Samuels Earns National Recognition, Named to D3hoops.com Team of the Week
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - After earning his first career Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week nod yesterday, senior forward Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.) of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team garnered national recognition, as he was selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week Tuesday morning. It marks the first-ever D3hoops.com Team of the Week honor in USJ men's basketball program history. The Team of the Week presented by Scoutware is D3hoops.com's weekly honor roll, in its 27th season of recognizing the top performance at each of the five positions across Division III men's and women's basketball from the previous week.
Samuels was selected at the forward position on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week following his standout performance over the opening week of the 2023-24 season. He was one of five players chosen nationally, joining Penn State-Harrisburg's senior guard Donyae Baylor-Carroll, Carnegie Mellon's sophomore guard Justin Allen, Nichols' senior guard Tavon Jones, and Central's senior forward/center Joshua Van Gorp.
Samuels filled up the stat sheet in the Blue Jays' first two games of the season, averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals in 28.0 minutes of floor time per contest. The reigning two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Year was efficient offensively, connecting on 57.7% (15-26) of his shot attempts from the field. The senior forward opened the 2023-24 slate with 17 points (8-12 FG, 1-6 FT), four rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal in a thrilling 83-79 victory over Yeshiva at home on Wednesday night (Nov. 8). The Franklin, Mass. product followed that up with a career-high 20 points (7-14 FG, 1-2 3FG, 5-9 FT) to go along with six boards, three assists, two steals, and two blocks to help propel the Blue Jays past the NESCAC's nationally-ranked No. 24 Middlebury, 68-62, on the road Saturday afternoon (Nov. 11).
UP NEXT
Samuels and the USJ men's basketball team return home for another challenging matchup, welcoming Nichols College to James A. Calhoun Gymnasium on Tuesday, November 14. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Bison is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in West Hartford, Conn. Tickets to attend Tuesday night's contest can be purchased in advance online by visiting www.usjbluejays.com/tickets.
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