Who cares if it's just exhibition games?

After being chosen as the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason Player of the Year, MTSU junior forward Desmond Yates is doing everything in his power to live up to the hype thus far, and for that reason, he's the BlueRaiders.com Athlete of the Week.

A 6-foot-7, 235-pounder from Somerville, Tenn. Yates has been the leading scorer in both MTSU games to date, scoring 27 and 25 points. Making the 52 total points all the more impressive is the fact that it has come in just 54 minutes of playing time.

Yates is also averaging seven rebounds per game.