Jan. 22, 2013

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Butler forward Roosevelt Jones as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 20. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.

As the Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Week, Jones 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.

Jones, a 6-4 sophomore from O'Fallon, Ill., hit one of the season's most memorable shots to give the Bulldogs a dramatic 64-63 win over No. 8 Gonzaga in front of a national primetime ESPN audience and a packed Hinkle Fieldhouse with "College GameDay" on hand.

With the short-handed Bulldogs trailing by a point, Jones came up with a steal at midcourt, drove toward the basket and hit a floater from 10 feet as the final buzzer sounded. With leading scorer Rotnei Clarke sidelined, Jones led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while adding five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in the win, Butler's third over over a Top 10 team this season.

Earlier in the week, Jones recorded his second double-double of the season, helping Butler to a conference win over Richmond. He finished with 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

This is the fourth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week will be considered for 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.