Tyrese Samuel Named SEC Player of the Week

Florida Gators forward Tyrese Samuel was named the SEC Player of the Week after a pair of tremendous performances at the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn last week.

Photo courtesy Chris Spears

The league announced the honor Monday a few days after Samuel was named to the All-Tournament Team as well.

Samuel finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots against Pitt in Florida's opening game of the tournament. With that performance, the Seton Hall transfer became the first SEC player in more than seven years to post a 20/10/3/3/3 stat line. He was also the first Florida and seventh SEC player in the last century to record that stat line.

He followed up that game with 18 points while adding six rebounds and two steals against No. 13 Baylor. Despite the close loss, the Gators showed that they could hang around with some of the nation's best.

For the entire tournament, Samuel missed just one two point field goal, shooting a .941 field goal percentage from inside the arc.

It's been a great start to the year for Samuel, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest.

Florida basketball as a whole has opened the season in good form, posting a 4-2 record to start the season. But most importantly, Golden's team has addressed it's biggest concerns from last year by adding some much needed big-man talent.

The Gators will return to action Wednesday in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge against Wake Forest.