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Every week, across several sports, players around the DMV shine in individual performance. Every Monday, I’d like to take a minute to highlight some of those performances, including what I view as the best performance and name that athlete the “DMV Star of the Week.”
This week’s DMV Star of the Week is American University basketball forward Johnny O’Neil.
What a few weeks it’s been for American basketball. The Eagles currently have the best record in the Patriot League at 7-2 and have won seven straight games, including wins over fellow-DMV schools Georgetown and George Washington.
At the moment, American is the second best team in the DMV, only behind #20 Maryland.
A big reason why the Eagles have found so much success as of late surrounds the play of 6 '9'’ junior forward Johnny O’Neil.
O’Neil is averaging 12.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for American.
This past week was his most impactful of the season, as he led the Eagles in scoring in both road wins @ Mount St. Mary’s and George Washington.
In the MSM game, O’Neil scored 18 points and snagged 8 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench in a 69-61 victory. He was on fire from deep, shooting 4-4 from beyond the arc in the win.
Against GW, O’Neil once again knocked down four 3’s and scored 19 points in 36 minutes off the bench in a huge 69-64 win over the Colonials.
Maybe we’ll see O’Neil more in a starting role after those performances. Regardless, the Eagles are the hottest team in D.C. and are through the brunt of their schedule.
This could be a fun year for AU.
The DMV saw seven teams in action this past week, including the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, and the Georgetown, George Washington, Maryland, American and Howard basketball teams.
Here are some honorable mention performances for DMV Star of the Week:
The Washington Capitals went 4-0 last week, outscoring opponents 16-6. Alex Ovechkin led the way for the Caps with five points across the four wins
Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis averaged 29 points per game across three games last week, including a 30 point/15 rebound/5 assist performance in a 114-107 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night
Georgetown center Qudus Wahab recorded a double-double in both games for the Hoyas last week, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the win over Siena and scoring 10 points and securing 11 boards in the loss to Syracuse
Here’s what’s coming up this week in DMV Sports:
Washington Commanders: (7-5-1, T-3rd in NFC East)
12/18 vs. New York Giants
Washington Capitals: (14-12-4, 6th in Metropolitan Division)
12/13 @ Chicago
12/15 vs. Dallas
12/17 vs. Toronto
Washington Wizards: (11-16, 12th in Eastern Conference)
12/12 vs. Brooklyn
12/14 @ Denver
12/17 @ LA Clippers
12/18 @ LA Lakers
Georgetown Basketball: (5-6 overall, 0-0 in Big East)
12/16 vs. Xavier
#20 Maryland Basketball: (8-2 overall, 0-0 in Big 10)
12/14 vs. #16 UCLA
Howard Basketball: (4-8 overall, 0-0 in MEAC)
12/13 vs. FIU
12/18 @ Harvard
American University Basketball: (7-2 overall, 0-0 in Patriot League)
12/13 vs. VMI
George Washington Basketball: (5-4 overall, 0-0 in Atlantic 10)
12/13 vs. Coppin State