ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Creighton forward Doug McDermott as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 16. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.
As the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, McDermott was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week.
McDermott, a 6-8 junior from Ames, Iowa, had 34 points and nine rebounds in a 74-64 win at Cal in his only game last week. He was 10-17 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point range, and was also perfect at the free-throw line (10-10). McDermott had 18 of Creighton’s 34 points in the first half and is Creighton’s first player since Bob Harstad in 1990 to have 30 or more points in consecutive games. Last season, he was the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 25.
This is the fourth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week will be considered for the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list, which will be released at mid-season.
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac will be presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 15, 2013, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 32nd season, bigger and better in 2012-13. Blue Ribbon – long-known as “The Bible of College Basketball” – gives its readers the most thorough, up-to-date and timely evaluations of every Division I team in the country. For more information about Blue Ribbon Yearbooks, visit blueribbonyearbookonline.com.
2012-13 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
* Week of Dec. 9: Brandon Paul, Illinois (Big Ten Conference)
* Week of Dec. 16: Doug McDermott, Creighton (Missouri Valley Conference)
COLORADO’S JEFFERY IS ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Colorado guard Chucky Jeffery as its Ann Meyers Drysdale Women’s National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 16. The USBWA’s weekly honor will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.
As the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, Jeffery was nominated for weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week.
Jeffery, a 5-10 senior guard from Colorado Springs, Colo., scored a game- and season-high 22 points as Colorado upset then-No. 8 Louisville 70-66 after scoring 14 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing five assists in an 83-63 road triumph at Denver. Her play for the week resulted in the Buffs crashing the Associated Press rankings for the first time since the 2007-08 season, landing coach Linda Lappe’s team at No. 25. The win over Louisville in Boulder was the first over a Top 10 opponent since the 2002 season. On the week, Jeffery averaged 18.0 points on 44 percent shooting and 9.0 rebounds in two games.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. At the Women’s NCAA Final Four in Denver last April, the organization announced going forward that the national and weekly player award has been named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale. At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA. The winner of the 2013 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA’s annual awards breakfast in New Orleans, site of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
Several other women’s awards are also to be announced later this season associated with more famous names in women’s basketball history. At last season’s Women’s Final Four it was also announced that former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who was the female recipient of the Most Courageous Award for her battle against early onset dementia, Alzheimer type, would have that award named in her honor.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women’s All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
2012-13 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week
* Week of Dec. 9: Maggie Lucas, Penn State (Big Ten Conference)
* Week of Dec. 16: Chucky Jeffery, Colorado (Pac-12 Conference)
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