The United States Basketball Writers Association (USWBA) has named Irish tri-captain Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after the senior forward averaged 30.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in Notre Dame’s wins over USF (74-73) and West Virginia (70-68).
The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 23 this season. As the Big East Conference Player of the Week, Harangody 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. Harangody, a 6-8 senior from Schererville, Ind., averaged 30.0 points in two Fighting Irish wins this past week. He scored a season-high 36 points – his third 30-point game of the season – in a 74-73 win at USF and followed that up with 24 points in a 70-68 win over No. 8 West Virginia.
For the week he shot 57.9 percent (22-of-38) from the field and made 6-of-8 three-point attempts. In the win at USF, his free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining provided the margin of victory. Against West Virginia, he was 9-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. This is the first 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.