U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week

NORTHWESTERN’S BUIE HEADLINES USBWA WEEKLY MEN’S HONORS

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Dec. 3.

 

For the 2023-24 season, the USBWA has expanded its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. In past seasons, the USBWA has recognized just one player each week.

Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 32 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized.

Following are the five players selected for performance this past week:

Boo Buie, Northwestern (Big Ten Conference)
Buie averaged 27.0 points, 8.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as Northwestern went 2-0 on the week. He posted 31 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals with no turnovers in a 92-88 overtime win over then-No. 1 Purdue to open Big Ten play. He became the only top-conference player in the country to post at least 31 points and nine assists with no turnovers in a game since at least 2010. Buie is the first Big Ten player with at least 30 points and nine assists in a game since Denzel Valentine had 30 and 13 for Michigan State against Indiana on Feb. 14, 2016. Earlier in the week, the Albany, N.Y., product scored 23 points and added seven assists, two rebounds and one steal in an 89-67 win over Northern Illinois.

Boogie Ellis, USC (Pac-12 Conference)
Ellis torched the nets in USC’s two games averaging 28.0 points on 62 percent shooting (21-of-34), including 12-of-19 behind the arc (63 percent), to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals. He hit a career-high and Pac-12 season-high eight three-pointers en route to 28 points in 27 minutes during Wednesday’s 106-78 rout of Eastern Washington. Ellis also scored 28 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in an 89-76 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, going 12-of-21 from the field with four three-pointers.

Baylor Scheierman, Creighton (Big East Conference)
Scheierman averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week away from home. He started with 21 points and eight rebounds in a 79-65 victory over Oklahoma State in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle and finished by scoring 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half of an 89-60 win at Nebraska. Scheierman is the nation’s only player with three or more three-pointers in every game this season. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Shahada Wells, McNeese (Southland Conference)
Wells dominated his competition this week en route to a 2-0 record with the Cowboys. He averaged 30.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals across two games. McNeese defeated UAB, 81-60, with Wells going off for 36 points, six boards and two assists. Wells, a graduate transfer from Amarillo, Texas, followed that up with another 25-point outing, adding eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in McNeese’s 91-80 win over UT-Martin. He was 24-for-36 (67 percent) from the field, including going 5-for-10 from three point range, and 8-for-10 at the free throw line.

Trazarien White, UNCW (Coastal Athletic Association)
White’s career-best 27-point performance Saturday powered UNCW to an 80-73 win over No. 12 Kentucky at Rupp Arena. The junior from Mansfield, Texas, was 9-for-16 from the floor and added 10 rebounds to secure the Seahawks’ second win over a ranked opponent in program history. White averaged a double-double for the week with 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in games against East Carolina and Kentucky.

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 2024 Men’s Final Four in Glendale, Ariz., 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.

2023-24 USBWA Men’s Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 12: Armando Bacot, North Carolina; Tucker DeVries, Drake; Terrence Edwards, James Madison; Dillon Jones, Weber State; Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor.
• Week ending Nov. 19: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas; Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State; Quinten Post, Boston College; Kyle Rode, Liberty; Marcus Tsohonis, Long Beach State.
• Week ending Nov. 26: Zach Edey, Purdue; Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas; Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State; Tyler Thomas, Hofstra; Jamir Watkins, Florida State.
• Week ending Dec. 3: Boo Buie Northwestern; Boogie Ellis, USC; Baylor Scheierman, Creighton; Shahada Wells, McNeese; Trazarien White, UNCW.

SOUTH CAROLINA’S CARDOSO HEADLINES USBWA WEEKLY WOMEN’S HONORS

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) — There are media veterans of women’s basketball coverage who could not envision a same day in which perennial Final Four aspirants Stanford, Tennessee and UConn would all get slammed the way each got handled this past Sunday, Dec. 3, the close out for candidacy for the latest USBWA women’s awards.

Yet for the first time since Dec. 29, 2004, that’s what occurred and when the result of this week’s Associated Press poll was released Monday at the stroke of noon, Tennessee was ejected, Stanford plunged from three to nine and UConn was ranked at a 30-year low at 17th, just one above its entry-level listing for its record AP appearance streak now extended to 569.

“Parity is truly here, and the fans love it,” said retired Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw.

It may sound like a broken record but the players and teams causing all this to happen continue to provide dynamic performances, stunning upsets, and a wealth of candidates to fill the USBWA expansion to five Ann Meyers Drysdale national player honorees in addition to the singular Tamika Catchings freshman and team citations.

The USBWA women’s awards, organized under Mel Greenberg, the USBWA Vice President for women’s basketball, are drawn from weekly conference honors as well as at-large additions.

For their performances in the past seven days, this week’s five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week honorees are South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim, Texas guard Rori Harmon, Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon, and Maine guard Anne Simon.

