KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Five of the 50 players selected for the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List are from Kansas, Kansas State or Missouri.
The award is presented annually by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the best player in college basketball during a given season.
Jayhawks freshman guard Gradey Dick and junior forward Jalen Wilson made the cut along with the Wildcats senior forward Keyontae Johnson and senior guard Markquis Nowell.
Mizzou senior forward Kobe Brown also found himself among the more than four dozen players announced Thursday.
Wilson leads KU in scoring (20.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.9) and also ranks second in assists (2.6), while Dick is the second-ranked Jayhawks’ second-leading scorer (14.7) and top three-point shooter.
Johnson leads K-State in scoring (18.7) and rebounding (7.2), while Nowell leads first-year coach Jerome Tang’s squad in assists (8.4) and steals (2.3) and ranks second in scoring (16.4).
The 13th-ranked Wildcats upset the rival Jayhawks in overtime Tuesday in Manhattan.
Finally, Brown is the Tigers’ top scorer (15.7) and rebounder (5.6). He also ranks fourth on Mizzou in assists, steals and blocks.
Brown is one of five players in the country shooting at least 55% from the field and 40% from three-point range, the school said in a release announcing his inclusion on the watch list.
The award, which was renamed in Oscar Robertson’s honor in 1998, has been given annually since the 1958-59 season.
—
