Keifer Sykes
The Horizon League will announce its player and coach of the year awards, along with all of the other league honors this afternoon. In advance of that announcement, the Horizon League named Preseason Player of the Year Keifer Sykes the Player of the Week for a record 13th time in his career.
Sykes averaged 28.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5 rebounds and three steals in Green Bay’s two wins last week. He scored a career-high 36 points and reached 2,000 career points in his hometown on Thursday when the Phoenix won at Illinois-Chicago. He added 21 points and eight assists to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday against Oakland.
Sykes became the first player in Horizon League history with 2,000 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds.
For the week, Sykes made 22-of-41 shots from the field (53.7%) and connected on 11-of-13 free throws. The scoring total helped Sykes secure the Horizon League scoring title for the senior, who is now averaging 18.5 points for the season and 19.7 points a game in league play.
With 2,038 career points, Sykes is tied for sixth place in Horizon League history with Mark Acres of Oral Roberts. With 60 more points, he would rank fifth all-time. He has scored the most points by a Horizon League player in the past decade.
Green Bay is the No. 2 seed in this week’s Horizon League Championships, receiving a double-bye. Green Bay won’t play until Saturday night at 6 p.m. in the semifinals at Valparaiso.