South Dakota State’s Mike Daum has been named the Summit League’s December Male Athlete of the Month, announced Tuesday by the league office.
Daum was also the November Male Athlete of the Month, following the previous honor with another strong showing in the final eight games of 2017. Daum averaged 23.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in that span, shooting 51.5 percent from the field. Beyond the arc, he hit 22-of-45 attempts and at the charity stripe buried 29 of his 37 free throws.
The junior was a two-time Player of the Week selection in the month and reached double figures in seven of eight starts. He had three double-doubles in the month and five games with 20 or more points, including a trio of 30-point efforts. The Kimball, Nebraska native shot over 50 percent in the final six games, including a 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) game at UMKC.
Daum has started all 19 games for the Jackrabbits this season and leads the team with 22.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He is shooting 48 percent from the field and is second on the team with 46 3-pointers. The forward has reached double figures in all but one contest and has eight double-doubles. Last weekend, Daum moved into 3rd on the Jackrabbit scoring chart with 1,828 career points. He is 103 shy of the second spot on the list and less than 600 away from Nate Wolters’ school record of 2,363 career points.
He is the first men’s basketball player to receive the award in consecutive months since Wolters in 2013.
