Wake Forest Athletics
Mitoglou In Rare Company With Rookie of the Week Award
2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Scott Wortman, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@TieDyeNation)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest freshman forward Konstantinos Mitoglou joined rare company when he was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday. Mitoglou became the first Greek-born player, and only the seventh European-born player, to receive a Player or Rookie of the Week award from the ACC.
The conference began honoring a Player of the Week during the 1969-70 season and added a Rookie of the Week award the following year.
Dutch-born Serge Zwikker of UNC was the first-ever European to win a weekly award, being named ACC Player of the Week in 1996-97. Wake Forest Darius Songaila, a native of Lithuania, was the first European to be named ACC Rookie of the Week in 1998-99.
Mitoglou, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, is the first European to earn a weekly conference award since Maryland's Alex Len, a Ukrainian, was named Player of the Week on Nov. 12, 2012. Len was also named ACC Rookie of the Week the previous season on Jan. 9, 2012.
Mitoglou averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 63 percent (12-for-19) from 3-point range in Wake Forest's games against Miami and Virginia last week.
In the 72-70 win over Miami, Mitoglou scored 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 6-for-7 from 3-point range. He then led the team with 18 points in the 61-60 loss at No. 2-ranked Virginia. He was 6-for-14 from the field and 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
On the season, Mitoglou is the team's third-leading scorer with 9.8 points per game. He is Wake Forest's top 3-point shooter at 39 percent (43-for-110).
European-Born Players To Win ACC Weekly Awards:
- Serge Zwikker, North Carolina, The Netherlands, Player of the Week (1996-97)
- Sarunas Jasikevicius, Maryland, Lithuania, Player of the Week (1997-98)
- Darius Songaila, Wake Forest, Lithuania, Rookie of the Week (1998-99, twice), Player of the Week (1999-00, 2001-02)
- Illian Evtimov, NC State, France, Rookie of the Week (2001-02, twice)
- Deividas Dulkys, Florida State, Lithuania, Player of the Week (2011-12)
- Alex Len, Maryland, Ukraine, Rookie of the Week (2011-12), Player of the Week (2012-13)
- Konstantinos Mitoglou, Wake Forest, Greece, Rookie of the Week (2014-15)
