UNI and ISU players win weekly league honors

For the second consecutive week, Northern Iowa basketball player Eric Coleman has been selected as the Missouri Valley Conference newcomer of the week. Coleman, a 6-6 freshman from Maplewood, Minnesota, had a pair of double-doubles last week. Against 17th-ranked Iowa, Coleman had 16-points and a career high 11-rebounds. He then followed that up with 16-points and 10-rebounds against U-M-K-C.Coleman’s early season success has even surprised Panthers coach Greg McDermott. He says they felt Coleman had the potential to be very good, but he says they didn’t think he would be this good this fast, as he says there’s so much to adapt to in the college game. McDermott feels Coleman’s strength is his athleticism. He says what makes Coleman special is that he anticipates things so well. McDermott says he has a feel for where the ball is going to go when the shot goes up, and with his long arms and reach, he gets to balls that others can’t. For the season, Coleman is averaging just under 14-points and eight-rebounds a game, while shooting 59-percent from the floor. U-N-I hosts Wisconsin-Green Bay tomorrow at the UNI-Dome.Iowa State sophomore guard Curtis Stinson is the Big 12 player of the week. Stinson scored 30 points in an upset win over 19th ranked Virginia and then ended the week with 14 points vs. Iowa and 15 points against Howard. He averaged 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists in ISU’s three games.Stinson is the second Cyclone to receive Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season. Jared Homan was recognized on Nov. 29.