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Dec. 14 Men's Basketball Weekly Awards
Williams and Whiteside Take Honors

	Elliot Williams

Dec. 14, 2009

Sophomore guard Elliot Williams of Memphis and Marshall freshman forward Hassan Whiteside were named the C-USA Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. The awards were selected for games through Dec. 13 by a media panel representing each conference member. Williams led the Tigers in scoring in a pair of wins this week, averaging 21.5 points with his sixth and seventh-consecutive 20-point games. Whiteside registered his third double-double of the season and tallied 10 more blocks to his conference-best total as he earned his second Rookie of the Week honor this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, MEMPHIS
Sophomore, Guard, Memphis, Tenn.
Williams averaged 21.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Tigers' two wins last week. He scored 20 or more points in both games, extending his streak to seven-straight games in which he hit the 20-point plateau. It is the longest streak since Anfernee Hardaway had 12-consecutive games where he scored 20 or more points during the 1992-93 season. Williams shot 54.5 percent from the field and 77.3 percent from the free throw line. In Saturday's 83-71 win over UALR, Williams scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half including 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:21. Earlier in the Week, Williams scored 22 points and tallied a career-high five steals in a 76-51 win over Montana State. This is Williams' first C-USA Player of the Week honor, but he is a two-time Rookie of the Week winner this season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
HASSAN WHITESIDE
Freshman, Forward, Gastonia, N.C.
The freshman came off the bench to average 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and five blocks as Marshall won a pair of games to improve to 7-1 on the season. Whiteside registered his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 99-70 victory over Troy. He also added 12 points and five blocks in a 69-55 road win at Binghamton on Monday. The seven-footer also hit his first three-pointer of the season against BU. The freshman is averaging a conference-best 4.5 blocks per game on the season. This is Whiteside's second C-USA Rookie of the Week honor.