For the fifth time this season, Missouri State junior guard Dequon Miller (Charleston, W.Va.) has been named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Miller had a pair of 20-point efforts last week, including a career-high 23-point outburst in the Bears' come-from-behind win at Drake on Jan. 16. He followed that with a 22-point effort in Sunday's loss to Southern Illinois. For the week, he averaged 22.5 points, converted 11-of-12 (.917) free throws, tallied 6 rebounds and posted six 3-pointers.
The transfer from Motlow (Tenn.) College is now in an elite group of four players who have won the Valley rookie of the week award five times in the same season. The weekly honor for first-year MVC players began during the 2003-04 season and since then only Doug McDermott of Creighton (2010-11) with seven awards, and Cleanthony Early of Wichita State (2012-13) and Marcellus Sommerville of Bradley (2003-04) with six apiece, have won the award more times than Miller who has now won the honor more times than any other Missouri State player.
He has started all 20 games this season and is averaging a team-best 12.8 points per game with 34 3-pointers, 51 assists and 56 rebounds.
Miller and the Bears return to the road Wednesday at Indiana State in search of the club's fourth straight MVC road victory. The game at Hulman Center in Terre Haute tips at 6 p.m. (Central) with live coverage on KOZL-TV and the Missouri State Television Network.
