Ricky Harris, guard, Men’s Basketball
The sophomore shooting guard has been one of the most improved players in all of college basketball this season.
And thanks to a superb shooting display over 10 games during school intermission, he is the first Collegian Sports Athlete of the Week of the spring semester.
Harris scored in double figures in all but one of the 10 games, including a string of 20-point scoring performances in five straight games. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 197 points during break (19.7 per game) and connected on 31 3-pointers at a 42.5 percent clip.
His career-high for points in a game prior to this season was 14 – he surpassed that total in every game over break except for Xavier on Jan. 27. His new career-high is 30, which he registered in a tight loss to Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 23. Harris rebounded from a poor first half (four points) with a terrific performance in the second stanza against the Hawks – scoring 26 points helped UMass get back into the game.
The Minutemen won their first four games of the break, all against non-conference teams. Harris scored 64 points during that span, but he saved his best games for a big matchup against then-undefeated and No. 15 Vanderbilt and against Atlantic 10 opponents.
Harris shot 50 percent from 3-point range against the Commodores, scoring 25 points to go along with his five rebounds and two assists. UMass fell just short in upsetting Vanderbilt but showed that they could contend with elite teams in the country on the road.
Conference play began after that, beginning with Saint Joseph’s. Harris matched the 25 points he scored in the previous game but the Minutemen dropped another close affair to the Hawks. He hit four 3-pointers on the night, the second of a five-game stretch in which he hit at least that many.
During the five-game span before UMass’s last game over break against Xavier, Harris averaged 25.2 points per game. He hit over 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (23-of-44) and was named ESPN National Player of the Week by Andy Katz.
Runner Up: Juan Moliere Swimming and Diving
Moliere, a sophomore on the Massachusetts swimming team finished no worse than second place in each of his individual events during the month of January. Moliere was never beaten in the 50-yard freestyle event and came in second place only once in the 100-yard freestyle.
The former high school soccer goalkeeper’s talents are used in relay events as well. Moliere is used primarily as the anchor leg in a relay but can also swim lead.
In the Maroon and White’s meet against the BC Eagles, Moliere won both the 50- and the 100-yard freestyle and also swam the anchor leg of the winning lane in the men’s 200-yard medley relay.
Moliere swept both of his individual events against Colgate, helping the Minutemen go undefeated during the winter break.
The UMass win at the Rhode Island invitational was one of Moliere’s best meets of the season. Moliere tallied 112 of the Maroon and White’s 944.5 total points to gain the victory.
Moliere holds one of the fastest times in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He currently ranks second in the conference in the 50 and third in the 100.
