NEW ORLEANS - Following a dominant performance in the first edition of this season's Royal Rivalry, James Madison graduate forward T.J. Bickerstaff has been named Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.

Bickerstaff is the second member of the Dukes to earn player of the week recognition after teammate Terrence Edwards Jr. took home the season's first weekly honor on November 14.

An Atlanta native, Bickerstaff led James Madison to an 84-69 road win over Old Dominion in a non-league contest Saturday evening. He registered his third double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-of-12 from the field in just 22 minutes of action. Bickerstaff is shooting 67 percent from the floor this season which ranks 17th nationally and second in the Sun Belt.

Ranked 20th in the latest AP and Coaches polls, James Madison is off to a 9-0 start for the first time in program history.

2023-24 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
Week 1 – Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison (RS Jr., G – Atlanta, Ga.) 
Week 2 – Freddy Hicks, Arkansas State (Jr., G – Searcy, Ark.)
Week 3 – Kobe Julien, Louisiana (RS Jr., F – Baton Rouge, La.)
Week 4 – Kobe Julien, Louisiana (RS Jr., F – Baton Rouge, La.)
Week 5 – T.J. Bickerstaff, James Madison (Gr., F – Atlanta, Ga.)