JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior swingman Walik Albright (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) of the men’s basketball team and sophomore point guard Kiana Briggs (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech) of the women’s basketball team are the New Jersey City University Athletes of the Week for November 18, 2013. The honor is for the period of November 11-17, 2013. Albright wins the award for the eighth time in his career while Briggs takes home the honor for the first time.
WALIK ALBRIGHT
Albright, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound co-captain, made a triumphant return to the lineup after missing the entire 2012-13 season with a broken jaw. Albright, an Early Childhood Education major, was named the Most Valuable Player of the 14th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in York, Pa., as he helped pace NJCU to a pair of double-figure victories and a 2-0 start to a promising 2013-14 campaign for the Gothic Knights.
Albright, 2011-12 Honorable Mention All-New Jersey Athletic Conference selection, upped his career scoring total to 793 points, averaging 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in 60 minutes. He shot 47.1 percent from the field (8-17), 40.0 percent from three-point distance (2-5) and 6-of-12 (.500) from the line.
In a 62-51 semifinal win over cross Hudson County opponent Stevens Institute of Technology—a team that was 22-6 and in the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament—Albright made his return to the court impactful, notching his third career double-double, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting (2-3 3FG), 10 rebounds (eight defensive), two assists and one steal in 36 minutes.
In a three-point game in the first half, NJCU unleashed a 10-2 run to build an 11-point lead as Albright buried a three to cap the spurt.
In a dominant 60-45 win over host York (Pa.) in the tournament finals, Albright didn’t need to be the scoring star with other teammates having the hot hand. Still, he added nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and four rebounds in 24 minutes, chipping in an assist, steal and block.
Albright previously was NJCU Men’s Athlete of the Week twice as a freshman (November 23, 2009 and February 8, 2010), twice as a sophomore during NJCU’s conference championship season (January 17, 2011 and February 7, 2011) and three times as a junior (November 28, 2011; December 5, 2011; January 23, 2012).
