Nov. 23, 2009
Houston senior guard Aubrey Coleman and Memphis sophomore guard Elliot Williams were both standouts for their hometown teams and were named the C-USA Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. The pair was selected by a media panel representing each conference member for games through Nov. 22. Coleman recorded back-to-back 30-point games in the Cougars' first two contests of the season, while Williams improved upon his career-high scoring numbers and averaged 22 points in the Tigers' two games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
AUBREY COLEMAN, HOUSTON
Senior, Guard, Houston, Texas
Coleman registered the fourth and fifth 30-point games of his career as he helped lead the Cougars to a 1-1 record during the opening week of the season. He recorded a game-high 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting with two 3-pointers in the season-opening win versus Nicholls State on Nov. 17. He also added three assists, four steals and nine rebounds, falling just one shy of recording his 15th career double-double. Colemen then led all players with 32 points on 13-of-30 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven boards in the road opener at Nevada Saturday night. He scored 16 of his game-high 32 points during a nine-minute run that saw the Cougars turn a 26-point second half deficit into a six-point margin. He also added three assists and four steals and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line against the Wolfpack. Coleman became only the third player in school history to post back-to-back 30-point games to open the season, joining Houston legends Elvin Hayes and Otis Birdsong. This is his first Player of the Week honor this season and third of his career. He also earned five Rookie of the Week honors last season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, MEMPHIS
Sophomore, Guard, Memphis, Tenn.
Williams averaged 22.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the Tigers' two games last week. He netted a career-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds against top-ranked Kansas and then bettered that with a 23-point performance versus Tennessee Tech. Thirteen of his 21 points against Kansas were scored in the second half and eight came in the final 5:18. Williams nailed a three-pointer with 18 seconds to play to cut the Jayhawks' lead to 56-55, but his trey at the buzzer for the win rimmed out and the final was 57-55. Against Tennessee Tech, Williams had an emphatic dunk with a little over a minute left before halftime. On the next possession, he threw an ally-oop from halfcourt to teammate Will Coleman, who slammed it home. He also contributed with four rebounds, four assists and two steals against TTU. This is the first Rookie of the Week honor for the sophomore transfer.
