By Dane Miller, SuperWest Sports
February 27, 2023
As a voter for the Pac-12 Players of the Week, my choices may occasionally differ from the official selections.
Either way, I want to share my picks and give brief explanations of why I voted the way I did for the Freshman and Player of the Week.
My Summaries appear below.
Player of the Week — Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
I voted for UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. after he led the Bruins to a sweep of the Mountain schools and the program’s first Pac-12 Regular Season Championship in a decade. He averaged 20.0 points across the two games and was the difference down the stretch against Utah.
I also considered Boogie Ellis, Mouhamed Gueye, and Desmond Cambridge Jr.
Each had strong weekends and led their teams to victories. They will each likely receive some votes, but Jaquez’s leadership and production to win the championship was my deciding factor.
Freshman Player of the Week — Amari Bailey, UCLA
Only two players were nominated for Freshman Player of the Week: UCLA’s Amari Bailey and Cal’s Grant Newell. I went with Bailey because his team didn’t lose a game and the competition he faced was stiffer.
Bailey’s production was also put together on the road, whereas Newell’s was at home. There’s an argument to be had that Newell had the better week and is more deserving of the award.
But, I shy away from voting for players on a team that lost and UCLA swept the Mountain schools.
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