Hughes, the Rebound All-Star organiser, content producer, YouTube host and producer, commentator and social media observer, had a six games to look over, including back-to-back clashes between Nottingham and Loughborough, plus a National Cup game and the latest KitKing Trophy semi-final to pick his Player and Team of the Week nods.
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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.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Loughborough’s scout on Campbell could not stop the unstoppable force twice in one weekend. In fact, Campbell was just getting warmed up on Saturday as he posted an even more efficient game 24 hours later. Either way, two great performances across a weekend are more than enough to earn my top individual honour.
Campbell is putting up big performances this season and is an early candidate for most improved player.
The talented guard averaged an impressive 8.5 assists with just two turnovers this weekend, plus three steals in a pair of impressive two-way playmaking performances against a top-four candidate in Loughborough.
Riley posted an impressive triple-double on the road in Bradford and was the catalyst for Newcastle’s impressive first quarter, assisting or scoring a third of Newcastle’s 30 first-quarter points.
That output helped ensure the hosts were always chasing the game and, in the end, Bradford were on the receiving end of a 105-93 defeat.
In the 12-point win, Riley’s influence was unquestioned with a plus-minus of 16. Even in the final four minutes, he posted a point and rebound per minute to keep Newcastle ticking over at both ends.
Ekwegh put on a nice 30-piece with an efficient 18 points from downtown to get an impressive road trip dub against City of Birmingham.
He and the Rebels started hot, with the guard racking up six points and three assists from around seven minutes of play in the first quarter, giving fuel to the visitors' 29-8 first-quarter lead.
Ekwegh would go on to finish the half with 20 points as the Rebels went into the break up 53-17, an advantage they'd then turn into a commanding win.
35 points 😳#WeAreRebels pic.twitter.com/aJwsfHKnYu
— Essex Rebels Basketball (@EssexRebels) November 25, 2023
Johnson-Thompson provided a ‘Thunder Storm’ of a performance on Sunday, posting a monster 12-point, 18-rebound double-double as Worthing dumped holders Hemel out of the NBL National Cup.
Johnson-Thompson's rebounding at both ends gave the visitors 16 second-chance points and more importantly, on the defensive end restricted Hemel to just five second chance points in return.
Those stops and scores all helped Worthing put their league form to one side and edge past the holders into the next round.
Masten returns to my Team Of The Week following two influential performances from a road trip double-header, which included a semi-final dub as Derby booked their place in the showpiece of the KitKing Trophy.
Home or away, it doesn't bother the American guard this weekend as he notched up seven assists in both games to bring the best from those around him in two commanding Derby wins.
🗞 How things went down on a busy D1M weekend 👇https://t.co/ptFKwviJrt pic.twitter.com/xLls3TLFFN
— NBL (@NBLengland) November 27, 2023
The Rebels did not come to play around as they kept City of Birmingham Rockets to just 17 first-half points while they went over the 50-point mark in return.
Essex allowed the hosts 10 extra shots across the contest but shot efficiently from either side of the arc with a 61 2P% and 46 3P%, with nine of their 11-man roster providing four or more points to the dub.
The Rebels found stops at a premium, and a shout-out should go to their bench as the unit recorded both of the side’s blocks and eight of Essex’s 10 steals.
Hakeem Sylla (HEM) - 20P/13R/3S/1B/31EFF @TVC & 16P/6R/1A/1S/2B/13EFF @WOR
Zion Tordoff (BRA) - 24P/12R/1A/1S/1B/32EFF
Logan Rooney (NEW) - 29P/3R/4A/1S/22EFF
Tom Ward (WOR) - 18P/4R/5A/19EFF
Jase Harrison (DTB) - 23P/3R/1A/3S/27EFF @BA & 11P/4R/4A/1B/16EFF @REA
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