Hawaii Pulls Out of Hawaii Bowl Vs. Memphis 12/24
Tennessee power forward John Fulkerson is the Co-SEC Player of the Week for his play against No. 6 Arizona, the conference announced Monday.
Fulkerson was elite in the Vols’ narrow win over Arizona, scoring 24 points on eight-of-13 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and two assists. The lefty also drew an unbelievable 13 fouls almost single handedly putting the Wildcats’ frontcourt in foul trouble.
“Fulky came out 30 minutes before everyone today for shootaround,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “When I left last night after our meeting he was on the floor shooting. He knows this is his last year and there’s no doubt he wants to give it to them. … He was terrific, he really was.”
The super senior split the SEC’s top weekly award with Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe. The Kentucky center broke the Rupp Arena record for most rebounds in a game, grabbing 28 boards in the Wildcats’ win over Western Kentucky.
Tshiebwe scored 14 points to match Fulkerson with a double-double of his own.
Fulkerson is the first Tennessee player to earn SEC Player of the Week honors this season. Point guard Kennedy Chandler earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors early this season.
Despite earning Second Team All-SEC honors two seasons ago, this week marks the first time Fulkerson has earned SEC Player of the Week honors in his college career.
Fulkerson is off to a strong start to his super senior season, averaging 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The 6-foot-9 power forward has been his best against strong competition, scoring double figures in four of Tennessee’s five games against power five conference teams.
The Vols return to the court on Wednesday when they open up SEC play at No. 19 Alabama. Tennessee has Saturday off for New Years Day.
