2022-23 NCAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week

November 14th

Edreece Redmond, Wabash
(Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard)

Wabash junior Edreece Redmond averaged 16.5 points and finished with five assists, three blocked shots, and five steals while committing only one turnover in a pair of Little Giant victories to open the basketball season. Redmond scored a career-high 19 points and matched his career-high with six rebounds in Wabash's 81-78 victory over Mount St. Joseph in the season opener on Tuesday. He also blocked two shots, handed out three assists, and finished with three steals against the Lions. On Friday, Redmond scored 14 points in Wabash's 70-67 victory over 16th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. The junior guard shot 5-of-7 from the field and hit all three of his three-point attempts, while giving out two assists, blocking one shot, and recording two steals. Redmond also hit the go-ahead bucket with just 24 seconds remaining in play.

November 21st

Trent Jakacki, Hiram
(Hiram, OH/Crestwood)

Hiram sophomore Trent Jakacki averaged 22 points in three Terrier victories against Pitt Greensburg (20 pts), Pitt Bradford (20 pts) and Bluffton (26 pts). The sophomore shot over 70.9% (22-of-31) from the field last week, including 64.3% (9-of-14) from three-point range. Jakacki notably went 10-of-11 (90.9%) from the field against Bluffton, the fifth-best single-game field goal percentage in program history.

November 28th

Jack Clement, Ohio Wesleyan
(Bellefontaine, OH/Bellefontaine)

Ohio Wesleyan senior Jack Clement helped lift the Battling Bishops to a 67-65 victory over Capital last week, sinking a pair of game-winning free throws with one second remaining in regulation. In the two-point victory, Clement finished with a career-high 36 points to go along with two steals and one rebound. On the week, the senior compiled 65 points (32.5 ppg), four rebounds (2.0 rpg), three steals (1.5 spg) and one blocked shot (0.5 bpg) across two games.

December 5th

Jamir Billings, Wooster
(Lorain, OH/Lorain)

Wooster sophomore Jamir Billings averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in a 2-0 week for the Fighting Scots. Billings secured his third career double-double with a season-high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds in a win over Hiram. The point guard then recorded 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists in a win at DePauw.

December 12th

Brodgie Gordon, Hiram
(DeLand, FL/DeLand)

Hiram men's basketball senior Brodgie Gordon averaged 22.5 points on the week to help the Terriers earn conference wins over Oberlin and Kenyon. Against the Yeomen, Gordon tallied 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the victory, before recording 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists against the Owls. On the week, Gordon went 15-of-24 (62.5%) from the field and 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the charity stripe.

December 19th

Jack Clement, Ohio Wesleyan
(Bellefontaine, OH/Bellefontaine)

Ohio Wesleyan senior Jack Clement tallied a game-high 31 points, eight of which came in the final five minutes of play as the Battling Bishops edged Wabash, 76-75, on Saturday. Clement also added five rebounds, four assists and one steal in the win.

January 2nd
	Elijah Hales, DePauw (Topeka, IN/Westview) DePauw senior Elijah Hales scored a career-high 39 points in a win at Kalamazoo on Dec. 22, which included a school record of 29 points in a half. The senior also tied the program record with nine made three-pointers in the game and eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark against the Hornets. In total, Hales averaged 27.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal across two victories over winter break.
January 9th
	Vinny Buccilla, Wabash (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) Wabash sophomore guard Vinny Buccilla averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 81 percent (13-of-16) from the field to help the Little Giants to a pair of conference victories last week. Buccilla scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds in a 71-67 win at Kenyon on Wednesday. The sophomore made seven of his ten shots from the field including a 3-of-5 (.600) performance from three-point range. He also gave out three assists and made two steals in the victory. The guard improved his shooting efforts in an 83-68 home victory over Wooster on Saturday as he went a perfect 6-of-6 from the field overall and hit all four of his three-point attempts. Buccilla added five rebounds and handed out a team-best four assists in the home win. His efforts helped Wabash capture its fourth-consecutive victory over Wooster, marking the first time the Scots had lost four-straight games to a conference opponent since a four-game stretch against Wittenberg in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.
January 16th
	Elijah Hales, DePauw (Topeka, IN/Westview) DePauw senior Elijah Hales averaged 24.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 62 percent (16-of-26) from the field to help the Tigers earn a pair of conference wins last week. Hales tied for the team-high with 16 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists in a 76-67 win over Oberlin on Wednesday. The senior improved his shooting efforts in an 86-80 home victory over Wabash on Saturday as he went 10-for-14 (.700) from the field, netting a game-high 33 points while adding two defensive rebounds. Hales broke his own DePauw record for points in a half after scoring 31 in the second half against the Little Giants.
January 23rd
	Vinny Buccilla, Wabash (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) Wabash sophomore guard Vinny Buccilla averaged 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in a pair of conference victories last week. Buccilla led the Little Giants with 22 points, shooting 54 percent (7-of-13) from the floor, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in an 86-82 overtime victory at Oberlin on Saturday. The sophomore forced the overtime period with a three-point basket just past the midcourt line in the final second of regulation. Earlier in the week on Wednesday, Buccilla scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds in a 72-62 win over Wittenberg. The sophomore went 6-of-12 (.500) from the field against the Tigers and gave out two assists.
January 30th
	Yuuki Okubo, Oberlin (Los Angeles, CA/Crossroadshad) Oberlin sophomore Yuuki Okubo, the nation's leader in assist to turnover ratio, averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks in a 1-1 week for the Yeomen. In a historic 71-68 win over Wooster on Saturday, which snapped a 60-game losing streak to the Fighting Scots dating back to 1988, the sophomore netted a team-high 14 points, gathered five rebounds, dished three assists, earned three steals, and blocked two shots. Earlier in the week, Okubo collected his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 assists, to go along with three steals in a tough road loss to Denison.
February 6th
	Darren Rubin, Denison (Dayton, OH/Oakwood) Denison junior Darren Rubin averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds, while going a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line in a 2-0 week for the Big Red. In a win over Hiram on Wednesday, Rubin netted a game-high 17 points, to go along with two rebounds and two assists. The guard then tallied 18 points, three steals and two rebounds in a 76-70 road win over DePauw on Saturday afternoon to solidify the Big Red's hold on fourth place in the NCAC standings.
February 13th
	Trey Killens, Wittenberg (Mason, OH/Mason) Wittenberg sophomore guard Trey Killens averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a 2-0 week for the Tigers. In a win over Ohio Wesleyan, Killens tallied a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with three assists. In a win over Kenyon on Saturday, the sophomore netted 18 points, gathered three rebounds, and dished three assists.
February 20th
	Turner Kurt, Wooster (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) Wooster senior Turner Kurt averaged 11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 assist, while shooting 69 percent (9-of-13) from the floor in the final two regular season games. In a tough eight-point loss to Denison, Kurt recorded seven points, ten rebounds and one assist. He followed that performance by netting a buzzer-beating three-pointer that lifted Wooster to a 75-74 win over Wabash on Saturday. The game-winner clinched the program's 19th NCAC title and earned the Fighting Scots the one seed for the NCAC Tournament. In the one-point victory, Kurt posted 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting (.750), while adding six rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal.