INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The returning winner who continues to lead the country in rebounding, a two-time All-American and the leading scorer, assist man and double-doubles leader are on the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. The USBWA’s list highlights 50 outstanding players from 18 different conferences including teammates from six schools.
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 entire USBWA membership will vote for the award. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2023 Men's Final Four in Houston with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
All Division I players remain eligible for the 2022-23 Oscar Robertson Trophy. The watch list merely spotlights the top candidates, as selected by the USBWA board.
Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, the 2022 Oscar Robertson Trophy winner, leads the way on this midseason list. The 6-9 forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the nation’s top rebounder at present averaging 13.8 per game with a Southeastern Conference-leading 11 double-doubles. He’s produced 39 double-doubles in 50 career games, none more impressive than Tuesday night’s win over Georgia when he posted 37 points and 24 rebounds in an 85-71 home win. The 24 rebounds are the second-highest total in Rupp Arena history behind the record of 28 Tshiebwe set last season.
Tshiebwe leads the nation in offensive rebounds at 5.60 per game and is 12th in defensive rebounds at 7.53 per game. He’s the SEC leader in both categories. He’s scored 20 or more points in six games and also leads Kentucky with 1.6 steals per game. Tshiebwe is trying to become the first repeat winner since Virginia's Ralph Sampson won the award three straight seasons (1981-83). Only Sampson, UCLA's Bill Walton (1972-74), LSU's Pete Maravich (1969-70), UCLA's Lew Alcindor (1967-68), Ohio State's Jerry Lucas (1961-62) and the award's namesake, Oscar Robertson (1959-60) have won the award multiple times.
Drew Timme, a two-time USBWA All-American, is the lone selection from the West Coast Conference. Timme is 10th nationally at 21.5 ppg and attempting the 9th-most free throws with 130, making 80 thus far. Also out west, the Pac-12 Conference has a pair of teammates on the list at Arizona (Oumar Ballo, listing 8th nationally in field goal percentage at 66.07 percent, and Azuolas Tubelis) and UCLA (Jaylen Clark and Jaime Jaquez Jr.)
The Big 12 led all conferences with eight selections with three pairs of teammates at Baylor (Adam Flagler, Keyonte George), Kansas (Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson) and Kansas State (Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Newell, the USBWA’s National Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 8 and the second-leading assist man in the country averaging 8.4 per game).
The nation’s current top six scorers also highlight the list with Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis among the leaders in multiple categories. Davis is currently the country’s top scorer, averaging 26.2 points per game, more than a field goal (2.4 ppg) better than the next-best scorer – UAB’s Jordan Walkerm – and he’s doing it with makes from beyond the arc. Davis is second in the nation in three-pointers, making 4.42 per game, Walkerm is third at 4.38 per game. Jordan Dingle of Penn (3rd, 23.4 ppg) is just ahead of Jake Stephens of Chattanooga and Purdue's Zach Edey (21.9 ppg each) on the scoring list. Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas (6th, 21.8) also made the list.
Edey is one of the most versatile players on the list. Beyond being fifth nationally in scoring, he’s second to Tshiebwe in rebounding at 13.4 per game and has 15 double-doubles, again right behind the national-leading 16 from St. John’s Joel Soriano, who is the country’s third-best rebounder at 12.1 per game. Yuri Collins of Saint Louis, who leads the nation in assists averaging 10.9 per game, also made the list. New Mexico's Jaelen House is second in the country in steals per game at 2.89.
Other notable players on the list are Jameer Nelson Jr. of Delaware, the son of the 2004 Oscar Robertson Trophy winner from St. Joseph's and other USBWA National Players of the Week Isiah Wong of Miami, Jake Stephens from Chattanooga and Kendric Davis of Memphis. Two 2020-21 All-Americans, Hunter Dickinson of Michigan and Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana are also recognized.
North Carolina also sports a pair of players on the list with Armando Bacot, fifth nationally in rebounding at 11.2 per game with 11 double-doubles, and Caleb Love. The ACC has seven players on the list from six different schools. The Big East and Big Ten each had six players on the list, all of them from different schools.
The complete 50-man Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List:
- Max Abmas, Oral Roberts (6-0, 175, Sr. G, Rockwall, Texas)
- Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest (6-0. 175, Gr., G, Jacksonville, Ark.)
- Armando Bacot, North Carolina (6-11, 235, Sr. F/C, Richmond, Va.)
- Oumar Ballo, Arizona (7-0, 260, Jr.,. C, Koulikoro, Mali)
- Souley Boum, Xavier (6-3, 175, Gr., G, Oakland, Calif.)
- Jordan Brown, Louisiana (6-11, 225, Jr., F, Roseville, Calif.)
- Kobe Brown, Missouri (6-8, 250, Sr., G/F, Huntsville, Ala.)
- Marcus Carr, Texas (6-2, 175, Gr., G, Toronto, Ont.)
- Jaylen Clark, UCLA (6-5, 205, Jr., G, Riverside, Calif.)
- Josh Cohen, St. Francis (Pa.) (6-10, 220, Jr., F, Lincroft, N.J.)
- Yuri Collins, Saint Louis (6-0, 190, Jr., G, St. Louis, Mo.)
- Ricky Council IV, Arkansas (6-6, 205, Jr., G, Durham, N.C.)
- Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy (6-1, 165, Gr., G, Birmingham, Ala.)
- Kendric Davis, Memphis (6-0, 177, Sr., G, Houston, Texas)
- Gradey Dick, Kansas (6-8, 205, Fr., G, Wichita, Kan.)
- Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (7-1, 260, Jr., C, Alexandria, Va.)
- Jordan Dingle, Penn (6-3, 195, Jr., G, Valley Stream, N.Y.)
- Zach Edey, Purdue (7-4, 305, Jr., C, Toronto, Ont.)
- Kyle Filipowski, Duke (7-0, 230, Fr., C, Westtown, N.Y.)
- Adam Flagler, Baylor (6-3, 185, Sr., G, Duluth, Ga.)
- Keyonte George, Baylor (6-4, 185, Fr., G, Lewisville, Texas)
- DaRon Holmes II, Dayton (6-10, 231, So., F, Goodyear, Ariz.)
- Bryce Hopkins, Providence (6-7, 220, So., F/G, Oak Park, Ill.)
- Jaelen House, New Mexico (6-0, 170, Sr., G, Phoenix, Ariz.)
- Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (6-9, 245, Jr., F, Greenwood, Ind.)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (6-7, 225, Sr., G/F, Camarillo, Calif.)
- Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State (6-6, 230, Sr., F, Norfolk, Va.)
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (7-1, 260, Jr., C, Florissant, Mo.)
- Taevion Kinsey, Marshall (6-5, 191, Sr., G, Columbus, Ohio)
- Caleb Love, North Carolina (6-4, 200, Jr., G, St. Louis, Mo.)
- Mike Miles Jr., TCU (6-2, 195, Jr., G, Highland Hills, Texas)
- Brandon Miller, Alabama (6-9, 200, Fr., F, Antioch, Tenn.)
- Kris Murray, Iowa (6-8, 220, Jr. F, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
- Jameer Nelson Jr., Delaware (6-1, 200, Jr., G, Haverford, Pa.)
- Markquis Nowell, Kansas State (5-8, 160, Sr., G, Harlem, N.Y.)
- Jalen Pickett, Penn State (6-4, 209, Sr., G, Rochester, N.Y.)
- Marcus Sasser, Houston (6-2, 195, Sr., G, Dallas, Texas)
- Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (6-6, 225, Sr., G, Chicago, Ill.)
- Terquavion Smith, NC State (6-4, 165, So., G, Greenville, N.C.)
- Adama Sanogo, Connecticut (6-9, 245, Jr., F, Bamako, Mali)
- Joel Soriano, St. John’s (6-11, 280, Sr., C, Yonkers, N.Y.)
- Jake Stephens, Chattanooga (7-0, 275, Gr., C, Bunker Hill, W. Va.)
- Drew Timme, Gonzaga (6-10, 235, Sr., F, Richardson, Texas)
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (6-9, 260, Sr., F, Lubumbashi, Congo)
- Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (6-11, 245, Jr., F, Vilnius, Lithuania)
- Hunter Tyson, Clemson (6-8, 217, Gr., F, Monroe, N.C.)
- Jordan Walker, UAB (5-11, 170, Sr., G, Long Island, N.Y.)
- KJ Williams, LSU (6-10, 250, Sr., F, Cleveland, Miss.)
- Jalen Wilson, Kansas (6-8, 225, Jr., F, Denton, Texas)
- Isaiah Wong, Miami (6-4, 184, Jr., G, Piscataway, N.J.)
By conference: Big 12 8, Atlantic Coast 7, Big Ten 6, Big East 5, SEC 5, Pac-12 4, American Athletic 2, Atlantic 10 2, Sun Belt 2, Colonial Athletic 1, Conference USA 1, Horizon 1, Ivy 1, Mountain West 1, Northeast 1, Southern 1, Summit 1, West Coast 1.
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.