The Big Ten released its weekly award list for the first week of the regular season and three teams split the awards. Indiana’s Tucker DeVries and Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton were named Co-Big Ten Players
of the Week and Illinois’ David Mirkovic was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. All three had some impressive performances that could signal things to come.
DeVries showed out in his first week in Bloomington, averaging 22.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in Indaina’s wins over Alabama A&M and Marquette. His 27-point performance against the Golden Eagles as particularly impressive, as the Hoosiers scored one of the program’s best wins in quite some time. It’s been awhile since Indiana had an elite star contributor and fans are hoping DeVries can be that. This is obviously the first time DeVries has earned Player of the Week honors. The last Hoosier to get the award was Trayce Jackson-Davis in March of 2023.
Thornton also had quite a showing for Ohio State last week. The Buckeyes went off offensively and Thornton played a big part in it, averaging 32 points in the team’s two wins and finishing with 38 points in the team’s win over Purdue Fort Wayne. It was the most points for a Buckeye in a single game since Jared Sullinger had 40 in 2010. That’s obviously a name that Buckeyes would love to be compared to and fans hope Thornton can keep compiling those kinds of numbers, even against tougher competition. This is the second time Thornton has earned Player of the Week honors. The last Buckeye to earn the award was Thornton in December of last year.
Finally, Mirkovic had quite a performance as well. He averaged 18 points and 12.5 rebounds in Illinois’ first two games, where the team boat raced its opponents. If Illinois is going to hit its potential this season, Mirkovic is going to have to be part of the picture, so these early performances are certainly encouraging. This is the first time Mirkovic has earned Freshman of the Week honors.
Congratulations are in order for all three players. Don’t be surprised if they show back up on this list given how they have played to date either.
