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Player of the Week

Aaron Holiday, Guard (UCLA)

Holiday scored 20 points for the second game in a row against Ohio State to provide a tremendous spark off the bench for the Bruins. Holiday is a talented offensive player and would probably start for most teams in college basketball. That’s part of what makes UCLA such a potent offensive team. He’s often been referred to as the “sixth starter” for UCLA simply because he consistently yields starter-quality output. He’s not only an excellent scorer, but he’s also an underrated playmaker, as he is currently averaging four assists per game. Holiday has also been a nightmare defensively for opposing guards, recording nine steals in his last two games. If he can continue to produce off the bench like this, there will not be a lot of teams that can beat the Bruins.

Who’s Hot?

Jordan McLaughlin, Guard (USC)

With their win against Troy on Saturday night, Andy Enfield’s USC Trojans are now remarkably off to a 10-0 start. McLaughlin’s production has played a big role in throttling them to this hot start. The junior guard is really beginning to get in a groove as he is averaging 21 points per game over his last three. What’s more impressive, however, is the level of efficiency at which he is scoring. In USC’s game agsinst Pepperdine, he shot a perfect 7-7 from the floor and shot 6-12 from the field against Troy. McLaughlin is also a very unselfish player as he consistently has gotten his other USC teammates involved; yet he rarely commits turnovers. It may be too soon to tell if the Trojans are the real deal, but having a player like McLaughlin will make them a tough out.

 Reid Travis, Forward (Stanford)

Reid Travis has been an absolute monster down low for the Cardinal this season and is having quite a breakout year. Against Kansas he scored 29 points and corralled nine rebounds. Then against CS East Bay on Friday he scored 24 points and hauled in 13 more rebounds. The former McDonalds All-American is averaging 18.3 points per game and 9.8 rebounds, showing he is a double-double threat on any given night.  

Who’s Not?

Rawle Alkins, Guard (Arizona)

 It’s been a difficult start to this season for Arizona. With several unexpected roster changes, freshman Rawle Alkins was immediately forced to take on a greater role than originally expected. Alkins is a very talented young player, but he has struggled as of late. He’s averaging a solid 12 points per game, but he only shot 30.7 percent from the field in his last two games. With his talent, there’s no reason to believe he won’t improve as the season progresses, but he will need to be more efficient if Arizona is going to compensate for their current depth issues.

Top 5 Coaches

1.Sean Miller (Arizona)

Despite a somewhat rocky start for Arizona, Miller is still at the top of this list due to his accomplished resume and how he’s managed the roster turbulence this season. Miller has been to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8 in six of his last seven NCCA Tournament appearances, and a team seeded lower than three has knocked him out only once. He also deserves a lot of credit for how he has managed his team this year, in the wake of the entire abrupt roster turnover. He is only 46 years old, and he is still seeking his first final four, but he is on a great trajectory.

2. Dana Altman (Oregon)

Altman is the first coach to lead Oregon to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, and he came so close to his first Final Four last season. Altman also led the Ducks to a Pac-12 tournament title last season, creating some high expectations for this year’s team. However, Oregon has been a bit disappointing in the early going. Not having Dillon Brooks right away has hurt, but even so, the Ducks have not looked like the elite team they were expected to be. Altman will need to get this team back on track in order for this year to be considered a success.

3. Steve Alford (UCLA)

UCLA was expected to be pretty good this season, but few thought they would be undefeated at this point. From a team that didn’t even make the NCAA tournament last season, the Bruins look almost unstoppable now. Alford has a lot of talent on this team, but he is getting them to play so well together. The Bruins are very unselfish and are the second highest scoring team in the NCAA right now. Alford and UCLA are legitimate national title contenders this year, and there aren’t many teams in college basketball that can match up with them.

4. Larry Krystkowiak (Utah)

Last season Krystkowiak took the Utes to their second NCAA tournament in a row last season. He has resurrected this program and has made them a competitor in an improving Pac-12 conference each year. With a lot of roster turnover this year, Utah may be right on the bubble to make another tournament appearance. However, the Utes may be a bit underrated in a strong Pac-12 conference this season, so we’ll see how they fare as the season unfolds.

5. Andy Enfield (USC)

Enfield really made a name for himself when he led mid-major Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16, becoming the first 15 seed to ever do so. Enfield then left for USC, where he has built the program back up from the bottom. The Trojans are still undefeated this year and are currently the 24th ranked team in college basketball. They still have not played against great competition, but they are in a pretty good place right now. Enfield really has a chance to make a statement if he can move USC near the top this year.