ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Florida forward Chandler Parsons as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 6. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 22 this season.
As the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, Parsons 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.
Parsons, a 6-10 senior from Casselberry, Fla., averaged 17.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in wins over No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Kentucky.
Parsons led the Gators to their first back-to-back wins over ranked teams since 2007. He opened the week with an 18-point, 11-rebound performance in a 65-61 overtime victory over Vanderbilt, scoring four of the Gators’ final seven points in overtime and sealing the game with a rebound off a Vanderbilt missed three-point attempt. In the 70-68 win over Kentucky, he scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had five assists with no turnovers. Parsons hit 6-of-10 shots and 2-of-4 attempts from 3-point range.
This is the second season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week is added to the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list, which will be released at mid-season.
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 2011 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced and presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the USBWA’s annual awards breakfast on Fri., April 1 in Houston, site of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Final Four.