Northwestern University Athletics
Vukusic Named Big Ten Player of the Week
12/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced Northwestern sophomore Vedran Vukusic as its Player of the Week in men's basketball Monday.
Vukusic earns his first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade; he is the first Wildcat selected this season.
Vukusic averaged 24.5 points on 59-percent shooting while playing every minute in a two-game split against against Arizona State and Illinois-Chicago. The Wildcats sophomore opened the week by pouring in a career-best 26 points, including a career-high five three-pointers, to guide Northwestern to a narrow two-point victory over the Sun Devils, who entered last week receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. He added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots in the win.
Vukusic followed that performance by connecting on 8-of-12 attempts (.667), including three more treys, and scoring 23 points in a loss at Illinois-Chicago. He hit 16-of-27 shots on the week, including 8-of-13 from long range and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
The Croatia native has now scored 20 or more points in three straight games -- a first for an NU player in the Bill Carmody era -- and ranks ninth in the Big Ten with 14.7 points per outing and sixth in the Conference with 2.11 three-pointers per game (19 total). He leads Northwestern in treys and blocks (six) while rating second on the team in scoring, rebounding (4.3), assists (31) and steals (13).
