ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Duke guard Nolan Smith as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 13. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 22 this season.
As the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, Smith 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.
Smith, a 6-2 senior from Upper Marlboro, Md., averaged 26 points, 4 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in leading Duke wins over North Carolina and Miami.
Smith scored a career-high 34 points, including 22 points in the second half, to go along with three assists in Wednesday's 79-73 win over North Carolina. He was 13-for-23 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, against the Tar Heels. In Sunday's 81-71 win at Miami, Smith scored 18 points and had five assists despite missing nearly 10 minutes in the first half after being poked in the eye. He scored 16 points after halftime, including 12 points during a five-minute stretch to help the Blue Devils take control.
This is the second season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week is added to 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 of the USBWA. The winner of the 2011 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced and presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the USBWA's annual awards breakfast on Fri., April 1 in Houston, site of the 2011 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 314-444-4300.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 30th season, bigger and better in 2010-11. 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.
2010-11 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week of Dec. 5: Mike Glover, Iona
· Week of Dec. 12: Jimmer Fredette, BYU
· Week of Dec. 19: Khris Middleton, Texas A&M
· Week of Dec. 26: Doron Lamb, Kentucky
· Week of Jan. 2: Demetri McCamey, Illinois
· Week of Jan. 9: Vlad Moldoveanu, American
· Week of Jan. 16: Mike Muscala, Bucknell
· Week of Jan. 23: Jordan Hamilton, Texas
· Week of Jan. 30: Kenneth Faried, Morehead State
· Week of Feb. 6: Chandler Parsons, Florida
· Week of Feb. 13: Nolan Smith, Duke
· Week of Feb. 20: Jacob Pullen, Kansas State