The United States Basketball Writers Association has named Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas a finalist for their Oscar Robertson trophy. The award is given by the association to honor the nation’s Division I National Player of the Year, according to the USBWA website.
Christmas has been excluded from contention for a number of awards this year, including a snub in the contention for the Naismith Trophy. Nine ACC players made the Naismith top 30 list, but the ACC’s second-best scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker was left out.
Christmas wasn’t on the Oscar Robertson midseason watch list either, but the big man was able to catch the eyes of the writers since then and made it into the pool of 14 finalists. Other notable finalists are the ACC’s Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), and Jahlil Okafor (Duke).
Doug McDermott (Creighton) currently holds the trophy, and many other big names have taken home the honor. Anthony Davis (Kentucky), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Kevin Durant (Texas), and Michael Jordan (UNC) are just a few of the names that you could drop. If Christmas were to win the award, he would be the first ACC player to do so since North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough in 2008.
The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced on April 4, with the award being presented 10 days later in Oklahoma City.
Posted:  Nathan Dickinson
