Tennessee junior forward Grant Williams has been named to the 2018-19 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.
The award is given out annually to the “most outstanding men’s college basketball player” and is considered the oldest such award of its kind, having been awarded since the 1950s.
Williams is one of 20 players across the country to be included on the midseason watch list. Other names include the likes of Duke’s R.J. Barrett, Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura, Kansas’ Dedric Lawson, Nevada’s Caleb Martin, and Duke’s Zion Williamson. The list is compiled by the United States Basketball Writers Association. It includes six seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores, and four freshmen.
The winner of the award won’t be announced until April, and it will only be announced after the USBWA has decided on its 2018-19 All-America Team. The USBWA has named a National Player of the Year since the 1958-59 season, and the award was named after Oscar Robertson in 1998 – who played at the University of Cincinnati.
This season, Williams is leading the SEC in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Through 10 games, he’s also top 10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, and assists. Williams is averaging 8.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and is shooting 57 percent from the field – second-highest in the conference.
Williams scored a season-high 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting against Louisiana earlier this season while also grabbing 10 rebounds to record a double-double. He has a team-high three double-doubles this season.
The North Carolina native is also a candidate for the Citizen Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year, the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, and the Lute Olson Award.
Williams won the SEC Player of the Year award as a sophomore last season, and he was named the Preseason SEC Player of the Year at SEC Media Day before the start of the 2018-19 season this year.
