70-56 win vs. visiting St. Francis Prep. He then stuffed the stat sheet on Friday night on the road in a standing-room only Iona Prep gym.
In a highly anticipated game, Miller came off the bench to produce 20 points on 8 for 11 shooting to go with five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. To those unimpressed by stats, this much was clear: Miller’s athleticism had a clear impact on the game. It provided Stepinac with energy in a hostile environment, particularly when big man Andrew Murray went to the bench with foul trouble.
Dan’s POTW: Brian Daniels, Briarcliff —
As I said last week, a player of the week to me is someone that steps up when it matters most. For me, no one epitomized that better than Briarcliff’s Brian Daniels. Daniels started the week off by hitting the go-ahead field goal against Rye with 15 seconds remaining to help the Bears beat the Garnets 45-44. While Daniels only finished with 13 points, the two he came up with at the end of the game proved to be the most important.
Three days later the Bears dominated rival Pleasantville 71-49 to win the Lt. Charles Garbarini Memorial trophy at Pace University. Daniels finished with a team-high 18 points, but had only six points in the first half as he focused on securing the Bears’ defense. When asked about it by my colleague Rick Carpiniello, he had this to say:
“If the rest of my teammates are hitting jump shots, I don’t have a problem with that. I just cheer them up.”
A team-first player that gets it done when it matters most. If that doesn’t scream #POTW, I don’t know what does.
2012-13 Players of the Week
Dec. 17 —
John Decker, Somers
Jay Cabell, Peekskill
2 Comments
Its really nice to see Brian maturing as an athlete and as a young man. To know him is to know a great kid.
[...] Players of the Week Dec. 17 — John Decker, Somers Jay Cabell, Peekskill Dec. 24 — Demarcus Miller, Stepinac Brian Daniels, Briarcliff Jan. 2 — Jack Sullivan, Albertus Magnus [...]