INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Jan. 5.
For the 2024-25 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to last season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Leo Colimero, Queens (ASUN Conference)
The 6-7 graduate guard from Sao Paulo, Brazil, led the Royals to a 2-0 start in conference play, the best for the program since joining the ASUN. He averaged 31.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while connecting on 8-of-11 shots from behind the arc. He recorded a career-high, and Queens Division I record, 35 points against FGCU.
Melvin Council Jr., St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10 Conference)
Council averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in two wins to open conference play. He hit the game-winning bucket with 3.3 seconds to play in a 77-75 win against VCU, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists while playing all 40 minutes to defeat the preseason conference favorite. Council then matched his Division I career-high with 24 points, adding a career-high eight assists and five steals in a win Saturday at Fordham. The guard from Rochester, N.Y., shot 51% from the floor for the week (18-for-35).
Cooper Flagg, Duke (ACC)
During two dominant ACC victories, Flagg averaged 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocked shots, while shooting 16-of-26 (61.5%) from the field, 4-of-6 (66.7%) from 3-point range and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. In an 89-62 road victory at SMU on Saturday, Flagg registered his fifth double-double of the season and fourth 20-point double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, along with three assists, two blocked shots and a steal. In an 88-65 home win over Virginia Tech last Tuesday, the freshman collected 24 points, three boards, six assists, four steals and a shot rejection in less than 30 minutes of action.
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (SEC)
Lanier, a 6-5, 207-pound fifth-year player from Nashville, led the Volunteers with 29 points in a win over No. 23 Arkansas. Lanier made 10-of-20 of his shots from the field, including an efficient 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Malik Thomas, San Francisco (West Coast Conference)
Thomas propelled San Francisco to an 89-81 win at Pacific last Thursday, finishing with a game-high 24 points, and also added four rebounds and two steals. Last Saturday, Thomas scored 27 of his game-high 34 points in the first half at Washington State. Thomas finished one point shy of his career high, padding the stat sheet with three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block against the Cougars.
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 winner of the award will be announced at the 2025 Men's Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 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.
2024-25 USBWA Men's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 10: JaKobe Coles, Grand Canyon; Tyson Dunn, Buffalo; TY Johnson, UC Davis; Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton; Justice Shoats, Siena.
• Week ending Nov. 17: Abdi Bashir, Monmouth; Jaron Pierre, Jax State; Maxine Raynaud, Stanford; John Tonje, Wisconsin; Sonny Wilson, Toledo.
• Week ending Nov. 24: Mason Falslev, Utah State; Cooper Flagg, Duke; Chaz Lanier, Tennessee; Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, Columbia; John Tonje, Wisconsin.
• Week ending Dec. 1: Johni Broome, Auburn; Chucky Hepburn, Louisville; Tyrese Hunter, Memphis; Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue; Javon Small, West Virginia.
• Week ending Dec. 8: Devin Haid, Central Connecticut; Tyler “Chip” Johnson, Mercer; Ian Schieffelin, Clemson; Sean Smith, Western Illinois; Sebastian Thomas, Rhode Island.
• Week ending Dec. 15: Lamont Butler, Kentucky; Tarence Guinyard, UT Martin; Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee; Taryn Todd, Arkansas State; Brice Williams, Nebraska.
• Week ending Dec. 22: Donovan Dent, New Mexico; Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota; Caden Pierce, Princeton; Erik Reynolds II, Saint Joseph's; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State.
• Week ending Dec. 29: Eric Dailey Jr., UCLA; Mason Falslev, Utah State; Connor Kochera, Davidson; Ahmad Robinson, Mercer; Brice Williams, Nebraska.
• Week ending Jan. 5: Leo Colimero, Queens; Melvin Council Jr., St. Bonaventure; Cooper Flagg, Duke; Chaz Lanier, Tennessee; Malik Thomas, San Francisco.