College Hoops Week in Review: Player of the Week – Ahmad Starks

Player of the Week: Ahmad Starks, Oregon State

The Beavers got off to a terrific start in the post-Jared Cunningham era, knocking off Niagara and New Mexico State the season’s opening weekend. There was no bigger star for the Beavers than junior point guard Ahmad Starks. After hitting six threes in the opener, Starks exploded for 33 points, five boards, five assists and four steals against the Aggies.

It will be interesting to see how well Starks is able to continue this level of play. OSU needs a go-to scorer, and Starks — along with Roberto Nelson — was one of the guys expected to make that jump. The irony here is that the five assists that Starks handed out are almost as important as the 33 points he scored. Starks has always been known as a bit of a chucker, and operating as the team’s primary ball-handler this season, it will be important for him to get his teammates involved as well.

The All-They-Were-Good-Too Team:

• G: Pierre Jackson, Baylor: Two games into the season, and Jackson is averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 assists with a total of five steals and just six turnovers. Perhaps more impressive is that Baylor’s three big men — Isaiah Austin, Rico Gathers, Cory Jefferson — are shooting a combined 80% from the floor. Much of the credit for their effectiveness falls on Jackson’s shoulders.

• G: Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova: The Wildcats picked up a huge win on Sunday afternoon as they knocked off Marshall, who was picked by many to be the second best team in Conference USA this season. Arcidiacono was the star, finishing with 25 points — 20 in the first half — while handing out six assists and grabbing four boards.

• F: Isaiah Sykes, Central Florida: Central Florida can’t play in the NCAA tournament this season, but that doesn’t mean that can’t spoil the season for some rivals. UCF went on the road and smacked South Florida, 74-56, and Sykes was the star — 26 points, 11 boards, eight assists.

• F: Dwight Powell, Stanford: Powell, a junior, was an elite recruit in the Class of 2010, but he’s never quite lived up to the potential of being an athletic, 6-foot-9 big man with three-point range. Until Friday: Powell had 27 points and seven boards in a win over San Francisco. Powell’s going to have to continue to grow on the glass, however — Stanford was dominated on the glass by USF and finished with just three offensive rebounds.

• C: Alex Len, Maryland: Len and the Terps lost to Kentucky at the Barclays Center on Friday, but Len made a statement. He completely outplayed the duo of Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein, finishing with 23 points, 12 boards and four blocks and rocketing himself up NBA Draft boards. Oh, and he’s also now the biggest reason — literally — that the Terps are considered an NCAA tournament team.

• Other notable performances: Ryan Anderson, Boston College (29 points, 17 boards vs. FIU); Dee Davis, Xavier (22 points, 15 assists vs. FDU); Nurideen Lindsay, Rider (26 points, five assists vs. Robert Morris); Michael Lyons, Air Force (33 points, seven threes vs. The Citadel); CJ McCollum, Lehigh (36 points, eight boards vs. Baylor)

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.