INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Iowa center Luka Garza as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 8.
As the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, Garza 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. Once again, the USBWA will select a Division I men's National Player of the Week each Tuesday throughout the season. The USBWA has named Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week since the 2009-10 season.
Garza, a 6-10 junior from Washington, D.C., averaged 33.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, shooting 55 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line in road games last week at Syracuse and No. 4 Michigan.
Garza scored a career-high 44 points last Friday in Ann Arbor, third-most in program history and the most points scored by a Hawkeye since John Johnson poured in a school-record 49 points against Northwestern in 1970. In the game, Garza reached 1,000 career points.
Additionally, Garza's 44 points are believed to be the most in a game by a Big Ten player since Purdue's Glenn Robinson scored 44 against Kansas on March 24, 1994.
Last Tuesday, Garza led Iowa to a 68-54 Big Ten/ACC Challenge victory at Syracuse with 23 points and nine rebounds.
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 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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.