SETON HALL'S POWELL IS OSCAR ROBERTSON NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Contact Malcolm Moran
malcolm@usbwa.com
(814) 574-1485

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Seton Hall guard Myles Powell as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Nov. 17.

As the Big East Conference Player of the Week, Howell 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. Once again, the USBWA will select a Division I men's National Player of the Week each Tuesday throughout the season. The USBWA has named Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week since the 2009-10 season.

Powell, a 6-2 senior guard from Trenton, N.J., averaged 31.5 points in two games this past week. Despite playing with an ankle injury, Powell wowed the Prudential Center crowd with 37 points, including six three-pointers, in a 76-73 loss to No. 3 Michigan State last Thursday. The 37 points were Powell's second-most in a game and the 10th 30-point game of his career. Three days later, he poured in 26 points, hitting four three-pointers and going 10-12 from the free throw line., in an 83-66 win at Saint Louis.

Through Sunday, Powell was averaging 22.5 points this season, 22nd in Division and second in the Big East, despite a scoreless game vs. Stony Brook in which he was injured and played just four minutes. Powell is the first Seton Hall player to earn the USBWA's National Player of the Week honor.

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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.