ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Butler forward Kelan Martin as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 31. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
As the Big East Conference Player of the Week, Martin was nominated for the weekly award, and then chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week. This is the ninth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week.
A 6-7 senior forward from Louisville, Ky., Martin averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in leading the Bulldogs to a 2-0 week, including a win over No. 1 Villanova and a win at Georgetown. Martin shot 53 percent from the field for the week, including 55.6 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the foul line.
In a 91-89 double-overtime win at Georgetown last Wednesday, Martin scored 27 points, including the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left in the second overtime. He had tied the game previously by hitting two free throws in the final minute.
He followed that up Saturday with a team-high 24 points and eight rebounds in a 101-93 win over Villanova, keyed by a 4-for-4 performance from three-point range. Martin scored nine points over the final 5:05.
Martin now has nine 20-point games on the season and leads Butler with a 18.9-point scoring average and 7.1 rebounds per game.
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 37th 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.
2017-18 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 3: Devonté Graham, Kansas (Big 12 Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 10: Shannon Evans II, Arizona State (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 17: Trae Young, Oklahoma (Big 12 Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 24: Trae Young, Oklahoma (Big 12 Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 31: Kelan Martin, Butler (Big East Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 7: Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State (Big Ten Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 14: Chandler Hutchison, Boise State (Mountain West Conference) and Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts (Atlantic 10 Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 21: Jock Landale, St. Mary's (West Coast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 28: Kevin Knox, Kentucky (Southeastern Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 4: Noah Dickerson, Washington (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 11: Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (Big East Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 18: Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10 Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 25: Carsen Edwards, Purdue (Big Ten Conference)