ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has announced finalists for the 2011 Oscar Robertson Trophy, to be presented to the association's national player of the year.
A pair of teammates Duke's Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith · and a pair of freshmen · Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Ohio State's Jared Sullinger · are among the ten players selected to appear on the ballot. BYU's Jimmer Fredette is the lone returning player of the year finalist from a year ago. Other finalists include Big 12 standouts Jordan Hamilton of Texas and Marcus Morris of Kansas, as well as Purdue's JaJuan Johnson, Connecticut's Kemba Walker and Arizona's Derrick Williams.
Fredette (Dec. 12), Hamilton (Jan. 23) and Smith (Feb. 13) were among the 11 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week handed out by the USBWA this season. This was the second season that the USBWA has chosen a national player of the week.
The presentation of this year's award will take place on Friday, April 1 at the USBWA's annual awards breakfast at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four. The breakfast will also honor the winner of the Henry Iba Award, the association's coach of the year and will announce the winner of the first Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Award.
The Oscar Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of nearly 900 journalists. The ballot will be distributed to the membership today, Mon., Feb. 28.
The following players are finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy:
The Oscar Robertson Trophy is awarded to the USBWA's Player of the Year. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA's first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its awards, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-444-4325.
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Oscar Robertson Trophy