Maric Named Big 12 Player of the Week

Lincoln --- Junior Aleks Maric was named the Big 12 Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 20, following his performance in the first two games of the season. The 6-11, 270-pound center led the Huskers to a 2-0 start by averaging 23.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while hitting 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the floor.

Maric, who returned to the court 11 days after an appendectomy to start in the season opener, posted 29 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes against Nebraska-Omaha in the Huskers' first regular-season game. He hit 11 field goals on a career-high 18 attempts and missed his second career 30-point contest by one point. Last year, Maric had 37 points at Iowa State, the fifth-highest single-game mark in program history and the first 30-point game by a Husker since 1998.

Against No. 20/25 Creighton on Nov. 18, Maric posted 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Huskers to a 12-point victory. Maric was saddled with a pair of fouls in the first half and played just nine minutes, but came on to play 19 minutes in the second period when he recorded 15 points and eight boards. He was 7-of-8 from the floor in the second half, helping NU hit 76.5 percent (13-of-17) in the period while pulling away for NU's first win over a ranked non-conference team since 2002.

Maric is the first Husker to be named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week since 1999 when Venson Hamilton won it in back-to-back weeks on Jan. 18 and 25. Hamilton went on to earn the league's postseason player of the year award that season. Maric is only the third Husker to earn the conference's top weekly award, joining Hamilton and Tyronn Lue, who won the award three times including twice in 1997-98.

Maric earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors as a freshman on Feb. 28, 2005. He was one of nine Husker newcomers to earn the honor since the formation of the league for the 1996-97 season.