Monday, November 21, 2016

Gophers' Coffey Garners B1G Freshman of the Week Award



Minnesota guard Amir Coffey is off to one of the best starts of any newcomer in the country, and Monday he was recognized by the Big Ten Conference as its Freshman of the Week.

He is just the fourth Gopher in program history to win the award, but the third straight to do so after Nate Mason (2014) and Jordan Murphy (2015).

Coffey, a Hopkins, Minn., native, has scored in double figures in each of the first four games, helping lead the Gophers to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2013. He capped off the week with a 30-point performance in the win over St. John’s, shooting 9-of-14 (64.2 percent) from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line (91.7 percent).

His 30-point outing was the most by a Gopher freshman since Kris Humphries in 2004, and the highest scoring total by a Gopher since 2015 when Andre Hollins scored 31 against Rutgers (1/17/15). Additionally, that output is the highest by any Big Ten freshman to date this season.

For the week, Coffey averaged 16.7 points and four rebounds per game in the wins over the Red Storm, Mount St. Mary’s and UT Arlington. He currently leads the Gophers and ranks 11th in the conference at 15.8 points per game (second among B1G freshmen). Coffey is also tied for 10thin the conference with 1.3 steals per game, second on the team behind Mason.

Coffey and the Gophers return to action on Tuesday night, hosting SEC foe Arkansas at 7:00 p.m.

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