DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell announced today that freshman Cleveland Melvin will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season with a left thumb sprain. Melvin injured the thumb in DePaul’s game at St. John’s on Feb. 23 and missed Saturday’s game against USF.
Melvin, a BIG EAST Rookie of the Year candidate, leads the Blue Demons and all BIG EAST freshmen with 14.3 points per game this season. In BIG EAST play, the Baltimore native has been ranked in the league’s top 10 all season with his scoring average of 17.4 points per outing. Melvin has recorded 19 games in double-figures this season and eight games of at least 20 points.
Included among his top performances are a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double against No. 10/9 Connecticut on Jan. 15 and a 29-point, seven-rebound outing at #9/9 Georgetown on Jan. 1. The four-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honoree has also totaled 40 blocked shots this season to rank 16th on DePaul’s season blocked shots list and has 11 games with multiple blocked shots.
In BIG EAST games only, Melvin is ranked in the top 15 in offensive rebounding (third – 3.33 orpg), scoring (sixth – 17.4 ppg), field goal percentage (ninth – .511), blocked shots (12th – 1.33 bpg) and rebounding (15th – 6.3 rpg).
There was some good news however:
Brandon Young picked up the slack with a 23-point outing against the Bulls and was rewarded Monday morning with his second BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honor this season. Young and Melvin have combined to earn the honor six times in 15 weeks during the 2010-11 campaign.
Since the start of the 2005-06 season that followed expansion of the BIG EAST, DePaul is the third team with six or more Rookie of the Week winners. The 2005-06 Marquette team totaled seven winners while Syracuse had six honorees during the 2007-08 season. The final 2010-11 Rookie of Week will be announced next Monday.
Young scored 23 points against the Bulls on Saturday on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. It was his third game with 20 or more points and he registered a conference-scoring high with the 23 points.
For the week, the Baltimore native averaged 14.0 points and 2.5 assists. Young totaled five points with three assists and two steals at St. John’s on Wednesday.