The Tamika Catchings Freshman Playr of the Week is Texas forward Madison Booker, while Southern Miss is the National Team of the Week.

Cardoso, a 6-7 senior center from Montes Claros, Brazil, and a previous USBWA honoree, helped keep the top-ranked Gamecocks from being overthrown on a two-game swing in the Research Triangle, rallying over No. 24 North Carolina as part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge and then winning at Duke on Sunday, one of three televised games as part of the Jimmy V Women’s Classic. In the two contests, Cardoso combined for 21 points for a 10.5 average, and 30 rebounds for a 15.0 mark on the boards, getting a double-double against the Blue Devils with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Ejim, a 6-1 senior forward from Calgary, Alberta, and a first-time USBWA honoree, in two games averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds, first helping the Zags with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow 82-80 win at Eastern Washington, and then Sunday brought then-No. 3 Stanford’s perfect record to a dead stop, 96-78, shooting 11-of-16 for 68.8 percent from the field for 27 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Gonzaga is on a 24-game home win streak and her season averages are 20.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg while shooting 66.9 percent from the field. The Stanford win was the highest ranked win ever for the Zags and sent them back into the poll for the first time this season at 23rd. She repeated her previous West Coast Conference player award on Monday.

Harmon, a 5-6 junior guard from Houston, Texas, and a past USBWA honoree, averaged 18.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg with 13.0 assists in two games starting the week in Texas’ win over Oral Roberts with 10 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. That followed with a Jimmy V Women’s Classic hosting then-No. 11 UConn in their 10th meeting. Harmon had 27 points and 13 assists as the Longhorns joined several other teams recently getting first-ever wins over the Huskies.

McMahon, a 6-0 sophomore forward from Centerville, Ohio, and a past USBWA honoree, in the third Jimmy V Women’s Classic of the day made it a two-season home-and-home sweep of the Lady Vols by the Buckeyes scoring 19 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field and a perfect connection on all six shots from the line. The result got Tennessee booted from the new AP Poll while Ohio State moved up from 16th to 12th.

Simon, a 5-9 graduate guard from Sandweiler, Luxemborg, and a first-ever USBWA honoree, had a terrific week with the Black Bears to earn America East Player of the Week honors. Playing then-No. 17 Indiana tough all night at home in Portland, the Hoosiers gave Mackenzie Holmes a homecoming while the Maine star scored 34 points off 12-for-24 from the field, including three from deep, and 11 rebounds in the upset bid that came up short, 67-59. She followed up Saturday in a 74-62 win at Fordham blazing from the field on a 9-for-12 effort, including 4-of-6 on three-pointers, for 27 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

Booker, a 6-1 freshman forward from Ridgeland, Miss., and a first time USBWA honoree, made it a two-woman show for Texas in the wins over Oral Roberts and UConn, scoring 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting against Oral Roberts, followed by 20 points on 9-for-21 shooting and a shot from deep against the Huskies with three rebounds and four assists. The work of Harmon and Booker earned them a sweep Monday of the weekly Big 12 awards. The Longhorns’ 9-0 start is their best since the 2015-16 season.

Southern Miss, at 7-0 its best start since 2003-04, upset then-No. 19 Ole Miss, 61-59, at home in Hattiesburg for the first win against a ranked foe since the 1999-2000 season. Senior guard Domonique Davis scored 25 against the Rebels, who dropped out of this week’s poll, one of four from the SEC to depart. It’s a great start for a Lady Eagles program that hasn’t appeared in the NCAA tourney since 1996.

Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a women’s National Player of the Year. For the 2012-13 season, the national and weekly player award became named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale while the national and weekly freshman award is being given in the name of former Tennessee all-American Tamika Catchings, which was applied at the start of the 2019-20 season.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA. The winners of the 2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA’s annual awards event on site at the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Cleveland.

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 a women’s All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.

2023-24 USBWA Women’s Weekly Honors 
• Week ending Nov. 12: Caitlin Clark, Iowa; Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina; Saniya Rivers, NC State; Kiki Iriafen, Stanford; Liza Karlen, Marquette (National); JuJu Watkins, Southern Cal (Freshman); Colorado (Team).
• Week ending Nov. 19: Cameron Brink, Stanford; Taylor Jones, Texas; Ayoka Lee, Kansas State; Lucy Olsen, Villanova; Harmoni Turner, Harvard (National); Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame (Freshman); Baylor (Team).
• Week ending Nov. 26: River Baldwin, NC State; Caitlin Clark, Iowa; Maggie Doogan, Richmond; Aneesah Morrow, LSU; KiKi Rice, UCLA (National); Zanai Barnett-Gay, Navy (Freshman); Princeton (Team).
• Week ending Dec. 3: Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina; Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga; Rori Harmon, Texas; Cottie McMahon, Ohio State; Anne Simon, Maine (National); Madison Booker, Texas (Freshman); Southern Miss (Team).