Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List: Jaime Jaquez Jr. Became 6th UCLA Player to Join It
UCLA men’s basketball guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. made it into the 15-man late-season watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, announced by US Basketball Writers Association on Thursday. Jaquez became the sixth UCLA player to get his name on this top individual honor.
The Bruins’ star player will also compete with senior stars like Armando Bacot, Zach Edey, and Brandon Miller for the national player of the year honor. With the regular season on the verge of completion, Jaquez will be getting ready for March Madness as UCLA already made its way to the NCAA tournament as it sits at the top of the Pac-12 conference rankings.
Oscar Robertson Trophy 15-man Watch List
The US Basketball Writers Association announced the 15-man Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, Here is the list which includes the Bruins star’s name on it:
- North Carolina’s Armando Bacot,
- Detroit’s Antoine Davis,
- Memphis’ Kendric Davis,
- Purdue’s Zach Edey,
- Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis,
- Marquette’s Tyler Kolek,
- Alabama’s Brandon Miller,
- Iowa’s Kris Murray,
- Penn State’s Jalen Pickett,
- Houston’s Marcus Sasser,
- Gonzaga’s Drew Timme,
- Kentucky’s Oscar Tschiebwe,
- UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr.,
- Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis,
- Kansas’ Jalen Wilson,
Since the introduction of the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1959, UCLA has won it 9 times. Bill Walton tops the list of winners for UCLA as 3 times winner, followed by Lew Alcindor who won it twice. Walt Hazzard, Marques Johnson, Sidney Wicks, and Ed O’Bannon each won the Robertson Trophy once.
In the 2022-23 college basketball season, Jaime Jaquez is the second Pac-12 player joining this watch list alongside Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s Performance So Far
Jaquez has played all 29 matches in the regular season for UCLA and has led his team with a record of 25-4 to top the Pac-12 conference by scoring double figures in 26 games. With his back-to-back power-packed performances, He made sure the Pac-12 conference title for UCLA this season and the ninth continuous top-10 ranking in the tournament.
Talking about his performance, the Camarillo, California, native, is on the top in UCLA with 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds each game. He also ranks second on the team in terms of steals, assists, and blocks, averaging 1.5, 2.5, and 0.7 per game respectively. Jaquez is shooting a career-best 48.9% from the field and averaging career highs in every significant count metric.
The 6-foot-6 wing is close to the top of the Pac-12 leaderboards in a number of categories, including No. 1 in win shares, No. 2 in offensive win shares, No. 2 in defensive win shares, No. 2 in win shares per 40 minutes, No. 5 in rebounds per game, No. 5 in steals per game, No. 3 in player efficiency rating.
Other Awards Jaime Jaquez Jr. Running For
Along with being a candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year, Jaquez is also making a bid for the John R. Wooden Award, the Julius Erving Award, and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.
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