Candice Dupree of the Temple University Owls earns her second Player of the Week award.
By ROD GIPSON
Published January 14, 2005
CARROLLWOOD - Former Wharton High School basketball standout Candice Dupree is off to a great 2005.
Already named the Big 5 Player of the Week during the last week of 2004, the Temple University junior earned the award again for the first week of the new year.
Dupree, a 6-foot-2 forward-center, scored 49 points and snagged 28 rebounds in the Temple Owls' last three games, all wins. Those efforts included a 27-point performance against Maryland Eastern Shore and a 15-point, 12-rebound game against Hampton, her fourth double-double of the season.
In addition to her two Big 5 honors, given among athletes at the five major Philadelphia universities, Dupree also earned the Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Week award.
In leading Temple to a 9-3 start, including a 59-43 win against Massachusetts in the conference opener Jan. 3, Dupree has become the team's leading scorer (15 points per game), rebounder (nine per game) and shot blocker (22). She also leads the squad in steals with 22. All those numbers are improvements from last season.
Dupree's great start comes after a season in which she led the Owls offensively and was named Most Outstanding Player in the Atlantic 10 championship tournament last year. Dupree averaged 13 points and seven rebounds a season ago while leading Temple to the NCAA Tournament.
"She's been an outstanding player for us," Temple coach Dawn Staley said. "She's talented. She plays hard and she has continued to improve."
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Although he didn't catch a pass in his team's 27-10 loss to Miami in the Peach Bowl, University of Florida wide receiver Andre Caldwell had a standout sophomore season. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Jefferson High graduate was second on the Gators in receiving with 43 catches for 689 yards and three touchdowns. Also, he scored a touchdown on a 61-yard run and returned 11 kickoffs this season for a 15-yard average.
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Kyle Franklin, a Sickles High grad, ended the University of Tampa's soccer season among the team's most dominant defensemen. Franklin started 15 of 16 games, logging 1,143 minutes of playing time, second most on the team. He also made his one shot on goal count, netting the game-winner in UT's 2-1 victory against Covenant College.
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Former Chamberlain High golfer Brooke Layton completed the fall season for the University of South Florida with a tie for 21st place in the Beacon Woods Invitational. Layton, a junior, shot 77-76-74 during the three-day event. USF opens its spring schedule on Feb. 20 at the Papa John's Invitational in Miami.
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University of Tampa junior forward Courtney Wilder has helped the Spartans to seven straight wins. UT is 10-2 overall, and Wilder, a Chamberlain High graduate, has provided key depth off the bench in each contest. She is averaging five points and four rebounds a game while playing 15 minutes.
