Mitchell, Okgoie named ACC basketball players of the week

Louisville sophomore Donovan Mitchell has been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Player of the Week, while Georgia Tech’s Josh Okgoie earned Freshman of the Week honors.

The weekly honor is the first of the season for Mitchell, while Okogie was recognized for an ACC-leading fourth time.

In a pair of Louisville victories last week, Mitchell averaged 28.5 points, five rebounds, four assists and shot 60 percent from the field, including 67 percent from the 3-point line (12-of-18).  Mitchell scored a career-high 29 points and handed out three assists at Pittsburgh in just 25 minutes on the court as the Cardinals registered the largest margin of victory ever in an ACC road game.  The Greenwich, Connecticut, native totaled 28 points – including 21 in the first half – eight rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Cardinals defeated NC State on Sunday.

Over the last nine games, Mitchell has averaged 19.6 points 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 steals in Louisville’s balanced lineup. The 6-foot-3 guard is among the ACC and national leaders in steals with 45 thefts this season.

Okogie came up big twice last week to help Georgia Tech topple a pair of top-15 teams at home. First, he scored 35 points to help Tech down No. 6 Florida State, 78-56, on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-4 Okogie scored 17 of his points in the first half, out-scoring the entire Seminole team (15) in the first 20 minutes. He also grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the game, posting his first career double-double, and added five assists and two steals in 33 minutes. He made 10 of 17 shots from the floor and 14 of 17 from the foul line. The Snellville, Georgia, native became just the third freshman in Tech history to post multiple 30-point games, joining Mark Price and Kenny Anderson.

On Saturday against No. 14 Notre Dame, Okogie scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds as foul trouble limited him to 18 minutes. Though he scored just eight points, six of them came in the second half, including the game-winning layup on a run-out just ahead of the final horn to lift Tech over the Fighting Irish at home.

ACC basketball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a 15-member media panel.