ORLANDO – UCF freshman Darius Johnson broke out in a big way over the past week to help lead UCF to a pair of American Athleric Conference wins over ECU and Tulane, picking up his first career AAC Freshman of the Week award in the process.
"It's a big honor. We have a really good conference with a lot of talented players and a lot of talented freshmen, so to be awarded Freshman of the Week is significant," said head coach Johnny Dawkins. "So, I'm really happy for [Darius] and happy for his teammates because you don't get those honors without the guys around you."
Johnson averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the week for UCF. He posted 16 points and four rebounds at ECU on Tuesday and followed it up with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Tulane on Saturday.
Johnson is now second on the team with 35 total assists on the season. He's shooting 35.4 percent from the field and he's tied for fifth on the squad with 12 steals.
Senior Cheikh Mbacke Diong was also honored by the AAC on Monday, earning his first weekly Honor Roll recognition of the season. Mbacke averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in UCF's two wins and posted a double-double against Tulane with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
UCF returns to competition Wednesday, Jan. 26 as the Knights head to Kansas for a game at Wichita State. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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