DALLAS – UAB’s KJ Buffen and FIU’s Arturo Dean 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.
 
Buffen put together a pair of double-doubles to lead the Blazers (15-7, 6-5 C-USA) to a 2-0 week. The senior picked up his first career weekly honor after averaging 15.5 points and 11.5 rebounds last week, while shooting 46 percent from the field (12-26) and 40 percent from three (2-5).
 
Dean garners his third Freshman of the Week award in the last four weeks after his exceptional play helped the Panthers (11-11, 5-6 C-USA) to a pair of wins at home. He averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 assists, six rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, while shooting 47 percent from the field (8-17).
 
Player of the Week – KJ Buffen, UAB – Forward – Gainesville, Ga.
Buffen began the week by scoring 11 points and grabbing a season-high 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards, in UAB’s win over LA Tech on Thursday. His five offensive rebounds all came in the second half and led to five second-chance points to help the Blazers comeback from an eight-point deficit. In Saturday’s win at Rice, Buffen filled the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. He tallied 13 of his 20 points in the opening half as UAB raced out a 21-point lead in the first 20 period. 
 
Freshman of the Week – Arturo Dean, FIU – Guard – Miami, Fla.
Dean knocked down 6-11 from the floor en route to 15 points in a win over WKU, while also recording team-highs in rebounds and assists with six each. He helped fuel a 44-point second half with eight points, four assists and a pair of boards in the final 20 minutes. Dean followed it up with a career-high seven assists to go with six points, six rebounds and four steals in a victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday. The South Beach native leads all Division I freshman and ranks seventh nationally with 2.5 steals per game on the year.
 
2022-23 C-USA Players of the Week
N14     Luke Frampton, WKU
N21     Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic
N28     Jordan Walker, UAB
D5       Quincy Olivari, Rice
D12     Dayvion McKnight, WKU
D19     Quincy Olivari, Rice
D26     Abou Ousmane, North Texas
J2        Brice Williams, Charlotte
J9        Denver Jones, FIU
J16      Dayvion McKnight, WKU
J23      Max Fiedler, Rice
J30      KJ Buffen, UAB
 
2022-23 C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N14     Jordan Crawford, LA Tech
N21     Dashon Gittens, FIU
N28     Mekhi Mason, Rice
D5       Nick Boyd, Florida Atlantic
D12     DJ Richards, UTSA
D19     DJ Richards, UTSA
D26     Jordan Crawford, LA Tech
J2        Mekhi Mason, Rice
J9        Arturo Dean, FIU
J16      Arturo Dean, FIU
J23      Dashon Gittens, FIU
J30      Arturo Dean, FIU