INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Portland freshman guard Joel Foxwell was one of five players named by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Feb. 8.

Foxwell was previously named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week and took him his sixth WCC Freshman of the Week award of the season. The Melbourne, Australia native led the Pilots to the best win in school history Wednesday over No. 6 Gonzaga and followed with an all-around performance in a last-second win over Seattle U on Saturday.

In the 87-80 shocker over the Bulldogs, Foxwell dominated the game and finished with 27 points, four rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes of action. He was 11-of-18 from the field and collected a steal. Foxwell set the tone early and despite battling cramps for the final seven minutes of regulation, led Portland to just the second win ever against a Top 10 opponent and first win over Gonzaga dating back to 2014.

In Saturday's 54-53 victory against the Redhawks he had five points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals. He hit clutch three-pointer in the final minute to set up Dante Censori-Hercules' thrilling game-winner with 1.9 seconds left.

Foxwell leads the WCC in assists and ranks No. 1 nationally among freshmen and No. 4 overall for total assists (179). His 6.9 assists per game rank 11th nationally and  tops all freshmen.

For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.

Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.

Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:

Dylan Andrews, Boise State (Mountain West)
The senior guard from Gardena, Calif., led the Broncos to a pair of conference victories over Nevada (91-87) in overtime and at New Mexico (91-90) by averaging 29 points and five assists per game while shooting 61.5 percent (16-for-26) from the field and 95.0 percent (19-of-20) from the charity stripe. Andrews scored a career-best 33 points behind a 9-for-14 effort (.643) from the floor in The Pit before scoring 25 points with six assists against the Wolf Pack.

Marcus Banks Jr., Massachusetts (MAC)
The graduate from Hampton, Va., had back-to-back impressive performances that included a career-best 37-point performance in a win against Central Michigan last Tuesday, as well as 21 points in a triple overtime thriller at Coastal Carolina on Saturday. In the win over the Chippewas, Banks Jr. etched his name in the Massachusetts records book by making a program-best 10 three pointers. Banks Jr. and Central Michigan's Logan McIntire combined for 22 threes, marking the most combined threes made by two players (teammates or opponents) in any NBA, WNBA, or Division I men's or women's game all-time (via @OptaSTATS). Banks Jr., also had the buzzer-beater from just over half court to force a third overtime at Coastal Carolina. For the week, Banks Jr. averaged 29 points per game, shot 54.1% from the field including 14-25 from three (.560), and also averaged 3.5 steals per game.

Quadir Copeland, NC State (ACC)
Copeland averaged 14.0 points, 13.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in NC State wins over SMU and Virginia Tech. He passed out a career-high 16 assists with zero turnovers and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in the Wolfpack's 84-83 win at SMU on Tuesday. Those 16 assists tie for the fourth-most in a game in program history. He is also the first Division I player since 2019 to log 16 assists and zero turnovers, and the first ACC player since 1997 to accomplish the feat in setting the NC State single-game record for most assists without a turnover. He then scored 21 points (his season-high against an ACC team this season), passed out 10 more assists and tied a career-high with five steals in the Wolfpack's 82-73 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Joel Foxwell, Portland (West Coast)
Foxwell led the Pilots to the best win in school history and a home sweep of No. 6 Gonzaga and Seattle U. In Wednesday's 87-80 win over the Bulldogs, the Melbourne, Australia product finished with 27 points, four rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes. Battling through cramps in the final minutes, the freshman shot 11-for-18 from the field and also collected a steal. In Saturday's 54-53 victory against the Redhawks, he posted five points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He hit a clutch trey in the final minute to set up the game-winner and tied a season best in rebounds. Foxwell averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.5 steals over the two games.

Bennett Stirtz, Iowa (Big Ten)
An honorable mention USBWA All-American last season at Drake, Stirtz averaged 29 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals while playing all but four seconds as the Hawkeyes went 2-0 last week. He shot 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from long range and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line in the two wins. He scored 22 points with five assists in an 84-74 win at Washington and a scored career-high 36 points in a 76-70 win over Northwestern.
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2026 Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.

2025-26 USBWA Men's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 9: TJ Long, Vermont; Koa Peat, Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina.
• Week ending Nov. 16: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Mikel Brown, Louisville; Kingston Flemings, Houston; Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State; Braden Smith, Purdue.
• Week ending Nov. 23: Michael Ajayi, Butler; David Coit, Maryland; MJ Collins Jr., Utah State; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State; Ethan Roberts, Penn.
• Week ending Nov. 30: Leo Beath, UC San Diego; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Darin Smith, Central Connecticut; Nick Townsend, Yale.
• Week ending Dec. 7: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Tre Carroll, Xavier; Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Aidan Mahaney, UC Santa Barbara; Milan Momcilivic, Iowa State.
• Week ending Dec. 14: Myles Colvin Jr., Wake Forest; Melvin Council Jr., Kansas; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Dennis Parker Jr., Radford; Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana.
• Week ending Dec. 21: Christian Anderson, Texas Tech; Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee; Braden Huff, Gonzaga; Paul McNeil, NC State; Stephon Payne, Seton Hall.
• Week ending Jan. 4: Rafael Castro, George Washington; Boopie Miller, SMU; Paulius Murauskas, St. Mary's; Kahlil Singleton, Canisius; Chase Walker, Illinois State.
• Week ending Jan. 11: Nick Boyd, Wisconsin; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Richie Saunders, BYU; Braden Smith, Purdue; Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt.
• Week ending Jan. 18: John Blackwell, Wisconsin; Rueben Chinyelu, Florida; Diggy Coit, Maryland; RJ Johnson, Kennesaw State; Erik Platt, Stony Brook.
• Week ending Jan. 25: Dominique Daniels, California Baptist; Keyshawn Hall, Auburn; Jalen Quinn, Drake; JT Toppin, Texas Tech; Keaton Wagler, Illinois.
• Week ending Feb. 1: Brayden Burries, Arizona; Jeremy Fears, Michigan State; Alex Huibregtse, Bradley; Camren Hunter, Central Arkansas; Jordan Riley, East Carolina.
• Week ending Feb. 8: Dylan Andrews, Boise State; Marcus Banks Jr., Massachusetts; Quadir Copeland, NC State; Joel Foxwell, Portland; Bennett Stirtz, Iowa (Big Ten).
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