DALLAS – UAB’s Jordan “Jelly” Walker and Rice’s Mekhi Mason earned Conference USA Men’s Basketball weekly honors. The 2022-23 C-USA Players of the Week awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear and are voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
 
Walker was named the MVP of the Sunshine Slam after averaging 23 points, five assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in a pair of wins over South Florida and Georgia, the Blazers’ first win over an SEC opponent since 2010. He shot 42 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 88 percent from the free-throw line in the event.
 
Mason enjoyed the best game of his early career with a game-high 25 points to help the Owls erase a 17-point deficit in a 76-67 triumph over cross-town foe Houston Christian. His 25 points are the most by a Rice freshman since former C-USA Freshman of the Year Marcus Evans posted 27 points in a loss to Charlotte at the C-USA Basketball Championship.
 
Player of the Week – Jordan Walker, UAB – Senior – Long Island, N.Y.
The nation’s leading scorer (24.8) scored or assisted on 19 of the team’s first 41 points in the opening half against South Florida, heading into the break with 10 points and four assists on his line. He wound up shooting 4-10 from three on his way to a team-high 15 points. In the Sunshine Slam title game against Georgia, he led a second-half surge with 19 of his game-high 31 points in the second period. It marked his second 30-point outing of the year and the fifth of his career. Walker shot 11-22 from the field and 5-14 from three while grabbing six boards, dishing out five more assists and tallying five steals.
 
Freshman of the Week – Mekhi Mason, Rice – Freshman – Gilbert, Ariz.  
Mason nearly doubled his season scoring total (70) in just his sixth collegiate start after shooting 10-14 from the field and 4-7 from three in the comeback win over the Huskies. With the Owls down seven with nine minutes to play, Mason scored or assisted on Rice’s next 15 points, including seven of his own, to put his team ahead for good. He registered 15 of his 25 points and made each of his first seven attempts from the field in the second half.
 
2022-23 C-USA Players of the Week
N14     Luke Frampton, WKU
N21     Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic
N28     Jordan Walker, UAB
 
2022-23 C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N14     Jordan Crawford, LA Tech
N21     Dashon Gittens, FIU
N28     Mekhi Mason, Rice