Story byRiley FrainFri, January 16, 2026 at 2:52 AM UTC·4 min readWe are officially into the new year and need your help to decide our men’s player of week for Jan. 5-11 by voting in the poll below. Here are our top five men’s candidates and a recap of their outstanding performances from across week nine of the college basketball season. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDerek Simpson (Saint Joseph’s)It’s been a roller coaster ride on Hawk Hill this season with a new head coach joining weeks before the season, an up-and-down start to the campaign and the departure of Deuce Jones II. Last week, Simpson helped to bring some stability to a team that was winless in Atlantic 10 play with a pair of career-high performances to lead St.