Greensboro, N.C. — Men’s basketball senior Ben Strong (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) was selected as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Player of the Week Monday for the week ending Feb. 3, league officials announced Monday. He has captured the ODAC’s weekly prize 12 times in his career, four this season. Strong also received his eighth Guilford Student-Athlete of the Week Award, presented by the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Strong, a 6-11, 220-pound center, averaged 25.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in the Quakers’ 2-0 week. He shot better than 51 percent from the floor over the two games and made seven-of-eight free throws. Strong had a game highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in Guilford’s 69-51 win at Randolph-Macon College Feb. 2. He notched his team-leading 13th double-double of the year and the 36th of his career in the Quakers’ fifth straight win. A day later, the team captain had game highs of 30 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in Guilford’s 67-51 victory at Virginia Wesleyan College. Strong made 13 field goals and recorded his team-leading fifth 30-point game of the season and the 13th of the career. The triumph marked Guilford’s first in the Marlins’ gym since 2004 and gave the Quakers a sweep of the season series for the first time since 2000-01.
Strong, the reigning NCAA Division III Player of the Year, stands among the NCAA Division III leaders in points (fourth), rebounds (10th) and blocks (12th) per game through games of Jan. 27. He leads the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) in scoring (25.4 ppg.), rebounding (11.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.33 bpg.). Strong starts the week in sixth place on Guilford’s career scoring (1,951 points) list and seventh with 813 career rebounds.
Coach Tom Palombo‘s Quakers (14-4, 9-2 ODAC) have won a season-high six straight games and 10 of their last 12 outings. Guilford hosts Washington and Lee University Wednesday (2/6) at 7:00 p.m. in the Quakers’ third straight game with first-place in the ODAC standings at stake. Guilford hosts Lynchburg College Saturday (2/9) at 3:00 p.m. in the Quakers’ Alumni Day.
The Student-Athlete of the Week Award is presented by Guilford’s SAAC, which is comprised of representatives from each of the school’s 16 varsity teams. The group meets regularly to discuss the state of Guilford Athletics and seeks to build community among the school’s student-athletes and non-student-athletes. Recent Guilford SAAC activities include canned-food drives, volunteer assistance with the North Carolina Special Olympics and tutoring at New Garden Friends School.