Creighton's Doug McDermott is announced as the 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy winner by The Big O, flanked by USBWA President Kirk Wessler of the Peoria Journal Star (left) and his father and coach Greg McDermott (right). Photo courtesy U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Read USBWA past president
A portion of the proceeds from
each year's presentation benefits the  The Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, is the premier men's college player of the year award. It is also the only such award actually named after a player or a living namesake — in this case, the National Association of Basketball Coaches' "Player of the Century." Creighton University's Doug McDermott, a 6'8" senior forward from Ames, IA who led the nation in scoring with a 26.9 average, has been named the winner of the 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy. McDermott, whose father Greg is Creighton's coach, led his team to the third round of the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated by Baylor. For the year, he shot 52.5 percent from the field overall and 45.4 percent from three-point range, and averaged 7 rebounds a game. He is the first 3-time All-American since 1985 and ranks 5th among the NCAA's all-time scoring leaders with 3150 points over his four-year career. At the same USBWA media conference where McDermott's honor was announced, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall was recognized as the USBWA's Henry Iba Coach of the Year. Marshall led the Shockers to an undefeated 34-0 season and the Missouri Valley Conference championship before they were eliminated by University of Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. For more complete information about the 2014 USBWA award winners, go here. The trophy is an 18" bronze sculpture created in 2005 by world-renowned St. Louis sculptor Harry Weber on commission from the USBWA and is based on the famous photo of Oscar Robertson rebounding against Kansas State. Weber's bronze sculptures are in the permanent collections of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and the National Dog Museum, as well as private collections across the U.S. and overseas, and have been featured at the Museum of Fine Arts in Newport, Rhode Island. UCLA has the most Oscar Robertson Trophy winners with nine, followed by Duke University with seven. Kenyon Martin was the first University of Cincinnati player to win the award since The Big O himself last won in 1960. For the complete list of winners since 1959, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Two permanent display cases, one of Oscar Robertson Trophy winners and one of memorabilia from The Big O's career dating back to Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High School, have been set up in the entrance hall at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and site of the 2006 Oscar Robertson Trophy presentation. Larry Bird, president of basketball operations for the Pacers, assisted The Big O in unveiling the display cases. Last update 04/04/2014
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