Loading ...Zeller, Watford named to preseason Wooden Award list
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by Dustin Dopirak | Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 5:35 pm UTC
Indiana sophomore center Cody Zeller and senior forward Christian Watford were named to the preseason Wooden Award’s top 50. The release follows.
JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD ANNOUNCES
MEN’S PRESEASON TOP 50Creighton’s Doug McDermott is only returning Wooden All American
Los Angeles (November 8, 2012)— The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced its Preseason Top 50 today on ESPN.com. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball media members, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott was a Wooden Award All American a year ago after an outstanding sophomore campaign in which he ranked first nationally in field goals made, third in scoring, and seventh in field goal percentage. On the season, he averaged 22.9 points and 8.5 rebounds, taking the Blue Jays to a Missouri Valley Conference title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the Preseason Top 50. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the midseason list and the official voting ballot, both of which are open to freshman and transfer students. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 37th annual Wooden Award ceremony will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, and will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, which in 2013 will go to Kansas Head Coach Bill Self. The event will take place the weekend of April 12-13, 2013.
Nine upperclassmen return to the Preseason Top 50 list from a year ago: Allen Crabbe of California; Aaron Craft of Ohio State; Tim Hardaway, Jr. of Michigan; Elias Harris of Gonzaga; Solomon Hill of Arizona; Ray McCallum of Detroit; McDermott; Peyton Siva of Louisville; and Patric Young of Florida.
Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, was the only school with three players on the Preseason Top 50 (Siva, Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan). Seven schools had two players named to the list: Duke (Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee), Florida (Young and Kenny Boynton), Indiana (Christian Watford and Cody Zeller), Kansas (Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey), Michigan (Hardaway, Jr. and Trey Burke), North Carolina State (Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie) and Ohio State (Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas).
Two 2012-13 preseason honorees are younger brothers of previous John R. Wooden All Americans. Duke’s Seth Curry is the younger brother of 2009 Wooden Award All American Stephen Curry of Davidson. Cody Zeller of Indiana is the younger brother of 2012 Wooden Award All American Tyler Zeller of North Carolina.
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Wooden Award 2-2-2-2
The Big 10 leads all conferences with nine selections to the Preseason Top 50, followed by the Big East with seven and the ACC and SEC each with six. The Big 12 has five selections, the Pac-12 boasts four, the West Coast Conference has three, and the Mountain West has two picks. Conference USA, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Mid-American, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Summit and Sun Belt each have one honoree.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ‘11). Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis won the men’s Award in 2012.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email at [email protected].
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2012-13 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, Men
Name Height Class Position University Conference Keith Appling 6-1 Jr. G Michigan State Big Ten Chane Behanan 6-6 So. F Louisville Big East Kenny Boynton 6-2 Sr. G Florida SEC Lorenzo Brown 6-5 Jr. G North Carolina State ACC Trey Burke 6-0 So. G Michigan Big Ten Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 6-5 So. G Georgia SEC Isaiah Canaan 6-1 Sr. G Murray State Ohio Valley Jack Cooley 6-9 Sr. F Notre Dame Big East D.J. Cooper 6-0 Sr. G Ohio University Mid-American Vincent Council 6-2 Sr. G Providence Big East Allen Crabbe 6-6 Jr. G California Pac-12 Aaron Craft 6-2 Jr. G Ohio State Big Ten Seth Curry 6-2 Sr. G Duke ACC Brandon Davies 6-9 Sr. F BYU West Coast Matthew Dellavedova 6-4 Sr. G Saint Mary’s West Coast Gorgui Dieng 6-11 Jr. C Lousville Big East Jamaal Franklin 6-5 Jr. G San Diego State Mountain West Tim Frazier 6-1 Sr. G Penn State Big Ten Tim Hardaway, Jr. 6-6 Jr. G Michigan Big Ten Elias Harris 6-8 Sr. F Gonzaga West Coast Solomon Hill 6-7 Sr. F Arizona Pac-12 Pierre Jackson 5-10 Sr. G Baylor Big 12 Elijah Johnson 6-4 Sr. G Kansas Big 12 Sean Kilpatrick 6-4 Jr. G/F Cincinnati Big East C.J. Leslie 6-9 Jr. F North Carolina State ACC James Michael McAdoo 6-9 So. F North Carolina ACC Ray McCallum 6-3 Jr. G Detroit Horizon League C.J. McCollum 6-3 Sr. G Lehigh Patriot League Doug McDermott* 6-8 Jr. F Creighton Missouri Valley Rodney McGruder 6-4 Sr. G Kansas State Big 12 Tony Mitchell 6-8 So. F North Texas Sun Belt Mike Moser 6-8 Jr. F UNLV Mountain West Brock Motum 6-10 Sr. F Washington State Pac-12 Le’Bryan Nash 6-7 So. G/F Oklahoma State Big 12 Brandon Paul 6-4 Sr. G Illinois Big Ten Mason Plumlee 6-10 Sr. F Duke ACC Otto Porter 6-8 So. F Georgetown Big East Phil Pressey 5-11 Jr. G Missouri SEC André Roberson 6-7 Jr. F Colorado Pac-12 Peyton Siva 6-0 Sr. G Louisville Big East Michael Snaer 6-5 Sr. G Florida State ACC Jarnell Stokes 6-8 So. F Tennessee SEC Adonis Thomas 6-7 So. G/F Memphis Conference USA Deshaun Thomas 6-7 Jr. F Ohio State Big Ten Christian Watford 6-9 Sr. F Indiana Big Ten Jeff Withey 7-0 Sr. C Kansas Big 12 Nate Wolters 6-4 Sr. G South Dakota State Summit League B.J. Young 6-3 So. G Arkansas SEC Patric Young 6-9 Jr. C Florida SEC Cody Zeller 7-0 So. F Indiana Big Ten Players listed alphabetically *indicates player chosen to the 2012 Wooden All American Team
Based on a preseason poll. Award winner honored April 5, 2012 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
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