Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/27/2022

As the blue blood programs rose to the top of the NCAA March Madness heap, Villanova proved once again they were built for tournament play.  For the third time in seven years (only six Final Fours) the Wildcats are among the elite.  The last two, and three of the last four, they won the National Championship.  Against a surging Michigan, and perhaps the most dominant tournament team to date Houston, Villanova moved along relatively easily.  Led by a rare senior Jermaine Samuels Jr., they punched their ticket, Samuels Jr. led the team in scoring over the South Regional Semifinals and Finals with 38 points.  But it was efficiency that was his calling card, with a 61% field goal percentage as well as 8-8 from the free throw line.  All in 68 minutes and only 3 personal fouls enabling his team flexibility in keeping him on the court.  Will Samuels Jr. complete his career after his freshman year National Championship in 2018 with another?  Our Sportsman of the Week will give his all!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/4/2016*

There's a seldom exercised rule in determining the Sportsman of the Week that if you made a clutch play that will go down in the annals of history of your sport, you probably get the nod.  Villanova's Kris Jenkins gets the nod.  In what some are calling the best NCAA Finals game in history (okay, media, slow your roll), Kris Jenkins made the world stop and realize they just saw greatness.  After North Carolina's Marcus Paige made what can only be called a circus shot (double clutch from the hip) three pointer with 4.7 seconds to tie the game at 74, Villanova calmly moved the ball down the floor and Jenkins was ready to etch his name in history.  The Junior knocked down the 3-pointer with a release at 0.5 seconds, the bottom of the net with the red light on.  Villanova 77, North Carolina 74.  It should be noted, he was a great player all weekend, with 32 points (12-21 from the floor) and 10 boards in the Final Four in Houston.  Foul trouble limited him to just 21 minutes in the final game.  But it was the Jenkins dagger that will forever be remembered.  And he is immortalized as the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week*!

* Sportsman of the week usually ends on Sunday, this week, we include Monday