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ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association
has selected Notre Dame's Bonzie Colson 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.
As the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, Colson 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. This is the eighth season that the USBWA has
selected a national player of the week.
Colson, a 6-5 junior forward from New Bedford, Mass., helped
the Irish to a 2-0 week that included an 84-72 victory over then-No.
14 Florida State on Saturday. He started the week with a season-high
27 points in the 88-81 win over Wake Forest last Tuesday, a game
in which he also pulled down 16 rebounds and added a career-high
five blocks.
Against the Seminoles, who entered the game tied for first place
in the ACC, Colson recorded a career-high 33 points on 12-of-18
shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line to go with
13 rebounds. In the process, he became the 61st Notre Dame player
to score over 1,000 points in his career.
With double-doubles against both Wake Forest and Florida State,
Colson pushed his ACC-leading total to 16 – nine in conference play
– this season. He continues to lead the ACC in rebounds (10.8) and
now has six 20-10 games this season, tied for best in the conference.
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 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 314-795-6821.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive
college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 36th
season. 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.
2016-17 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week ending Dec. 11: Josh Hart, Villanova (Big East Conference)
• Week ending Dec. 18: Malik Monk, Kentucky (Southeastern Conference)
• Week ending Dec. 25: Quentin Snider, Louisville (Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Week ending Jan. 1: Dillon Brooks, Oregon (Pac-12 Conference)
• Week ending Jan. 8: Ryan Taylor, Marshall (Conference USA)
• Week ending Jan. 15: Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)
• Week ending Jan. 22: Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (Pac-12 Conference)
• Week ending Jan. 29: Tim Cline, Richmond (Atlantic 10 Conference)
• Week ending Feb. 5: Jacob Wiley, Eastern Washington (Big Sky Conference)
• Week ending Feb. 12: Bonzie Coles, Notre Dame (Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Week ending Feb. 19: Mike Daum, South Dakota State (The Summitt League)
• Week ending Feb. 26: Elijah Bryant, BYU (West Coast Conference)
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