ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected the Sacred Heart's Quincy McKnight as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 15. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
As the Northeast Conference Player of the Week, McKnight 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. This is the eighth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week.
McKnight, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Bridgeport, Conn., averaged 35 points per game in SHU's two wins this week at St. Francis Brooklyn and Bryant. Last Thursday, McKnight had his seventh 20-point effort of the season with a game-high 26 points in a 87-75 win. He scored 15 of those points in the second half.
On Saturday, McKnight became the first Pioneer in almost five years to score over 40 points with a career-high 44 in the 112-110 triple overtime win at Bryant. McKnight scored 35 points in the final 35 minutes of the game, with 13 coming after regulation. He scored the tying basket in the second overtime to force a third.
McKnight shot 53.3 percent from the field in the two games while also averaging 6.5 rebounds and four assists per game. McKnight is currently second in the NEC with 19.9 points per game and leads the conference with 21.8 points per game in league play.
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 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. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 36th season. 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.
2016-17 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 11: Josh Hart, Villanova (Big East Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 18: Malik Monk, Kentucky (Southeastern Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 25: Quentin Snider, Louisville (Atlantic Coast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 1: Dillon Brooks, Oregon (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 8: Ryan Taylor, Marshall (Conference USA)
· Week ending Jan. 15: Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 22: Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 29: Tim Cline, Richmond (Atlantic 10 Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 5: Jacob Wiley, Eastern Washington (Big Sky Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 12: Bonzie Coles, Notre Dame (Atlantic Coast Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 19: Mike Daum, South Dakota State (The Summitt League)
· Week ending Feb. 26: Elijah Bryant, BYU (West Coast Conference)