Boys Basketball – Week 4 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week: Luke Wiatrowski, Pinelands
Week 4 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week
Luke Wiatrowski, Pinelands
After losing three out of four, Pinelands righted the ship with two double-digit wins last week over Barnegat and Donovan Catholic to keep its spot atop the Class B South standings.
Wiatrowski did a little bit of everything in the two victories, contributing eight points, nine rebounds and two steals in the win over Barnegat before scoring a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds in an impressive, 50-31 win at Donovan Catholic. Wiatrowski's scoring uptick was a huge boost for the Wildcats on the road against the Griffins considering top scorers Andrew Schulz and Anthony Diaz were saddled with foul trouble for most of the second quarter - Diaz for most of the first half.
Last season was a lost one for Wiatrowski, who missed most of his junior year with a knee injury that he described as a partially-torn ACL. What little he did play, he was not able to be effective, which makes his recent surge of complementary scoring and rebounding alongside Schulz (20.2 points per game) has been such a welcome sight for both the senior and third-year head coach Fred Johnson.
Wiatrowski won this week's award with 26.8 percent of the vote to beat out Howell senior center Nick Hornung (22 percent). Brick Memorial senior Kyle McMahon (16.8) and Toms River North junior Jakari Spence (15.4) also reached double-digit vote percentages.
2019 Players of the Week Winners
Week 1: Quincy Wathington, Matawan
Week 2: Tahaj Parland, Mater Dei Prep
Week 3: Niles Haliburton, Matawan