Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie was one of 50 players named to the Oscar Robertson midseason trophy watch list on Monday.
Gillespie is averaging a team-high 4.7 assists per game while he remains tenth in EvanMiya's player efficiency ratings. In addition to four 20-point games and a team-high +323 plus-minus, Gillespie has scored in double figures in all but four of Maryland’s 22 games this season. He also posted his lone double-double of the season vs. Syracuse with 17 points and 11 assists in the neutral site win. Gillespie also sits tied with a Big Ten-high 2.5 made threes per game while shooting over 41%.
“I just think he's getting used to the conference more than anything,” Willard said last week when asked about his point guard. “I mean, his first time through it, seeing different defenses, seeing the size and physicality of the league. I think he's just getting much more comfortable with the type of defense that's played in the Big Ten.”
The Oscar Robertson Trophy winner is to be announced at the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, from April 5-7. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March and those chosen will be included on the USBWA's annual awards ballot.
Maryland returns to action this Thursday, Feb. 6, when they travel to Ohio State in the rematch of this season’s Big Ten opener.
Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Johni Broome, Auburn
Lamont Butler, Kentucky
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Donovan Dent, New Mexico
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Chase Hunter, Clemson
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Ian Jackson, North Carolina
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Kam Jones, Marquette
Alex Karaban, UConn
Trey Kauffman-Renn, Purdue
Kon Knueppel, Duke
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
Caleb Love, Arizona
RJ Luis, St. John's
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple
Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Asa Newell, Georgia
Norchad Omier, Baylor
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
Mark Sears, Alabama
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Javon Small, West Virginia
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
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