Dec. 21, 2010
ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Texas A&M forward Khris Middleton as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 14. 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 Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, Middleton 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.
Middleton, a 6-7 sophomore from North Charleston, S.C., scored a career-high 31 points to lead the 25th-ranked Aggies to a 71-62 overtime victory over Arkansas in Dallas. In the first meeting between former Southwest Conference rivals in 20 seasons, Middleton connected on 10-of-16 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line to lift the Aggies to their seventh straight win and a 10-1 start.
With the Aggies trailing by six points in the second half, he scored 11 of the team's final 12 points of regulation to force overtime. Middleton's 31 points were the most by an Texas A&M player in nearly four years (Acie Law, 33 points at Texas in 2007), as he became only the second player this season to score more than 20 points against the Razorbacks. He is just one of four players all-time at Texas A&M to be named Big 12 Player of the Week.
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.
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