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2011-12 Men's Basketball Players of the Week

Feb 13-19
Stefan Whittingham (Webster)
Webster University's Stefan Whittingham, a sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 13-19. This marks the third time this season that he has earned the honor.

Whittingham, a 6-3 forward, led the Gorloks to two key victories in conference play that helped Webster clinch the top seed in the 2012 SLIAC Tournament and at least a share of the regular season title. He averaged 25.0 points and 11.0 rebounds, while shooting .625 (20-of-32) from the field last week. Whittingham recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds in an 85-72 victory over Greenville College. He also tallied two blocks, two steals and finished 8-of-12 (.667) from the field.

Whittingham finished the week with an outstanding performance, including 31 points and seven rebounds in a thrilling 88-81 double overtime on the road at MacMurray College. He shot 12-of-20 (.600) from the floor, 2-of-2 (1.000) from behind the arc and 5-of-6 (.833) from the charity stripe, and also added two blocks, one assist and one steal.

Feb 6-12
Mark Lessen (Eureka)
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a junior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 6-12. This marks the second time this season that he has earned the honor.

Lessen, a 6-7 center, averaged a double-double with 24.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in two games played last week. He also averaged 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals, while shooting 18-of-21 (.857) from the field and 12-of-13 (.923) from the free throw line.

Lessen scored 33 points on 12-of-13 (.923) shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 (.900) from the charity stripe in a 99-70 non-conference win over Lincoln Christian University. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and tallied two steals in the win. In conference action, Lessen recorded 15 points, six rebounds and a personal career-best five blocked shots in an 86-71 victory versus Fontbonne University. He shot 6-of-8 (.750) from the field, a perfect 3-of-3 (1.000) from the line and had two steals and one assist.

Jan 30-Feb 5
Verdis Lee Jr. (Westminster (Mo.))
Westminster College's Verdis Lee Jr., a freshman from Fulton, Mo., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 30-February 5.

Lee, a 6-2 guard, averaged 26.5 points and shot 58.8 percent (20-of-34) from the field in two games played last week. He shot an outstanding 9-of-18 (.500) from the floor, including 5-of-11 (.455) from behind the arc, to finish with 27 points in a 65-58 victory over Webster University. Lee also went 4-of-5 (.800) from the charity stripe and had three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in the win. Lee added 26 points and four rebounds as the Blue Jays dropped a 66-61 decision in SLIAC play to Greenville College.

Jan 23-29
Jordan Kindred (Eureka)
Eureka College's Jordan Kindred, a junior from Chrisman, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 23-29.

Kindred, a 6-0 guard, averaged 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two games played last week. He knocked down six three-pointer en route to scoring a career-high 40 points on the road at Greenville College, marking Eureka's best individual scoring effort since November 2009. Kindred finished 12-of-18 (.667) from the field, 6-of-9 (.667) from behind the arc and 10-of-13 (.769) from the charity stripe. He also added five rebounds and five assists as the Red Devils recorded a 101-97 victory. Kindred also had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in a 64-60 loss to MacMurray College.

Jan 16-22
Mark Lessen (Eureka)
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a junior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 16-22.

Lessen, a 6-7 junior, averaged 26.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.7 steals through three games played last week. He recorded two double-doubles and shot 73.3 percent (33-of-45) from the field, while helping Eureka extend its current SLIAC winning streak to four games.

Lessen started the week with a 24-point, 11-rebound performance in a 63-61 victory versus Spalding University. He then set new career-highs in the Red Devils' double digit victory (84-62) at Blackburn College with 34 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. He also shot 14-of-19 (.737) from the floor and tallied four blocks in the win. Lessen finished the week with 22 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks in an 88-55 win over Principia College.

Jan 9-15
Stefan Whittingham (Webster)
Webster University's Stefan Whittingham, a sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 9-15. It marks the second time this season that he has earned the honor.

Whittingham, a 6-3 forward, averaged 20.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 59.5 percent (25-of-42) from the field, 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from three-point range and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from the free throw line in three SLIAC games last week. He started the week with a double-double in a 99-83 win on the road at Eureka College. Whittingham scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while shooting 11-of-22 (.500) from the field and 4-of-6 (.667) from behind the arc. He also dished out five assists and added one steal in the win.

Whittingham recorded 18 points on 7-of-10 (.700) shooting and tallied five rebounds in a 74-65 victory versus MacMurray College. He finished the week with another double-double in a 96-86 win over Principia College. He had 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

Jan 2-8
Jametrius Brasher (Spalding)
Spalding University's Jametrius Brasher, a junior from Louisville, Ky. (Male), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 2-8. It marks the second time this season that he has earned the honor.

