The latest weekend of D1M action may have only contained five contests, but there was still high-level action everywhere you looked with one of the strongest Team of the Week fields so far this season.
Have your say on this week's choices and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one using the hashtag #NBL2425. Don't forget to tag us!
X: @NBLengland
Facebook: @NBLengland
Instagram: @nblengland
We'll pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out the 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 Ndoukou did just enough to push himself above what was a hugely competitive field of picks to claim Player of the Week honours.
The Riders standout was an efficiency machine in the road win over City of Birmingham and his 36 points played a big part in the 86-81 W.
The outing ticked all the boxes you'd need. Heavy scoring, efficient shooting (10/16, 62%), deadly from long-range (5/8 3pt, 62%) and plenty of additional value from seven rebounds and three assists. He also went turnover free despite playing the full 40 minutes - a remarkable achievement.
Loughborough entered the final quarter leading by eight and as expected, the Rockets went hard looking for a comeback in front of their own fans. Ndoukou stood tall to net 12 of the Riders' 18 points in that final frame, plus adding an assist, to keep his side out in front.
Seven of those 12 points came at the foul line, and the value of a forward who is consistent from the charity stripe, especially down the stretch, can't be overstated. The young star went an impressive 11/13 in that category for the cherry on top of a stellar performance.
In a different week, any of the following four picks could easily have been a POTW selection, such was the quality on offer this past weekend.
Dilys was on fire last time out, netting 30 points in Bristol's 105-88 away win in Worthing.
Twelve points plus an assist in the opening 8:19 of play helped the Hurricanes to a 30-22 opening frame, quietening the Thunder crowd and putting the former D2 side on the path to victory.
Enjoying game-highs in points and rebounds, the experienced forward was a man on a mission this weekend, hitting 62% of his shots for good measure.
Another standout performer in what was the standout match-up of the weekend against Derby, Hemel's Ellis more than did his bit to keep Storm's undefeated streak alive.
Knocking down 28 points on 11/16 shooting (68%), the Canadian also hit his only triple and went 5/6 at the line as the defending playoff champs consistently manufactured great looks to shoot 47% as a team.
Stuffing the stat sheet, the Hemel man also added six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a pair of blocks into 34:25 of court time.
Derby's quality over the last few season's can't be overstated, so to go to Clarence Wiggins Sports Centre and win is something few teams of done of late. But Ellis and co. were happy to buck that trend on Saturday to head back South with a 91-74 victory.
It was some debut for the former Worthing man as Hafeez Abdul gave Newcastle fans a taste of things to come with the top scoring D1M performance of the weekend.
Nailing five triples on his was to a stunning 37 points, hosts Thames Valley didn't know what to do with the GB 3x3 standout. Even when they fouled him (which they did a bruising 12 times), he still hit 12/18 from the line to make them pay anyway.
Seven rebounds were a bonus, but this one was all about Abdul's scoring prowess, and that's sure to put other D1M sides on alert.
Whilst Abdul may have been stealing the limelight with his scoring performance, Blain did plenty of everything else to earn his own spot and a Newcastle double up in the Team of the Week.
Blain moved to the top of D1M's scoring charts (24.0PPG) with a solid 28 point outing in the 94-89 win in Thames Valley, adding 11 boards and seven assists to move close to triple-double territory.
The Atlanta native also chipped in a hugely valuable five steals, more than any other player and as many as the Cavs managed as a team, to get key stops in a tight ball game.
Before the weekend began, Newcastle were languishing outside the playoff spots with a 2-5 record. A slow start to the season, by all accounts, and not the direction of travel the North East side would have been hoping for.
Ronald Blain has been a big addition after his signing back in early September, but pairing his talents with newly signed Hafeez Abdul is sure to take the Knights to the next level sooner rather than later.
Abdul was D1M's top scorer a year ago at 22.9PPG, and since his 2021/22 season with Worthing, the GB man has been a consistent 43% or better shooter.
Coach Elderkin now has two quality offensive weapons at his disposal, and if Logan Rooney can find a way to fit into that puzzle and rediscover the kind of form that saw him pick up multiple Player of the Week nods in 2022/23, Newcastle will be back into the playoff picture in no time.
D1M fans will be well aware of Hemel's ability to flex their collective muscle after a historic unbeaten, quadruple winning season in 2022/23.
While 2024/25 can't quite reach those heights with the KitKing Trophy off the table for the Hertfordshire outfit, they have looked ominously good in D1M this season as their 8-0 record attests.
Winning in Derby was perhaps the biggest result of that stretch so far, with the 91-74 success coming courtesy of strong outings from Ellis, Tra'Michael Moton (20pts, 5reb) and Sam Newman (14ast).
Some may point to Derby's injury issues that have derailed their recent momentum, but you can only beat the team in front of you, and so far, Hemel have shown no problems doing exactly that.
Jonathan Lashley (WOR) - 20P/8R/21EFF
Daniel Edozie (BRI) - 19P/8R/5A/2B/28EFF
Zach Powell (CoB) - 15P/8R/3A/22EFF
Leighton Elliott-Sewell (DTB) - 20P/8R/3A/2S/24EFF
Rihards Sulcs (BRA) - 16P/11R/4A/3S/24EFF
.
Main image credit - Nathan Green
