ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Wofford guard Fletcher Magee as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, March 3. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
As the Southern Conference Player of the Week, Magee 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. The USBWA has named Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week since the 2009-10 season. Magee is the final selection of the season.
The 6-4 senior from Orlando, Fla., is the first player from the Southern Conference to earn the USBWA's National Player of the week award. For the week, Magee averaged 27.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in leading the Terriers to complete an undefeated SoCon league season with road wins over Chattanooga and Samford. Wofford (26-4, 18-0) is the first undefeated regular-season SoCon champion since Davidson went 20-0 in 2007-08 behind star Stephen Curry.
Magee closed his week with a season-high 36 points against Samford on 13-for-21 shooting (.619) and went 8-for-14 (.571) from 3-point range to go with four rebounds, four assists and three steals without a turnover in capping Woffords school-record 26th regular-season win. The SoCon·s all-time three-point field goal leader and currently the nation·s leader in made three-pointers (139) sank 18-of-31 (.581) treys for the week and shot nearly 62 percent (13-of-21) from the field. He enters the postseason needing just 15 treys to become the career leader at the Division I level with 490 thus far. Oakland University·s Travis Bader holds the record at 504.
Two days prior at Chattanooga, Magee scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down three rebounds in just 24 minutes of the Terriers' 80-54 win. He was 5-for-10 from the field, including a 5-for-7 (.714) showing from 3-point range with two assists and a steal.
Magee leads the SoCon in scoring (22.9 points per game), free throw percentage (also second nationally at .934), and made three-pointers (94). The SoCon weekly award was Magees second this season and seventh of his career.
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.
On Mon., March 18, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The 2018-19 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis on Fri., April 5, and the winner will be honored at the USBWA College Basketball Awards Dinner in St. Louis on Mon., April 15.
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 38th 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.
2018-19 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 2: Markus Howard, Marquette (Big
East Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 9: Admiral
Schofield, Tennessee (Southeastern Conference)
·
Week ending Dec. 16: Juwan Morgan, Indiana (Big Ten
Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 23: Markus Howard,
Marquette (Big East Conference)
· Week ending
Dec. 30: Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra (Colonial Athletic Association)
·
Week ending Jan. 6: Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (Big
East Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 13: Bruno
Fernando, Maryland (Big Ten Conference)
· Week
ending Jan. 20: Ja Morant, Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)
·
Week ending Jan. 27: Grant Williams, Tennessee (Southeastern
Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 3: Chris Clemons,
Campbell (Big South Conference)
· Week ending
Feb. 10: Robert Franks, Washington State (Pac-12 Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 17: PJ Washington, Kentucky (Southeastern
Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 24: Mike Daum, South Dakota State (Summit League)
·
Week ending March 3: Fletcher Magee, Wofford (Southern Conference)