Greensboro, N.C. (1/14/08) — Men’s basketball senior Ben Strong was selected as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Player of the Week Monday for the week ending Jan. 13, league officials announced Monday. He has captured the ODAC’s weekly prize 11 times in his career, three this season. Strong also received the 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 24.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots per game in the Quakers’ 2-1 week. He totalled 34 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the Quakers’ Jan. 9 home win over Hampden-Sydney. Strong also had a team-high 17 points, grabbed a game-high nine boards and added three blocks in a loss to Randolph-Macon Jan. 12. The next day, he lifted the Quakers past 17th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, 85-69, with 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, all game highs, which helped end Guilford’s eight-game losing streak to the Marlins. The contest marked his team-leading eighth double-double of the season and the 31st of his career.
Strong leads the ODAC in scoring (24.7 ppg.), rebounding (11.4 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.36 bpg.). He has paced Guilford’s scorers in eight of nine games and has been the team’s top rebounder seven times. The reigning NCAA Division III Player of the Year has nine 20-point games this season and starts the week ranked eighth among Guilford’s career scoring (1,766) and rebounding (740) leaders.
Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers (8-3, 3-1 ODAC) are ranked 17th in the Jan. 14 D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. They travel to Roanoke College Jan. 16 and visit Emory & Henry College Jan. 19 in consecutive ODAC matchups.
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.