Malique Lewis lands T&T Top Player Award

Here is the review of Trinidad and Tobago overseas-based players for week-ending 14 January 2024.

The Top Player Award goes to 6-8 forward Malique Lewis (19yrs) who helped #3 ranked Western Conference Capitanes Ciudad de México (14-9) to three wins against their rivals in the NBA G League, Eastern Conference. In the first game, Lewis tallied 11pts, 6rebs, 2asts & 3stls in a lop-sided 120-90 victory over #11 Grand Rapid Gold (10-14) on January 10. Next, he filled the tally sheet with 12pts, 8rebs, 1ast & 2blks in a narrow 102-100 win over #14 Wisconsin Herd on January 12. The following day, Lewis chipped in with 5pts, 3rebs, 3asts & 1stl in another tough win, 100-98, over Wisconsin (10-12). Capitanes next play Western Conference rivals #2 Austin Spurs (13-10) and #15 G League Ignite (4-20) on January 15 and 17 respectively. Lewis is currently averaging 8.1ppg & 5.7rpg & 1.0apg: 63.1%%2FPG, 28.8%3FPG & 65.2%FT.

Second is US-born 6-5 swingman Devaughn Akoon-Purchell who helped Lokomotiv to two wins in Russia-VTB United League on January 9 and 13. In the first game, he had 8pts and a rebound in a 98-88 result over #10 Avtodor (9-13). In the second game, Akoon-Purchell scored a game high 30pts & 4asts guiding #3 Lokomotiv (16-6) to an upset win, 89-85, against top-ranked CSKA (18-3) at home. He enjoyed 5-7 (71.4%) 2PM-A, 4-11 (36.4%) 3PM-A and 8-8 (100%) FTM-A. Lokomotiv will be on the road against #13 N.Novgorod (4-5) on January 19. Akoon-Purchell is averaging 16.7ppg, 4.0rpg & 2.0apg: 61.1%2FPG, 38.8%3FPG & 83.3%FT.

Third is 6-9 power forward Imru Duke with double-double of a game high 28pts, team high 10rebs, shared game high 2blks, 1ast & 1stl but in a close losing effort, 71-73, for #10 Juventuda Aclala (7-9) against in #2 Starlabs CB Moron (11-5) Spain-LEB Silver, West Conference, on January 13. Duke enjoyed 14-18 (77.8%) shooting from the field. Alcala next play #14 Algeciras (4-12) on January 27. Duke is averaging 14.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.5apg, 1.1bpg & 0.9spg: 62.9%2FPG, 28.6%3FPG & 52.9%FT.

Fourth is US-born 6-8 forward Stacey Thomas who featured in three consecutive games with #10 Stariy Lutsk (5-14) in the Ukraine Super-League. In the first game, Thomas scored 2pts, 3rebs & 1blk in a huge 39-76 loss to top ranked Dnipro (16-1) on January 12. The following day, Thomas had a team high 13pts, 5rebs & 1stl as Stariy Lutsk suffered a tough 70-71 loss to #11 Krivbas (1-17). In the third game, Thomas registered 7pts, 5rebs, 1ast & 2stls as #2 Zaporizhye (11-7) beat them 65-80 on January 14. Thomas is averaging 10.0ppg & 4.8rpg: 51.9%2FPG, 33.3%3FPG & 69.9%FT.

Fifth is US-born 5-8 point guard Tyrell Gomez with a shared game high 12asts & 2stls plus 5pts & 4rebs for #15 Sokol (4-13) but in a 71-88 loss to top ranked Anwil Wloclawek (15-2) in Poland OBL on January 14. Sokol next play #7 Start Lublin (9-7) on January 19. Gomez is averaging 18.1ppg, 6.4apg, 2.3rpg & 1.4spg: 47.8%2FPG, 43.3%3FPG & 90.0%FT.

Sixth is 6-8 forward Shakeil Bertrand with mixed results for Northeastern State University (NSU) in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference, NCAA Division 2, on January 10 and 13. In the first game, he scored 9pts & 7rebs as NSU suffered a 67-72 loss to University of Central Oklahoma. In the second game, Bertrand contributed 3pts, 2stls & 1reb in a 74-68 win over Newman University. NSU next play University of Central Missouri and Lincoln University on January 18 and 20 respectively. Bertrand is averaging 2.2ppg & 2.2rpg: 76.5%FT & 60.0%FT.

Seventh is US-born 6-6 guard Jules Bernard Jr with mixed results in the NBA. In the first game, Bernard tallied 9pts, 3rebs, 5asts & 3stls but #9 Capital City Go-Go (12-12) still went under 111-115 to Eastern Conference rivals #15 Greensboro Swam (7-17) in the NBA G League on January 12. The following day, Bernard suited up with Washington Wizards in the NBA but was limited to five minutes off the bench in a lop-sided 127-99 win over Atlanta Hawks. Capital City next play Eastern #16 Raptors 905 (7-17) and rivals #13 Iowa Wolves (7-16) on January 17 and 20 respectively. Bernard is averaging 19.2ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.9apg & 1.1spg: 48.8%2FPG, 37.1%3FPG & 93.8%FT in the G League. In three NBA games, he has 0.7ppg & 50.0%2FPG from an average of 5.3mins per game.

Eight is 6-2 guard Zidane Moore who scored 11pts, 4rebs, 4asts & 2stls but in a losing effort, 74-88, with #9 Holbaek (3-13) against #7 Copenhagen (7-10) in Denmark-BasketLigaen on January 12. Holbaek will meet #3 Naestved (13-3) on January 24. Moore is averaging 17.8ppg, 5.1rpg, 3.9apg & 1.6spg: 38.7%2FPG, 32.1%FPG & 68.3%FT.

Ninth is 7-0 center Johnny Hamilton with 6pts, 3rebs & 1ast as #12 Bursaspor (7-9) was crushed 69-103 by #8 Turk Telekom (7-9) in Turkey-BSL on January 14. Bursaspor next play #11 Darussafaka (7-9) on January 21. Hamilton is averaging 11.9ppg, 7.3rpg, 1.1apg & 1.7bpg: 64.2%2FPG & 64.6%FT in Turkey-BSL. While in the BCL, he has 10.6ppg, 5.8rpg & 2.4bpg: 60.6%2FPG & 56.5%FT. Rnk4

The Player of the week selection is based on the player game's ranking through the use an efficiency stats calculation.