BETHLEHEM, Pa. – American freshman forward Johnny O'Neil received the GEICO Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week award when the League office announced weekly accolades on Tuesday.

Thrust into the starting lineup in the first games of his career, O'Neil proved to be up to the task. The young big man scored 14 points, including six points on two 3-pointers in overtime to keep the Eagles within striking distance on Saturday against Navy. The freshman also led the Eagles with eight rebounds and six blocks in that game. The last time an American player had at least five blocks was almost three years ago when Sam Iorio also swatted six balls against Boston University on Feb. 14, 2018.

On Sunday, the newcomer led AU with 17 points and seven rebounds. For the weekend, O'Neil averaged 15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.5 bpg while shooting 50 percent from the field (11-of-22) and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-16).

O'Neil is the first AU freshman to receive the weekly award since Jacob Boonyasith did so on March 4, 2019.

The Patriot League men's basketball players of the week are selected in a vote by League media members and each school's sports information director, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.