Oscar Robertson Trophy
The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, first presented in 1959. It is one of the oldest national player of the year awards in college basketball, behind only The Sporting News award, the Helms award, and the UPI award. The original name was the USBWA College Player of the Year, but the men's player of the year award has been called the Oscar Robertson Trophy since 1998. It was renamed to honor the college and professional legend, and first-ever recipient, Oscar Robertson. Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award during the NCAA tournament.
Winners
- The Helms Foundation Player of the Year was first presented in 1944, when the Helms Athletic Foundation announced organization founder Bill Schroeder's player of the year selection for the 1943–44 season as well as his retroactive picks for each season from 1904–05 to 1942–43. Since all awards from 1905 through 1943 were retroactive, the Oscar Robertson Trophy is only 15 years behind it as a major national player of the year award, not 54 years.
- Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.