West Arapahoe News

New Mexico senior guard Jaelen House was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List on Thursday by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). House is one of 50 players nationwide to be named to the list, which honors top candidates for the award annually given to the nation’s top player.

House is the only Mountain West player on the list and is the first Lobo recognized with the honor since Cameron Bairstow in 2013-14.

This season, House has helped New Mexico to a 17-2 record and the program’s first national ranking in nine seasons. He ranks second in the Mountain West in scoring at 17.4 ppg and is third in the league in assists at 4.6 per game. Defensively, he ranks second nationally with 2.89 steals per game and is the only player in the nation with at least 50 steals and 15 blocks this 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 entire USBWA membership will vote for the award. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2023 Men’s Final Four in Houston with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

All Division I players remain eligible for the 2022-23 Oscar Robertson Trophy. The watch list merely spotlights the top candidates, as selected by the USBWA board.

Original source can be found here.