The United States Basketball Writers Association (USWBA) has named Irish tri-captain Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after the senior forward averaged 30.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in Notre Dame’s wins over USF (74-73) and West Virginia (70-68).
The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 23 this season. As the Big East Conference Player of the Week, Harangody 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.
Harangody, a 6-8 senior from Schererville, Ind., averaged 30.0 points in two Fighting Irish wins this past week. He scored a season-high 36 points – his third 30-point game of the season – in a 74-73 win at USF and followed that up with 24 points in a 70-68 win over No. 8 West Virginia.
For the week he shot 57.9 percent (22-of-38) from the field and made 6-of-8 three-point attempts. In the win at USF, his free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining provided the margin of victory. Against West Virginia, he was 9-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
This is the first 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 2010 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced and presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the USBWA’s annual awards breakfast on Fri., April 5 in Indianapolis, site of the 2010 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.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 29th season, bigger and better in 2009-10. 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 .
2009-10 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week of Dec. 13: Gordon Hayward, Butler
Week of Dec. 20: Jon Scheyer, Duke
Week of Dec. 27: Devin Ebanks, West Virginia
Week of Jan. 3: Jimmer Fredette, BYU