USBWA nails its 12-member Midseason Oscar Robertson list

Victor Oladipo's strong recent performance found him a spot on the midseason watch list. (US Presswire)

I'm not just saying this because it's a collection of the best writers in college hoops, but the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) panel got it right with the 12 members of the Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch List. I don't have a single complaint -- and that's extremely rare for me. OK, well, I might have found a spot for Georgetown's Otto Porter -- but it's not an egregious omission.

Those involved in the call, according to USBWA president John Akers, were the following: Dana O'Neil (ESPN), Frank Burlison, Kirk Wessler (Peoria Journal-Star), Pat Forde (Yahoo) Matt Vautour (Daily Hampshire Gazette), Kevin Armstrong (New York Daily News), Steve Wiseman (Durham Herald-Sun), Mike Lopresti (USA Today), Tom Keegan (Lawrence Journal World), Wally Hall (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), Tom Kensler (Denver Post) and Chris Dortch (Blue Ribbon).

The award will be presented to the National Player of the Year on April 15 in Oklahoma City, along with the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award:

Here are the dozen players on the list (in alphabetical order).

Anthony Bennett, F, Fr., UNLV

Trey Burke, PG, Fr., Michigan

Michael Carter-Williams, PG, Soph., Syracuse

Doug McDermott, F, Jr., Creighton

Ben McLemore, 6-5, SG, RS Fr., Kansas

Victor Oladipo, 6-5, SG, Jr., Indiana

Kelly Olynyk, 7-0, C, Jr., Gonzaga

Mason Plumlee, 6-10, C, Sr., Duke

Russ Smith, 6-0, G, Jr., Louisville

Deshaun Thomas, 6-7, F, Jr., Ohio State

Jeff Withey, 7-0, C, Sr., Kansas

Cody Zeller, 7-0, C, Soph., Indiana