Kansas’ Tharpe Is The National Player Of The Week

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected the Kansas guard Naadir Tharpe as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 19. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and is announced exclusively on SiriusXM Radio’s “Inside College Basketball.”

Tharpe

As the Big 12 Conferennce Player of the Week, Tharpe 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.

Tharpe, a 5-11 junior from Worcester, Mass., led the Jayhawks to conference wins at No. 8 Iowa State and No. 9 Oklahoma State. In the wins that lifted Kansas to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25, Tharpe averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting a sizzling 82.4 percent from the field. He started the week with a career-high 23 points in the 77-70 win at Iowa State on 7-of-9 shooting before adding 21 points against in the 80-78 win vs. the Cowboys, making 7-of-8 shots from the field. Tharpe was 6-of-8 (.750) from three-point range during the week and connected on 9-of-10 (.900) from the free-throw line.

This is the fifth 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.

Oscar Robertson TrophyAt 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. TheHenry 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 33rd season, bigger and better in 2013-14. 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.

2013-14 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week of Dec. 8: Dustin Hogue, Iowa State (Big 12 Conference)
• Week of Dec. 15: Marcus Paige, North Carolina (Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Week of Dec. 22: Aaric Murray, Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
• Week of Dec. 29: DeAndre Kane, Iowa State (Big 12 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 5: Willis Hall, College of Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association)
• Week of Jan. 12: Doug McDermott, Creighton (Big East Conference)
• Week of Jan. 19: Naadir Tharpe, Kansas (Big 12 Conference)

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