It’s been more than 35 years since a Washington State freshman recorded a double-double in three straight games, so Efe Abogidi, having accomplished the feat against Montana State, Northwestern State and Prairie View A&M was rewarded appropriately on Monday when the Pac-12 Conference announced its weekly honors.
Abogidi became the first WSU player to earn the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week since the the league began handing out the award at the beginning of last season.
The center from Nigeria has helped fuel an 8-0 start to the season for WSU, which opens conference play in earnest this week against Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday.
With 15 points and 12 rebounds against Northwestern State, Abogidi became the first freshman since Steve Puidokas to notch a double-double in three consecutive games. Abogidi also had four blocks in the game to bring his season total to 17.
Earlier in the week, Abogidi posted a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double against Prairie View A&M, which followed the 19 points and 15 rebounds he had in a blowout of Montana State. Abogidi shot 15 of 26, or 58% from the field, in those three games.
For the season, Abogidi is averaging just shy of a double-double with 10.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He’s also averaging 2.1 blocks and has made 5 of 11 (45%) shots from beyond the three-point arc.
According to College Basketball Reference, he’s one of just two freshmen at the Division I level, along with USC’s Evan Mobley, averaging at least 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per game.
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