ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Kansas center Jeff Withey as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 12. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 21 this season.

Withey

As the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, Withey 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.

Withey, a 7-0 junior from San Diego, Calif., began the week with a career-best 25 points to go along with five rebounds and three blocks in a 68-54 win at No. 8 Baylor. He made 8-of-10 shots from the floor in the game.

He then grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in an 81-66 win over Oklahoma State while scoring 18 points and adding seven blocks. Withey is just the second Big 12 player to collect at least 20 rebounds in a game this season. For the week, Withey shot 60.9 percent from the field, and .789 from the free-throw line.

Withey is the second Kansas player to be named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week this season. Thomas Robinson earned the honor back during the week of Dec. 11, 2011.

This is the third season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week will be considered for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which will be presented to the National Player of the Year on March 30.

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 of the USBWA. The winner of the 2012 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced and presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the USBWA's annual awards breakfast on Fri., March 30 in New Orleans, site of the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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 Joe Mitch at 314-444-4300.

Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 31st season, bigger and better in 2010-11. Blue Ribbon – long-known as "The Bible of College Basketball" – gives its readers the most thorough, up-to-date and timely evaluations of every Division I team in the country. For more information about Blue Ribbon Yearbooks, visit blueribbonyearbookonline.com.

2011-12 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week of Dec. 11: Thomas Robinson, Kansas (Big 12 Conference)
• Week of Dec. 18: Mike Glover, Iona (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
• Week of Dec. 25: Doug McDermott, Creighton (Missouri Valley Conference)
• Week of Jan. 1: Kyle Weems, Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference)
• Week of Jan. 8: Damian Lillard, Weber State (Big Sky Conference)
• Week of Jan. 15: Brandon Paul, Illinois (Big Ten Conference)
• Week of Jan. 22: Faisal Aden, Washington State (Pac-12 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 29: Mason Plumlee, Duke (Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Week of Feb. 5: Tray Woodall, Pittsburgh (Big East Conference)
• Week of Feb. 12: Jeff Withey, Kansas (Big 12 Conference)
• Week of Feb. 19: Draymond Green, Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)