GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Boston College junior guard Olivier Hanlan has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Player of the Week by a select media panel, while Florida State freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
Hanlan was selected as the ACC Player of the Week for the first time this season, while Rathan-Mayes was recognized as ACC Freshman of the Week for the second time. Interestingly, Both of this week’s honorees are from Canada, with BC’s Hanlan calling Aylmer, Quebec, home and Rathan-Mayes hailing from Scarborough, Ontario.
Hanlan finished off a spectacular February by averaging 31.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as Boston College split a pair of ACC contests. In the two games, he shot .548 (17-for-31) from the field, .500 (8-for-16) from beyond the arc and .955 (21-for-22) from the free- throw line. He scored a season-high 39 points in the Eagles’ road game at Pitt, going 10-for-20 from the field and hitting all 14 of his free-throw attempts. It was the most points scored in the ACC game this season (12th most nationally), and it was his fourth 30-point game in six outings. He followed that up by posting 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a 79-63 win over NC State on Saturday. He was 7-for-11 in that game, 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. In ACC play, Hanlan leads the league in scoring (22.6), 3-pointers made (3.00) and 3-point percentage (.457), and ranks fourth in free throw percentage (.831) and seventh in field goal percentage (.485).
Rathan-Mayes averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in two games for Florida State. With his 35-point performance against Miami last Wednesday night, he became the first player in ACC history to score 35 or more points in multiple games during his freshman season. Rathan-Mayes tied his career high against Miami as he scored an incredible 30 points in the final 4:38 of the game. During that stretch, he was 8-of-10 from the field, 6-of-8 from 3-point range and 8-of-9 from the line (with one intentional miss). Rathan-Mayes closed the week by scoring 12 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots against No. 15 Louisville. Rathan-Mayes is the only player in the ACC who leads his team in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). He is one of only two freshmen in the nation (also Melo Trimble of Maryland) who leads his team in the same three categories. With 414 points, Rathan-Mayes is the all-time leading freshman scorer in school history, surpassing former FSU All-American Bob Sura, who scored 380 points as a freshman during the 1991-92 season.
