INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Feb. 11.
For the 2023-24 season, the USBWA has expanded its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. In past seasons, the USBWA has recognized just one player each week.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 32 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Dylan Disu, Texas (Big 12 Conference)
Disu averaged 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game for the week. The graduate student forward from Pflugerville, Texas, converted 20-of-35 (.571) from the floor, including 10-of-16 (.625) from three-point range. Against No. 14 Iowa State, he registered a game-high 28 points, tied his season-high with 10 rebounds and added three steals, two blocks and two assists in 31 minutes. During Saturday's home win over West Virginia, he posted a game-high 27 points, dished three assists without a turnover, had two steals and a blocked shot in 26 minutes. His seven 3-pointers were a career high. In the first half alone, Disu tallied 19 points (7-for-7 FG, 5-for-5 on threes) in just 13 minutes of action becoming just the sixth Texas player to record a perfect half from three-point range with a minimum of five attempts since the 1986-87 season. Disu also recorded UT's ninth perfect half from the floor (min. 6 att.) since 1949-50 and accomplished this for the second time in his career as he went 7-for-7 in the first half. In his first 11 conference games this year, Disu has averaged a team-best 18.9 points and 5.3 rebounds with 14 blocks while converting .571 (77-149) from the floor, including .531 (26-49) from three-point range in 27.8 minutes per contest.
Joe Girard III, Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Girard III averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in road wins at No. 3 North Carolina and Syracuse. The graduate student guard from Glens Falls, N.Y., shot 54.5 percent from the floor, including 60 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range. He also was 6-of-6 at the foul line. At North Carolina, he finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, and his biggest three of the game came with 2:09 remaining to give Clemson a five-point lead en route to the program’s second-ever win in Chapel Hill. In his return to Syracuse, where he played the first four years of his college career, Girard finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-6 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three. He also made all four of his free throws. His final free throw of the game enabled him to reach 2,000 career points, as he became just the sixth player in the last 30 seasons to amass 2,000 points, 400 rebounds, 500 assists and 350 threes in a career.
Tyler Kolek, Marquette (Big East Conference)
Kolek delivered an impressive performance in Marquette’s 86-75 win over St. John’s. The senior guard from Cumberland, R.I., became only the third player in Division I in the last 20 years to post at least 27 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds in a game. Kolek scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half to rally the Golden Eagles from a nine-point deficit at halftime. He made 11-of-17 shots from the field.
Sincere Parker, Saint Louis (Atlantic 10 Conference)
Parker led the NCAA in total points last week with 67, averaging 33.5 points per game over two road games at La Salle and at Saint Joseph's. He combined to shoot 22-for-33 (.667) from the field, 8-for-12 (.667) from 3-point range, and was a perfect 15-for-15 from the foul line. The junior guard from Rockford, Ill., exceeded his career scoring high in each game with 33 points at La Salle and 34 points at Saint Joseph's. He also added a career-high-tying nine rebounds against the Hawks to finish one rebound shy of a double-double. Parker averaged 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the two games. His high scoring came despite averaging only 22.9 minutes per game, including just 18 in the 33-point effort against the Explorers.
Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference)
Radford, a graduate student guard from Baton Rouge, La., averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in wins at Missouri and against No. 6 Tennessee. He was efficient from the field as he hit 53.1 percent (17-of-32) of his shots and connected on 80 percent (12-of-15) of his shots from the charity stripe. In the win against Tennessee, Radford had 27 points on 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) shooting along with five rebounds and five assists.
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 award will be announced at the 2024 Men's Final Four in Glendale, Ariz., with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2023-24 USBWA Men's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 12: Armando Bacot, North Carolina; Tucker DeVries, Drake; Terrence Edwards, James Madison; Dillon Jones, Weber State; Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor.
• Week ending Nov. 19: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas; Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State; Quinten Post, Boston College; Kyle Rode, Liberty; Marcus Tsohonis, Long Beach State.
• Week ending Nov. 26: Zach Edey, Purdue; Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas; Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State; Tyler Thomas, Hofstra; Jamir Watkins, Florida State.
• Week ending Dec. 3: Boo Buie Northwestern; Boogie Ellis, USC; Baylor Scheierman, Creighton; Shahada Wells, McNeese; Trazarien White, UNCW.
• Week ending Dec. 10: Mika Adams-Woods, St. Bonaventure; Enrique Freeman, Akron; David Jones, Memphis; Arthur Kaluma, Kansas State; Tyler Kolek, Marquette.
• Week ending Dec. 17: Tyler Cochran, Toledo; Kevin Cross, Tulane; Fletcher Loyer, Purdue; Ian Martinez, Utah State; Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's.
• Week ending Dec. 24: Oumar Ballo, Arizona; Johnell Davis, Florida Atlantic; RJ Davis, North Carolina; Jarod Lucas, Nevada; Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina.
• Week ending Dec. 31: T.J. Bickerstaff, James Madison; Branden Carlson, Utah; Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois; Noah Reynolds, Green Bay; Reese Waters, San Diego State.
• Week ending Jan. 7: Armando Bacot, North Carolina; James Bishop IV, George Washington; Marcus Domask, Illinois; Jonathan Mogbo, San Francisco; Great Osobor, Utah State.
• Week ending Jan. 14: Keenon Cole, Lindenwood; Frankie Fidler, Omaha; Jordan Johnson, New Orleans; Isaac Jones, Washington State; Dalton Knecht, Tennessee.
• Week ending Jan. 21: Zach Edey, Purdue; Kezza Giffa, High Point; DaRon Holmes II, Dayton; Dalton Knecht, Tennessee; Jamal Shead, Houston.
• Week ending Jan. 28: Tommy Bruner, Denver; Boo Buie, Northwestern; RJ Davis, North Carolina; Jordan Pope, Oregon State; Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina.
• Week ending Feb. 4: Johni Broome, Auburn; Hunter Dickinson, Kansas; Quincy Olivari, Xavier; Max Rice, Boise State; Tyler Thomas, Hofstra.
• Week ending Feb. 11: Dylan Disu, Texas; Joe Girard, Clemson; Tyler Kolek, Marquette; Sincere Parker, Saint Louis; Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M.