Randle a FINALIST For Oscar Robertson National Player of The Year Trophy

The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) has selected Kentucky freshman Julius Randle as one of 15 finalists for its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Trophy and one of six finalists for the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award.

For the season, Randle has hauled in 278 rebounds which stand as the fourth most in UK freshman history. He has also poured in a team-high 425 points on the year. The 425 tallies are 12th among UK freshman in the record books.

The forward's 14 double-double efforts ranks sixth nationally and is a mark good for the 13th most in a single season for any UK player in program history.

The Dallas, Texas, native is currently leading the Wildcats with 15.7 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per outing.

Members of the association's board of directors chose the finalists and the entire 975-member USBWA will vote on the awards as well as the annual All-America and All-District teams.

Most recently Randle was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week and the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week after he led the Wildcats to a pair of victories last week. Randle averaged 16.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in wins over Ole Miss and LSU.

The Oscar Robertson Trophy recipient will be announced on Friday, April 4, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at a press conference in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four. Prior to that, on Mon., March 17, the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award winner will be announced

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 in honor of a former player. Michigan's Trey Burke won the award a year ago.

The USBWA has chosen a national freshman of the year since the 1988-89 season when LSU's Chris Jackson was the recipient. Last season, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart became the third winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award.