Daemen College men's basketball player Jeff Redband has once again been named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week, picking up the honor for games played Jan. 23-29. It's the fourth time this season and the third straight week that Redband has earned the honor. The official announcement was made via the league's weekly men's basketball report, which was released this afternoon from conference headquarters in Central Islip.
Redband, a 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman forward, helped Daemen to a pair of victories last week by averaging 16.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 66.7 percent overall (12-for-18) and from three-point range (8-for-12). The Wildcats downed Long Island University Post (88-66) at home on Jan. 25, and followed up with an 82-72 come-from-behind victory at Mercy College on Jan. 28. Daemen has now won nine of its last 11 games overall, and eight of their last nine league contests dating back to mid-December to sit at 14-6 overall and 8-4 in league play this season.
Redband opened the week by scoring a career-high 22 points and snagging a career-best three steals in the blowout win over LIU Post. During a game-opening 39-9 run, Daemen knocked down nine of their first 12 three-point field goal attempts, four of which came from Redband. At one point in the spurt, he scored 14 consecutive points, helping Daemen get out to a 30-point lead just 12 minutes into the game. Redband ended the contest shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 5-for-8 from downtown. The victory moved Daemen to 11-1 this season, 67-9 since the start of the 2011-12 season and 31-5 all-time in ECC games played at Lumsden Gymnasium.
Later in the week, Redband shot 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range, totaling 11 points, two rebounds and two assists in the win at Mercy. Redband's efforts helped the Wildcats erase a 17-point deficit in the game as they held the home-standing Mavericks to just 3-for-19 shooting with seven turnovers in the final 12+ minutes of the contest. His three-pointer with 2:40 remaining pushed the Wildcats' lead back to nine points (76-67) after the Mavericks pulled within six on the previous possession.
For the season, Redband has started all 20 contests thus far, and is producing 11.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game with 15 blocked shots. His 59 three-point baskets leads the team and ranks second among the ECC leaders. Redband is shooting 49.1 percent from the field (85-for-173) and 48.8 percent from behind the arc (59-for-121), and he leads all ECC freshmen in scoring.
With four ECC Rookie of the Week selections, Redband has more than any other player in the league this season. He previously earned the accolade for games played Nov. 21-27, Jan. 9-15 and Jan. 16-22. In the last three weeks, Redband is averaging 13.2 points per game and shooting a blistering 59.5 percent from three-point range (22-for-37).
Redband and the Wildcats return home for an ECC showdown with the University of Bridgeport this Thursday, Feb. 2. The game features the second-place Purple Knights (11-8, 7-3 ECC) against the third-place Wildcats as both teams jockey for position in the hunt for an ECC Tournament berth. Tip-off Thursday is slated for 8 p.m.
