KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – One day after earning SEC Co-Player of the Week accolades, Ja’Kobi Gillespie of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team garnered another major weekly honor.
The senior guard is among the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week winners, as announced Tuesday afternoon.
Each week, the USBWA recognizes five players for the award. Gillespie shared this week’s plaudit with Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, Gonzaga’s Braden Huff, NC State’s Paul McNeil and Seton Hall’s Stephon Payne.
This is the first USBWA weekly accolade for a Volunteer this season, but the fifth in the last three campaigns. Chaz Lanier collected the distinction twice in 2024-25 (Nov. 26 and Jan. 7), while Dalton Knecht did so twice in 2023-24 (Jan. 14 and Jan. 21).
Last week, Gillespie averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in a pair of Tennessee home victories, while shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range. He had game-high assist totals in both outings, while pacing all players in scoring—he tied for the lead in the second game—in each affair.
Gillespie opened the week with 23 points, including 20 in the second half, of an 83-62 triumph versus No. 11 Louisville in front of a sold-out crowd Tuesday night. He added five assists and three rebounds, plus went 10-of-10 at the free-throw line.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder from Greeneville, Tenn., then notched 15 points, a season-high nine assists and one steal in Sunday’s 94-52 victory over Gardner-Webb. The nine assists, in just 24 minutes, tied for the second-highest mark of his career.
Gillespie and No. 19/20 Tennessee (9-3) wrap up non-conference play Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. with a contest against South Carolina State at Food City Center, live on SEC Network.
