Chris, the All-Star organiser, content producer, YouTube host and producer, commentator and social media observer, watched a hefty 12 games across the opening weekend of the D1M regular season, selecting his Player of the Week and four other standouts to make up his Team of the Week in the process.
Have your say on this week's choices and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one using the hashtag #NBL2223 and #ReboundTOTW. Don't forget to tag us!
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Chris will pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out his Team of the Week, paying attention to the following criteria:
Other players will also receive a shout out as honourable mentions at the bottom of the piece.
In a double-header road trip weekend, Ronald Blain delivered a triple-double against London Lions II and an efficient 18-minute cameo against Loughborough to ensure Worthing started the season in style.
Against a young Lions side, Blain was a key part of a team effort to tame the opposition and build a 48-point half time lead that effectively put the game to bed with 20 minutes still remaining.
It was an epic performance across the weekend by the MVP candidate, proving that he can lead his team to glory as they are now 7-0 in all competitions.
Ronald Blain's opening weekend ⚡#GameTime | #NBL2223 pic.twitter.com/jXCM62zDh7
— NBL (@NBLengland) October 17, 2022
Aaryn Rai deserved every one of his minutes on the court this weekend as the Dartmouth alumni put in two ‘Player Of The Week’ worthy performances, just missing out on my top spot.
On Saturday Rai was one board away from a triple-double against Bradford, creating the time and space needed for the rest of the Storm’s starting five to shine as well.
On Sunday, a sluggish first quarter by Hemel was erased as Rai raised the bar with 10 second-quarter points. That provided Hemel with a nine point lead at the half-way point, an advantage which they further extended the longer the game wore on.
Formerly with NCAA D1 school Stonehill, Owen Chose starts his NBL season with a bang as the Rebels claimed back-to-back wins across their double-header weekend.
In Saturday’s game against newly promoted Westminster, Close demonstrated both his range of shooting and his playmaking ability to lead Essex in both points and assists (tied), opening up space on offence as the Rebels’ shot an impressive 49% from the floor.
In Sunday’s surprise 87-79 win against the Cavaliers, TVC almost made a late comeback. Essex’s scoring had dried up with a meagre 16 points in the final frame, however seven points from Chose was enough to push his team over the line, nabbing him a spot in my TOTW in the process.
Some statement wins on opening weekend as D1M got underway.
— NBL (@NBLengland) October 17, 2022
🗞 https://t.co/CnNmXCtyVj#GameTime | #NBL2223 pic.twitter.com/72FiXJS0hF
David Moya is doing a bit of everything to ensure respect is put on his name as part of a talented Worthing roster. The stand out two-way guard is averaging close to eight assists and five steals per game in all competitions so far, demonstrating his use to the Thunder's cause.
A lights-out display to spook Loughborough saw the American hit with four triples from his six attempts, further demonstrates Moya’s ability at both ends of the court.
Coupled with the guard's impressive physical attributes, it once again created a winning combo for the former Newcastle man.
Seth Hall's Saturday performance saw him take up the lead role in Nottingham's offence. The Hoods beat Loughborough 74-66, with the American's 24 points coming in a distance ahead of the next top scorer (Josh Guddemi on 14)
On Sunday, Hall contributed 13 first-quarter points, including a valuable and-1 possession, to give the Hoods an early lead. The talented guard would haunted the Rockets again on the game's final play as well. It took guts to take the deciding shot in the dying seconds (which is available to view below), but just like Kobe, Hall took his shot.
Seth Hall calls game off glass! pic.twitter.com/lNj4CQ7yyL
— NBL (@NBLengland) October 16, 2022
After spending most of last season struggling at the wrong end of the D1M standings, a tenacious Essex side beat newly promoted Westminster as well as title contenders Thames Valley Cavaliers to begin the new campaign on a much better trajectory. They did it by averaging just shy of a 50% team field goals across both games as well.
In Saturday’s win, six of the 10-man rotation netted nine or more points as almost everyone feasted. The Winter brothers netted 15 points in both games as the pair put in a steady two-way performance around the standout efforts from Chose.
Nottingham weathered third quarter comebacks in both their games this weekend, using first half leads to ensure it was a winning double-header weekend.
An honourable mention needs to go to Joshua Guddemi. His rebounding ensured Nottingham kept a lid on their opponent's second chance opportunities as the big man went to work on the glass for his team.
Juan Manning (TVC) – 31P(10-10 FGM/5-5 3PM/6-7 FTM)/3R/2A/3S/38EFF vs MAN & 18P/1R/3A/1S/1B/16EFF @ESS
Andre Arissol (WOR) – 13P/2R/7A/3S/14EFF vs LL2) & 23P(8-12 FGM/6-9 3PM)/3R/7A/1TO/5S/31EFF @LOU
Seth Swalve (HEM) – 30P(11-14FGM/7-9 3PM)/3R/2A/2S/30EFF vs BRA & 18P/4R/5A/2S/1B/22EFF @LL2
Joshua Guddemi (NOT) – 14P/10R/2A/1B/14EFF vs LOU & 22P(4-7 3PM)/8R/2A/1S/21EFF @REA
Christian Alexander (TNU) - 19P(9-11FGM)/9R/4A/30EFF vs TSK
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Main image credit - Nick Winter
Graphic image credits - Nick Winter, Joanna Charles, Luke Simcock
