ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Notre Dame's Bonzie Colson as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 12. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
As the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, Colson 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.
Colson, a 6-5 junior forward from New Bedford, Mass., helped the Irish to a 2-0 week that included an 84-72 victory over then-No. 14 Florida State on Saturday. He started the week with a season-high 27 points in the 88-81 win over Wake Forest last Tuesday, a game in which he also pulled down 16 rebounds and added a career-high five blocks.
Against the Seminoles, who entered the game tied for first place in the ACC, Colson recorded a career-high 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line to go with 13 rebounds. In the process, he became the 61st Notre Dame player to score over 1,000 points in his career.
With double-doubles against both Wake Forest and Florida State, Colson pushed his ACC-leading total to 16 nine in conference play · this season. He continues to lead the ACC in rebounds (10.8) and now has six 20-10 games this season, tied for best in the conference.
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)