Vermont senior Taylor Coppenrath is the America East Player of the Week while Northeastern forward Shawn James and Stony Brook guard Antwan Hardy share America East Rookie of the Week honors. The awards were announced Monday (January 3).
Coppenrath (West Barnet, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) averaged 26.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg as the Catamounts went 3-1 with only a loss at No. 4 North Carolina. He scored 35 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor in an 89-45 win over Hartford Sunday. He scored 23 of his 34 points in the first half in a 77-52 win at Siena on December 28 and had a game-high 23 points, including 18 in the second half as the Catamounts rallied for a 64-59 win at Holy Cross on December 30. He leads America East with 26.4 ppg.
James (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Redirection/Notre Dame Prep) had the first triple-double in school history when he scored 17 points with 12 rebounds and a school-record 11 blocks in a 76-61 win over Iona December 30. His 11 blocks tie for second-highest in America East history. He also had 13 rebounds in a 75-69 win at Stony Brook on December 21 and a team-high 20 points at Holy Cross on December 27. He leads America East with 5.44 blocks per game (49 in nine games).
Hardy (Rockville, Md./Montrose Christian) has led the Seawolves in scoring in three of the four games since moving into the starting lineup following the season-ending foot injury to Mitchell Beauford (Dix Hills, N.Y./Christ the King). He had 20 points and five rebounds in a 56-55 win over Wagner on December 30 and followed that with 20 points and four steals at Maine Sunday to become the first rookie in Stony Brook’s Division I history to score 20 or more points in back-to-back games. He has averaged 17.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg in four games as a starter.