Burgess CAA Rookie of the Week, again!

CAA Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week: Bradford Burgess, VCU Freshman, F, 6-5, 207 Burgess repeats as CAA Rookie of the Week after averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in VCU’s two games last week. The freshman forward poured in a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven boards in an 81-70 loss to 4th-ranked Oklahoma […]

December 24, 2008; 10:41 AM • by FTRea

CAA Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week:

Bradford Burgess, VCU Freshman, F, 6-5, 207

Burgess repeats as CAA Rookie of the Week after averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in VCU’s two games last week. The freshman forward poured in a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven boards in an 81-70 loss to 4th-ranked Oklahoma and contributed eight points in a 73-69 win over Akron. Burgess shot 56.3% (9-16) from the floor for the week and is averaging 8.3 ppg for the season.

On A Roll: Several CAA teams are playing well heading into the holidays. Old Dominion is riding a five-game winning streak, while Delaware has won three straight. George Mason is 7-2 with five victories in its past six contests. Hofstra has captured eight of its last nine and has matched its second-best start (8-2) at the Division I level. VCU has won five of seven with its only losses to Vanderbilt and #4 Oklahoma. James Madison is 4-2 in its past six games with all of the victories coming away from home.

Four CAA Teams In Top 100 Of Latest RPI: Four CAA teams are ranked in the top 100 the most recent RPI report released by Collegiate Basketball News through games of Dec. 21. Hofstra tops the list of CAA squads at #47, followed by VCU at #71, George Mason at #72 and Northeastern at #94. The CAA is ranked #15 among the nation’s 31 Division I conferences.

Winning Record In Non-Conference Play: The CAA has a 55-51 non-conference record (.519) for the season with nearly half (27) of those victories coming on either neutral or road courts. Sixteen losses have come against teams from the Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC or ACC.

Young Guns: Young players continue to make an impact offensively in the CAA this season as there are only four seniors among the league’s top 20 in scoring. Four of the CAA’s top six scorers are sophomores – Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins (19.7 ppg), UNCW’s Chad Tomko (19.3 ppg) and Delaware’s Jawan Carter (18.4 ppg) and Alphonso Dawson (17.5 ppg). Among the top 20 in points, there are eight juniors, six sophomores, four seniors and two freshmen.

Milestone Moments: VCU senior guard Eric Maynor has moved up to ninth on the CAA’s all-time assist chart with 524 and needs three more to tie former Ram LaMar Taylor for eighth. Northeastern junior Matt Janning went over the 1,000-point mark (1,015) for his career in the Huskies’ win at Harvard on Dec. 10. George Mason’s John Vaughan topped the 1,000-point plateau (1,004) in a win over Radford on Dec. 19.

Three CAA Players Among Top 50 In Scoring: VCU’s Eric Maynor (23.5 ppg/9th), Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins (19.7 ppg/38th) and W&M’s Danny Sumner (19.5 ppg/45th) are ranked among the top 50 in Division I in scoring according to the latest NCAA statistics through games of Dec. 21. In other individual categories, Delaware’s Marc Egerson is 18th nationally in rebounding (10.2 rpg) and VCU’s Larry Sanders ranks 9th in blocks (3.1 bpg). A complete listing of CAA teams and players in the national stats is included on page 7 of this release.

VCU (7-4 overall, 1-0 in CAA): The Rams downed Akron 73-69 last Wednesday, but had their four-game winning streak snapped in an 81-70 setback at #4 Oklahoma on Saturday. Senior guard Eric Maynor poured in a team-high 30 points against Akron, which was his third 30-point effort of the season, but was held to 15 points at OU. He ranks 12th on VCU’s all-time scoring list (1,452 pts) and ninth on the CAA’s career assists (524) chart. Guard Joey Rodriguez made six steals last week and leads the CAA in thefts (2.7 spg). Junior forward Kirill Pishchalnikov scored nine points and grabbed a team-high 12 boards against Akron, which was his third double-figure rebound game this season. Sophomore Larry Sanders netted a career-high 16 points and blocked three shots at OU while freshman Bradford Burgess scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

– The information above was provided by Rob Washburn, Associate Commissioner/Communications of the CAA

December 24, 2008 10:41 AM 0