INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 12.
As the ACC Player of the Week, Appleby 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. Appleby is the second Wake Forest player to win the award, joining Alondes Williams last season.
The 6-0 grad student from Jacksonville, Ark., scored a season-high 35 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 92-85 win over North Carolina last Tuesday. In the game, he also eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career as Wake Forest beat the Tar Heels for a third straight time in Winston-Salem.
As part of the 35-point outburst, Appleby set ACC records for free throws made (23) and attempted (28), breaking a pair of records that had stood since the 1950s.
Appleby followed up on Saturday by scoring the winning points from the free throw line in a 71-70 home win over Georgia Tech. He played all 40 minutes, scored 16 points and added six assists. His two free throws with 2.3 seconds left provided the margin of victory for the Demon Deacons.
For the week, he averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
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 announced at the 2023 Men's Final Four in Houston 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 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.