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, Nov. 17.
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:
Abdi Bashir, Monmouth (Coastal Athletic Association)
The sophomore guard from Omaha, Neb., averaged 31.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in Monmouth’s road games at Northern Illinois and No. 24 Rutgers. He scored a career-high 25 points and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals at NIU. He shattered the scoring mark three days later, pouring in 38 points on 10-of-17 shooting from 3-point range against Rutgers. The 10 treys were a program record, the second-most in CAA history and the second-most ever at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Jaron Pierre Jr., Jax State (Conference USA)
Pierre Jr. put on a clinic in the Gamecocks’ two wins over Sun Belt foes en route to CUSA Player of the Week honors. The redshirt senior guard averaged 29.0 points on 19-37 (51.3 percent) shooting, while adding eight assists and five rebounds. After a dominant 27-point outing on Wednesday in a come-from-behind victory over Georgia State, Pierre Jr. set a new career-high with 31 points in a 71-53 win at Coastal Carolina. His 25.8 points per game leads CUSA and is fifth in the country.
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Senior center Maxime Raynaud led the Cardinal to a pair of wins with averages of 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game for the week, shooting a slash line of 56/55/83 and recording a pair of double-doubles. The native of Paris, France, racked up 22 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Northern Arizona, and followed it by scoring a career-high 33 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in a victory over UC Davis. Raynaud has recorded double-doubles in all four of Stanford’s games this season as the Cardinal is off to a 4-0 start.
John Tonje, Wisconsin (Big Ten Conference)
Scored a career-high 41 points in Wisconsin's 103-88 win over No. 9 Arizona on Friday, second most points in program history. Tonje broke the Wisconsin single-game record for made free throws, finishing with a 21-for-22 clip at the line and became the only player over the last 30 years to score 40 points and make 20 free throws in a game vs. an AP Top 25 opponent.
Sonny Wilson, Toledo (Mid-American Conference)
Sophomore Sonny Wilson led Toledo to a pair of victories this week by averaging 21.0 points, 6.5 reobunds and 4.5 assists and registering an impressive 66.7 field-goal percentage. Wilson opened the week by tying his career high with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds in an 86-77 win over Wright State in the Rockets' home opener. He then poured in a career-high 22 points and tied his career high with six assists in UT's 82-67 road win at Detroit Mercy. Wilson scored 15 of his points in the second half against the Titans to help the Rockets pull away down the stretch after holding a one-point halftime lead. For the season, Wilson is second in the MAC with 18.8 ppg, fourth with 4.0 apg and fifth with a 62.2 FG%.
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.