HIELD NAMED OSCAR ROBERTSON NATIONAL POW

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected the Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 27. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

As the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, Hield 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 seventh season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week.

Hield, a 6-4 senior from Freeport, Bahamas, was named the MVP of the Diamond Head Classic as the Sooners won three games in route to the title and Hield scored a tournament record 86 points. He averaged 28.7 points and 6.7 rebounds and set a career-high with 34 points in Friday's championship game vs. Harvard, his fourth 30-point game of the season.

In the three games in Hawaii, Hield shot 60.5 percent (26-of-43), including 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from 3-point range, while making 21-of-22 (.955) from the free-throw line. He has scored 25 or more points in five straight games, the first Sooner to accomplish the feat since Ryan Minor in the 1994-95 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. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at the College Basketball Awards on April 11, 2016, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually following the NCAA Men's Final Four.

2015-16 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week ending Dec. 13: Javan Felix, Texas (Big 12 Conference)
• Week ending Dec. 20: Kay Felder, Oakland (Horizon League)
• Week ending Dec. 27: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (Big 12 Conference)