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The Big Ten released its weekly award winners for week one of the regular season and two teams ended up splitting the awards. Wisconsin’s Nate Reuvers was named Big Ten Player of the Week and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Reuvers came up big for the Badgers last week in the team’s close loss to Saint Mary’s on a neutral court and win over Eastern Illinois. Reuvers averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in the two contests and had 22 points in the team’s overtime loss to Saint Mary’s. This is the first time Reuvers has won the award.
Similarly, Cockburn had a big week as well. Illinois went 2-1 in the opening week of the season with wins over Nicholls State and Grand Canyon and a loss to Arizona. During that run, Cockburn averaged 14 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. This is the first time that Cockburn has earned this award.
Congratulations are in order for both players. Don’t be surprised if Reuvers and Cockburn show back up on this list given how they have played to date.