Jarrod Jones has been recognized for his efforts last week.
Strong performances against Southern Illinois Edwardsville and Northern Illinois earned him Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday morning.
Last week, the Cardinals went 2-0 and improved to 1-0 in the MAC. Jones scored 19 points and tallied 11 rebounds against SIU Edwardsville and had a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds against Northern Illinois.
In those two games, Jones shot 65.5 percent from the field.
Jones' back-to-back double-doubles puts him at seven for the year and 17 for his career. His seven double-doubles are second in the MAC behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry, who has nine.
"Jones has been really terrific of late," coach Billy Taylor said at Monday's news conference. "His elevated play has really helped us offensively."
Taylor said Jones' most recent success can be credited to his patience on the court. He said a lot of players rush their shots and end up hurting their team, but not Jones.
"Jarrod [Jones] isn't having to chase the ball – he's letting the ball come to him," Taylor said. "As a result he's been able to score much more efficiently."
That patience has paid off since the team returned from the Great Alaska Shootout more than a month ago.
In the seven games since returning from Alaska, Jones is averaging 19.9 points and 10 rebounds. He has recorded four double-doubles in that span while scoring at least 15 points in all seven contests.
Taylor said the numbers Jones has posted are numbers that he expects from his big man. He said it's what his team needs, especially with MAC play getting under way.
"[Jones] understands he's going to get shots, he's going to get attempts, he's going to get the basketball, and it's just a matter of making the right decisions," Taylor said. "We need [Jones] to play well for us, and clearly when he's played well, it helps everybody on the floor."
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