BENNINGTON, Vt. — Being named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Week on Sunday was just the tip of the iceberg for Southern Vermont College junior forward DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut). On Tuesday, it was announced that Hamlet was selected to the D3Hoops.com's Team of the Week, chosen as a Corvias Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) DIII New England Co-Player of the Week, and named the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III Men's National Player of the Week for the week ending February 8, 2015.
This is the first season that the USBWA has selected a men's and women's National Players of the Week for Division III. The USBWA was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball and has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season.
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3hoops.com's weekly honor roll that honors five men and five women from around NCAA Division III. This is the 17th season of recognizing the top performance at each of the five positions from the previous week. Hamlet, named to the 11th Team of the Week this season, is the third Southern Vermont player to gain the D3Hoops.com national honor; Lydale Waller was named to the Week 8 Team of the 2001-2002 season, and Lance Spratling was selected to the Week 12 Team of the 2007-08 season.
This is the first career ECAC honor for Hamlet after being named the NECC Player of the Week four times in his career. All student-athletes selected as their respective conference's Player or Rookie of the Week are eligible for ECAC accolades in their respective region. New England College junior Dezron Williams (Hartford, Connecticut) was the other Corvias ECAC DIII New England Co-Player of the Week.
Hamlet had a week to remember for the Mountaineers, helping them stay perfect in NECC action with a pair of wins. The junior first dropped a career-high 38 points in just 17 minutes Tuesday against Newbury and then followed up with 28 Saturday against Mitchell; that gave Hamlet an even 1,000 points. He shot 66.7 percent from the floor over the week to average 33 points per game, going 18-20 from the free throw line across the two contests. He added eight boards and 2.5 steals per game, pulling down 10 rebounds Saturday for his sixth double-double of the season.
D3Hoops.com's Men's Team of the Week
Aaron Walton-Moss, Sr. – Cabrini (G)
Lavrone Green, Fr. - Montclair State (G)
Rafael Farley, Sr. - Texas-Dallas (G | F)
Deshawn Hamlet, Jr. - Southern Vermont (F)
Jake Martin, Sr. - Luther (F | C)