Rebound's Chris Hughes, the All-Star organiser, content producer, YouTube host and producer, commentator and social media observer, had six games to enjoy this past weekend, plus Derby vs Reading last Thursday night, when making the finishing touches to his Player and Team of the Week picks.
Have your say on this week's choices and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one using the hashtag #NBL2324 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.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Corey Johnson put in a super-efficient performance last Thursday with six threes from seven attempts to give Derby a valuable win against a solid Reading side.
Johnson didn't hit those same heights in Saturday’s game against Worthing, but the talented forward still influenced the proceedings, with one of the leading plus-minus (+17). Coupled with a strong rebounding performance, Johnson ensured it was a double-winning week for the Trailblazers.
Ronald Blain is continually putting in performances to elevate himself to signing of the season. With another impressive stat-line this weekend, his high-level output is quickly becoming a season average.
Blain was an unstoppable force and influenced the game throughout, as Bradford beat London Elite 85-74, closing with 29 points that included 3/5 from long range.
Sam Masten narrowly misses out on Player Of The Week honours following an impressive average of seven and a half assists over Derby's two games.
The floor general was in thick of it at both ends in a pivotal 8-2 scoring run in the first quarter at Worthing this weekend. Derby finished the opening frame leading by 11, with the score at 21-32, and never looked back as they earned their D1M-best fifteenth win of the season.
🗞 Reading Rockets continued their push for a top four spot after seeing off Nottingham Hoods, as wins for six of the top seven means it's largely as you were at the business end of D1M 👇https://t.co/dp3Ivb1AmN pic.twitter.com/08wylh98Bi
— NBL (@NBLengland) February 19, 2024
Victor Olarerin came back to haunt his former side with some impressive three-point shooting as a key catalyst in Essex's five-point win over Thames Valley Cavaliers.
Olarerin was the main outlet for the Rebels’ beyond-the-arc shooting (5/8), as Essex - minus Olarerin - shot a measly 3/23 in comparison.
Hafeez Abdul put on a shooting clinic, as he tried to steal the win from a high-scoring Derby side.
Hafeez raced to 38 points within three quarters but was unable to get anything to go to help Thunder in the fourth. Nevertheless it was an impressive performance as the forward was only one of two players to record double digits in points against the league leaders.
Tickets are now on sale for all of our Basketball England finals 🎟
— Basketball England 🥇🥈 (@bballengland) February 4, 2024
Get a 10% discount for the NBL Finals in April, Junior Final Fours in May and our March Academy Finals for FREE in Manchester.https://t.co/2iNbZXEX5R pic.twitter.com/BD4J60DVgo
Loughborough almost came unstuck in the fourth quarter against City of Birmingham Rockets, doing the hard work in the previous 30 minutes that included a 14 point lead at best alongside a 10-point scoring run.
It took a team effort to get the dub over the line though, with Elijah Bailey proving pivotal down the stretch to make both winning freebies with six seconds remaining and a big three-pointer before that.
The bench also contributed with the likes of Harrison Gamble and Joe Bielak shooting efficiently, nudging the team towards a final 48% field goal percentage.
Elijah Bailey (LOU) - 25P/3R/3A/17EFF
Rob Marsden (DTB) - 7P/12R/10A/24EFF vs REA & 12P/9R/21EFF @WOR
Lewis Champion (REA) - 19P/2R/3A/16EFF @ DTB & 15P/2A/4EFF vs NOT
Logan Rooney (NEW) - 26P/8R/5A/25EFF
Sauvier Kande (NEW) - 25P/2A/25EFF
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Main image credit - Tara St Clair
