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. 26.
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:
Mekhi Conner, Sacred Heart (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
In Sacred Heart's two road victories last week over Canisius and Niagara. Conner averaged 14 points and 12.5 assists. During the Pioneers win over Canisius, Conner scored 10 points and dished out 16 assists, tied for the second-most assists in a Division I game this season, to secure his first career double-double. He then led the Pioneers with 18 points and nine assists, just one assist shy of another double-double, in the win against Niagara on Sunday.
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (Big Ten Conference)
The 6-11 senior led the Gophers to a pair of wins with 25.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this past week. He scored 31 points on 13-for-19 shooting from the field in leading Minnesota to a 77-69 win over Oregon, the program’s highest ranked win in four years. He then posted 20 points in a 72-67 win at Iowa, Minnesota’s first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2015.
Max Mackinnon, Portland (West Coast Conference)
Mackinnon tied the school's single-game scoring record, putting up a league-high 43 points in the Pilots' 92-82 win against San Diego last Thursday. Mackinnon passed the 1,000 career point mark in the game as well. He finished 9-for-17 from the field, including a career-best 7-of-9 from three-point range. Mackinnon also knocked down 18-of-22 free throws and extended his streak of consecutive free throws to 40 before later missing one. He added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Against Gonzaga last Saturday, Mackinnon led the team with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. For the week, Mackinnon averaged 30.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field, 60 percent from three-point range and 83 percent at the free throw line.
Bo Montgomery, UNCW (Coastal Athletic Association)
Montgomery guided UNCW to a 3-0 week with a key win over previously unbeaten William & Mary, a road victory over Charleston and a triumph over Hampton. Entering last week averaging 6.9 points per game, Montgomery shined across three wins with 16.7 points on 53.3 percent shooting (16-30 FG) from the floor. The 6-5 guard also chipped in 5.3 boards per game. He produced a career-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and two swipes in the Seahawks’ 85-74 win over the Tribe. Montgomery followed up with a team-best 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor with two treys and a 4-for-4 showing at the line to defeat Charleston, 85-83, on the road. He also chipped in five rebounds in the victory. Montgomery scored eight points in 20 minutes of work in the team’s 83-62 win over Hampton.
Milos Uzan, Houston (Big 12 Conference)
Uzan led the Cougars in a double-overtime win at No. 12 Kansas, while averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the week. At the end of the first overtime, the junior guard assisted on both 3-pointers and added a steal in the final seven seconds as Houston erased a six-point deficit to force double OT. The Las Vegas product finished the 92-86 thriller with 17 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as the Coogs completed the most improbable comeback in the Big 12 since 2017, according to KenPom’s win expectancy (0.4%). In Wednesday’s win against Utah, he scored 14 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the field and adding five assists. He finished the week with a 14-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, moving into the national lead in that category (4.57).
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.
• Week ending Jan. 12: AJ Clayton, Ohio; Cooper Flagg, Duke; Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB; Issac McBride, Oral Roberts; Lamar Washington, Pacific.
• Week ending Jan. 19: Tyeree Bryan, Santa Clara; Rahsool Diggins, Massachusetts; Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest; Javon Small, West Virginia; Earl Timberlake, Bryant.
• Week ending Jan. 26: Mekhi Conner, Sacred Heart; Dawson Garcia, Minnesota; Max MacKinnon, Portland; Bo Montgomery, UNCW; Milos Uzan, Houston.