INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Dec. 21.
For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week’s selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (Big 12)
Anderson scored 27 points – 23 of which came in the second half – and hit the game-winning free throw in the final seconds in the 82-81 win against the Blue Devils in Madison Square Garden. The sophomore guard from Atlanta averaged 20.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the week, starting with a 14-point, six-assist game in a 101-90 win over Northern Colorado. He played all 40 minutes against Duke, going 5-for-9 on 3-point attempts while adding five assists and three steals.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee (SEC)
The 6-4, 220-pound senior from Newark, N.J., had 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in a win over No. 22 St. John’s. Oweh has recorded double-digit points in every game this season and his defense sparked his offense as he helped UK limit St. John’s to a season-low 33.3% field-goal clip.
Braden Huff, Gonzaga (West Coast)
Huff totaled 57 points on 73.5 percent (25-for-34) shooting from the field in two games last week. He added 14 rebounds and two blocks during wins over Campbell and Oregon. Against Campbell, Huff tallied a career-high 37 points on 16-for-18 shooting, including connecting on his first 12 consecutive shots. Only one other Division I player in the last eight seasons has made 12 shots in a half without a miss, according to ESPN. Huff matched his prior career high of 26 points by halftime. His 16 made shots from the field were the most in McCarthey Athletic Center history, the most by a player in the West Coast Conference so far this season and fourth-most in the nation.
Paul McNeil, NC State (ACC)
McNeil averaged 33.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in wins over Texas Southern and Ole Miss and scored a career-high 47 points in the win over Texas Southern, making a school-record and ACC-record tying 11 3-pointers. His final stat line was 12-of-18 shooting, 11-of-17 from three and 12-of-12 from the foul line. He also added a career-high 10 rebounds as he posted his first career double-double. The 47 points are the most by an ACC player since NC State’s Rodney Monroe had 48 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 13, 1991. McNeil closed the week with a team-best 19 points as the Wolfpack beat Ole Miss, 76-62, in Greensboro.
Stephon Payne, Seton Hall (Big East)
Payne registered his second double-double of the week, with 18 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, in Seton Hall’s win at Providence. The senior from Jacksonville, Fla. connected on 8-of-10 shots from the floor. Five of Payne’s 16 boards came on the offensive glass, resulting in six points by the 6-9 forward. He also added a steal and a blocked shot in 30 minutes of play in the win.
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 be announced at the 2026 Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, 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 800 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.
2025-26 USBWA Men’s Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 9: TJ Long, Vermont; Koa Peat, Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina.
• Week ending Nov. 16: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Mikel Brown, Louisville (ACC); Kingston Flemings, Houston (Big 12); Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State (Mid-American); Braden Smith, Purdue (Big Ten).
• Week ending Nov. 23: Michael Ajayi, Butler; David Coit, Maryland; MJ Collins Jr., Utah State; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State; Ethan Roberts, Penn.
• Week ending Nov. 30: Leo Beath, UC San Diego; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Darin Smith, Central Connecticut; Nick Townsend, Yale.
• Week ending Dec. 7: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Tre Carroll, Xavier; Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Aidan Mahaney, UC Santa Barbara; Milan Momcilivic, Iowa State.
• Week ending Dec. 14: Myles Colvin Jr., Wake Forest; Melvin Council Jr., Kansas; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Dennis Parker Jr., Radford; Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana.
• Week ending Dec. 21: Christian Anderson, Texas Tech; Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee; Braden Huff, Gonzaga; Paul McNeil, NC State; Stephon Payne, Seton Hall.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.