Brasher, a 6-6 forward, averaged a double-double with 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds in three games played last week, while also shooting 21-of-31 (.677) from the field and 14-of-16 (.875) from the free throw line. He started the week with a double-double, 16 points and 15 rebounds, in a 70-64 win against Eureka College. Brasher added 18 points on 7-of-9 (.778) shooting from the field and 4-of-4 (1.000) from the charity stripe, while also pulling down six boards in an 84-59 victory over Principia College. He finished the week with 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Golden Eagles dropped a 67-62 decision to Webster University.

Dec 19-Jan 1
Joe James (Westminster (Mo.))
Westminster College's Joe James, a sophomore from St. Louis, Mo. (Vianney), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 19-January 1.

James, a 6-2 guard, scored 30 points on 10-of-14 (.714) shooting from the field and 9-of-9 (1.000) from the free throw line in an 89-80 loss to Cornell College. He also added four rebounds, four steals and two assists for the game. James also shot 7-of-7 (1.000) from the charity stripe and finished with 11 points in a 71-69 victory versus Nebraska Wesleyan University over the holiday break.

Dec 12-18
Dustin Fritsch (Eureka)
Eureka College's Dustin Fritsch, a junior from Sterling, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 12-18. This marks the second time this season that he has earned the honor.

Fritsch, a 6-6 forward, recorded two double-doubles with an average of 23.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in two games played last week, while also shooting 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the field. He scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out four assists in a 96-90 Red Devils victory over Robert Morris University-Springfield. Fritsch shot 10-of-18 (.556) from the field for the game and had two steals and one block.

Fritsch recorded 23 points on 9-of-13 (.692) shooting in a 92-70 loss to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He also shot 2-of-5 (.400) from behind the arc, 3-of-3 (1.000) from the charity stripe and tallied 12 rebounds and one assist.

Dec 5-11
Roman Robinson (Webster)
Webster University's Roman Robinson, a junior from Fairfield, Calif., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 5-11.

Robinson, a 6-3 forward, averaged 16.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in three games. His top performance of the week was the final contest, a 68-64 loss to Austin College, in which he scored 21 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), grabbed six rebounds, had three steals and two assists. With the Gorloks down 13 and under three minutes remaining, Robinson led a 17-5 run to cut the lead to one with 12 seconds remaining. In that two-and-a-half minute span, he scored eight points, had three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Robinson began the week with 17 points (on 6-of-13 shooting), three steals and two blocks in a 74-50 loss at Washington University (Mo.). He also posted an 11-point, two-rebound, one-steal performance against Rust College (81-74 loss).

Nov 28-Dec 4
Stefan Whittingham (Webster)
Webster University's Stefan Whittingham, a sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 28-December 4.

Whittingham, a 6-3 forward, averaged 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games played last week. He led the Gorloks to a 21-point victory (73-52) over pre-season Conference favorite Westminster College (Mo.) with 17 points on 8-of-12 (.667) shooting from the field. Whittingham tallied a double-double with 12 rebounds in the win, while also recording three assists and one steal. He added 17 points, including 3-of-6 (.500) from three-point range and 4-of-4 (1.000) from the free throw line in a 97-64 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University. Whittingham also had six rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

Nov 21-27
Jametrius Brasher (Spalding)
Spalding University's Jametrius Brasher, a junior from Louisville, Ky. (Male), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 21-27.

Brasher, a 6-6 forward, averaged 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games played last week, while also shooting 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field. He recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds in an 82-72 overtime loss to Victory University. Brasher shot 5-of-12 (.410) from the field, 7-of-10 (.700) from the free throw line and tallied two assists and one block. He scored 20 points on 7-of-12 (.580) shooting from the field and 6-of-9 (.667) from the charity stripe to lead the Golden Eagles to a 65-54 victory over Alma College. Brasher also added two steals and one block in the win.

Nov 15-20
Dustin Fritsch (Eureka)
Eureka College's Dustin Fritsch, a junior from Sterling, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 15-21.

Fritsch, a 6-6 forward, averaged 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in two games played last week. He opened the season with a double-double, recording 21 points and 10 rebounds in an 81-76 victory over North Park University. Fritsch shot 8-of-16 (.500) from the field, 3-of-9 (.333) from behind the arc and 2-of-2 (1.000) from the free throw line, while also adding one assist and one steal.

Fritsch scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 99-94 overtime loss to Rockford College. He tallied one assist, one steal and one block, and also shot a perfect 5-of-5 (1.000) from the charity stripe.