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’re midway through January, so we’ve reached the point in the year when achieving a season high is officially impressive.
Early in the year, players set new season highs frequently. But now, it stands out if players are able to score more than they have all season in a heated conference game.
Both of our HBCU Players of the Week set season highs in points while still being efficient. Recognizing those who take their games to new heights is what a player of the week award is about, and both of these players certainly did that.
Men’s Player of the Week: Kameron Hobbs, Morgan State
There were a lot of good individual efforts on the men’s side this week, but Hobbs was the best player in one of the most entertaining games of the season.
Hobbs scored a career-high 40 points in 47 minutes to help Morgan State secure its first conference win, 102-98 over North Carolina Central on Tuesday. He did so on just 24 shots and added seven rebounds.
The game wouldn’t have gone to overtime without a great effort by Hobbs to secure an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 4 seconds left in regulation. He got fouled with 2 seconds remaining and calmly sunk two free throws to send the game to the first overtime.
In double overtime, Hobbs put the game away by nailing a 3-pointer to give Morgan State a four-point lead with 3 seconds left.
What makes the performance by Hobbs even more remarkable is that he only had one turnover. There have been only six games in all of Division 1 this year in which a player scored 40 or more points and had one or fewer turnovers. Hobbs is now on that list.
Hobbs nailed four 3-pointers and scored 24 points for an encore on Saturday in Morgan State’s 100-95 loss to Howard. At least one team has reached 80 points in 17 of Morgan State’s 19 games this year. With all the high scoring, the Bears will need Hobbs to continue to shoulder a huge offensive load.
Women’s Player of the Week: Angel Jones, Coppin State
Jones has put the MEAC on notice with her improved play to start conference play.
She came into the week fresh off 19 points in a 69-66 win over North Carolina Central and kept the momentum going. She had 16 points on just nine shots and added seven rebounds and three assists in an 84-38 win over South Carolina State on Monday. Jones was also a contributor to a stifling defense that didn’t allow more than 11 points in any quarter against South Carolina State, which ended up going 0 for 8 on 3-point attempts.
The Eagles faced a more difficult challenge on Saturday against an elite Norfolk State team and were handed an 82-66 defeat. But Jones looked like the best player on the floor, scoring a career-high 29 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
Norfolk State likely would’ve pulled away sooner if it wasn’t for an explosion from Jones in the third quarter. After the Spartanettes extended their lead to 47-35, Jones had the next nine points for the Eagles, including buckets on three straight offensive possessions. Rest assured, the rest of the MEAC took notice what Jones was able to do against the conference leaders.
Check out our NBA, NFL, college basketball, FBS and FCS coverage. And follow along on Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and X for more.
