NORFOLK, VA -- Old Dominion University junior guard Aaron Bacote (Hampton, VA.) earned national player of the week honors from the Collegeinsider.com Lute Olson award and College Sports Madness.
After scoring a total of 18 points in five games, the 6-4 Bacote had 31 in the Monarchs, 73-67 win over No. 14 VCU. Bacote was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and was 11-for-13 from the free throw line. The 31 points were a career-high.
Bacote was one of three players honored by College Sports Madness this week. He shares national honors with Perry Ellis of Kansas and Venky Jois of Eastern Washington.
The Monarchs, 5-1 travel to Fairfax, VA. to play George Mason on Wednesday night in the Patriot Center at 7:30 p.m.
The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team. Freshmen and first-year transfers can be named to the All-America team, but are not eligible to receive the Player of the Year honors. The award is named in honor of coaching great Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.