Oklahoma basketball: Sooners’ Umoja Gibson named National Player of Week
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma basketball junior guard Umoja Gibson has been named the NCAA National Player of the Week.
In addition, Gibson swept Big 12 weekly honors, being named Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week.
The transfer from North Texas University came off the bench on Saturday to lead the Sooners to a 75-71 victory over No. 9 West Virginia, scoring a game-high 29 points.
Gibson’s 29-point performance, reported to be the second most by a player from major conference this season, included a sensational eight three balls out of 11 total attempts. He made four of five in the second half and was a big reason the Sooners were able to stave off an 18-point comeback by West Virginia. He also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Saturday’s game was the fourth time in his collegiate career that Gibson has made as many as seven three-pointers in a game. It also was his career high in points against a Division I opponent. He scored a career-high 32 points against Angelo State as a freshman at North Texas.
Gibson’s sophomore season at North Texas a year ago, he averaged 12.6 points and shot 39.3 percent from three-point range.
He is 22 of 45 from long range this season through eight games, an average of 49 percent, best on the team. He is averaging 9.9 points a game.
Three of the highest-scoring games by a Big 12 player this season have been by Oklahoma players: Brady Manek scored 29 points against UT-San Antonio; Austin Reaves scored 32 at TCU; and Gibson’s 29 against West Virginia.
Gibson is the first player from Oklahoma to receive weekly Big 12 honors this season.