Feb. 13, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Junior forward Jack Cooley (Glenview, Ill.) has been named the BIG EAST Player of the Week after registering back-to-back double-doubles for Notre Dame in wins last week against West Virginia and DePaul. He averaged 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds to earn his first career player-of-the-week honor.
Cooley, who is averaging 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds this season, had previously been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on four occasions. In the two contests last week, he shot 81.0 percent from the field (17-21) in helping the Irish extend their win streak to a season-high six games and improve to 17-8 overall and 9-3 in BIG EAST play.
In Notre Dame’s 55-51 win over the Mountaineers in Morgantown, Cooley played 33 minutes and scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while shooting seven-of-nine from the field and seven-of-10 from the charity stripe. Against the Blue Demons, he matched his career best with 22 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. Cooley connected on 10-12 shots from the field and was two-of-two from the free-throw line. In addition, he equaled his career high with four blocked shots. Cooley’s 22 points also were a personal best in a BIG EAST game, while his 14 rebounds matched the total he had earlier in the season against Pittsburgh. He leads the Irish with eight double-doubles that includes six in BIG EAST play.
JayVaughn Pinkston of Villanova was tabbed as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week. The BIG EAST Honor Roll was comprised of Otto Porter (Georgetown), Jae Crowder (Marquette), Kris Joseph (Syracuse), Jordan Theodore (Seton Hall) and Hugh Robertson (USF).
Notre Dame returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15 when the Irish play host to Rutgers at 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. The game will be televised by ESPNU.