We’ve partnered with Urban Edge Network to highlight the best players in HBCU Division I men’s and women’s basketball each week.
We’ve reached an interesting time on the college basketball calendar.
Now that we’re into February, there are no secrets anymore. Conference foes have seen everything your team has to offer. They know your strengths and weaknesses and will do everything in their power to prevent you from being comfortable.
At this time of year, having players get to a new level, even if only temporarily, is even more crucial than before. If someone on your team breaks through with a monster game, opponents aren’t always able to adjust. They prepared for all of your sets, but you can’t prepare for a player getting a hotter hand than they’ve had all season.
Both of our players of the week contributed to a big win with a huge individual offensive effort.
Here are Opta Analyst’s HBCU Players of the Week.
Men’s Player of the Week: Kintavious Dozier, Grambling
Dozier started out his week with an efficient 12-point game in a 60-53 defeat at the hands of Alcorn State. He shot 4 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 on 3-point attempts and chipped in two steals and three rebounds.
Dozier was the leading scorer for the Tigers in that game, but it was his second game of the week that made him stand out enough to take home the award. He poured in a season-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting to lead Grambling to a 77-67 win over Alabama State.
After he only took eight shots against Alcorn State, Dozier came out firing against Alabama State. The Hornets led 8-6 before an 8-0 run highlighted by two 3s from Dozier gave the Tigers a 14-8 lead. Alabama State wouldn’t lead the rest of the game.
The efficiency really stood out. Dozier only needed 15 field goal attempts and five free throw attempts to get to 30 points. It helped that he went a blistering 7 of 11 from behind the 3-point line.
Dozier’s scoring has been down a bit from last year even though he’s been more consistent this season. Last year, he had eight games where he scored 20 or more points. Prior to Saturday, his high in points this season was 19. Maybe Saturday is the start of a scoring barrage for Dozier. Grambling is a better team when the offense can run through him frequently.
Women’s Player of the Week: Cheyenne McEvans, Florida A&M
McEvans has been a bright spot for Florida A&M all season. She leads the Rattlers in scoring and has added the 3-point shot to her repertoire. She had made just 17 career 3s before this season. This year, she’s hit 30 of her 80 3-point attempts (37.5%).
McEvans was not shooting well on 3-pointers this week, but it hardly mattered. She had her best week of the season, proving she is multi-faceted enough to make it work when her jump shot isn’t falling.
In her first game of the week, McEvans tied her career high with 24 points and set a career high with 16 rebounds in Florida A&M’s 65-48 win over Prairie View A&M.
The Rattlers trailed by two at halftime before a big third quarter gave them a comfortable lead. McEvans outscored the entire Panthers team 9-8 in the quarter and her teammates added another 13 to make it a 21-8 advantage in the third.
Florida A&M’s luck ran out in its second game of the week, as the team lost 77-70 to Texas Southern. Considering Texas Southern is 11-0 in conference and has won seven of those games by double figures, a seven-point loss on the road isn’t a bad result.
McEvans had another big offensive game, scoring 21 points to lead all scorers. She hit nine of her 14 free throws, giving her 24 free throw attempts in her two games this week. Though the 3 wasn’t falling (2 of 9 on 3s this week), McEvans did everything she could to get contact and get to the line. Before this week, McEvans had played 70 games without getting to the free throw line at least 10 times in a game. Then she did it twice in a row.
If McEvans can find her shot and continue to be aggressive to get to the line, she’ll unlock an even more impressive offensive dimension.
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