Louisville men’s basketball redshirt freshman Mike James was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday, the first weekly award of his career. James, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward from Orlando, Florida, had a standout performance last week, averaging 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game in contests against Syracuse and Wake Forest.
In the game against Syracuse, James set a then-career high for scoring with 19 points, shooting 7 of 12 from the field and going 4 for 6 from 3-point range. He followed that up with an even better performance against Wake Forest, recording a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds. These 24 points are tied for the second-most by an ACC freshman this season, and they were the most by a Louisville freshman since 2017. James is only the fifth Louisville freshman since 1952 to have a game with at least 24 points and eight rebounds.
James played a key role in Louisville’s second-half comeback effort against Wake Forest, scoring 11 points and hitting three 3-pointers in a four-minute burst that helped trim an 18-point deficit to three with less than three minutes remaining. His final 3-pointer made it a one-possession game with 2:40 to go.
Overall, James made 16 of 28 total shots in the two games (57%) and 9 of 16 3-pointers (60%). James and Louisville will return to action at Clemson on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. This is the first time a Louisville player has received ACC Rookie of the Week honors since teammate Jae’Lyn Withers did so in March 2021.
