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, March 2.
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. These are the season's final selections.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Silas Demary Jr., Georgia (SEC)
Demary Jr. averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in wins over No. 3 Florida and at Texas last week. He shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from 3-point range in the two games. Demary was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer in each win, with back‐to‐back 20‐point performances of 21 against Florida and a career‐high 26 at Texas. He led Georgia to its highest ranked win in more than 20 years against No. 3 Florida, since defeating No. 3 Georgia Tech on Jan. 3, 2004 and recorded two 20‐point outings in two games, after posting two 20‐point tallies in the first 64 games of his career prior to last week.
Eric Dixon, Villanova (Big East)
Dixon averaged 33.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Wildcats. He had 32 points, including 18 straight in the second half, and grabbed 10 boards in a 59-54 victory at Seton Hall on Wednesday. In an 80-70 home win against Butler on Saturday, Dixon netted 34 points. He continues to lead the nation in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game.
Izaiyah Nelson, Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
Nelson recorded a pair of double-doubles while averaging an astounding 21.5 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks per game in Arkansas State's two road victories at Louisiana and ULM. He shot 15-for-29 (.517) from the field and 13-for-15 (.867) at the free throw line.
Jeff Planutis, Mercyhurst (Northeast)
In a performance to remember last Thursday, Planutis buried a career-high 10 three-pointers en route to a season-best 32-point outing, leading Mercyhurst to a 90-68 win over Chicago State. The victory secured a winning conference record in the Lakers’ first year as a Division I and NEC member. The Hazleton, Pa. native came out firing, hitting 6-8 from deep by halftime, before finishing 10-13 from beyond the arc and 11-16 overall. His ten triples were just one shy of the NEC record for a league game and the most in a conference tilt since the Mount’s Sam Prescott hit 10 on February 14, 2013, more than 12 years ago. Across his five-year career at Mercyhurst, Planutis amassed 1,859 points and 227 three-pointers.
Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso (Missouri Valley)
Schwieger averaged a double-double of 27.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game over two contests this past week. In Wednesday's game vs. Bradley, he totaled 21 points and three blocks and followed that up with a 33-point, 18-rebound, five-assist game on Sunday at UIC, setting career highs in all three categories and becoming the first player nationally to post that stat line since 2011. Only two other MVC players on record have had a 30-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist game: Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati and Larry Bird of Indiana State.
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
• Week ending Feb. 2: Rahsool Diggins, Massachusetts; Madison Durr, Monmouth; Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple; Darryl Simmons, Gardner-Webb; Brice Williams, Nebraska.
• Week ending Feb. 9: Jamar Brown, Kansas City; Nelly Junior Joseph, New Mexico; Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue; RJ Luis, St. John’s; CJ Walker, East Carolina.
• Week ending Feb. 16: Denver Jones, Auburn; Jalen Terry, Eastern Michigan; John Tonje, Wisconsin; JT Toppin, Texas Tech; Corey Washington, Wichita State.
• Week ending Feb. 23: Nate Bittle, Oregon; Jahnathan Lamothe, North Carolina A&T; Bez Mbeng, Yale; Richie Saunders, BYU; Mark Sears, Alabama.
• Week ending March 2: Silas Demary Jr., Georgia; Eric Dixon, Villanova; Izaiyah Nelson, Arkansas State; Jeff Planutis, Mercyhurst; Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso.