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Saturday / November 2.
  • Wooden Preseason Top 50 List

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    The John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club.  The list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The Women’s Preseason list will be released later this week.

    Returning players from past Wooden Award ballots include four seniors: Duke’s Kyle Singler (2009, 2010), Robbie Hummel of Purdue (2008, 2010), Kalin Lucas of Michigan State (2009, 2010) and BYU’s Jimmer Fredette (2010).

    Singler was the MVP of the 2010 Final Four, leading the Blue Devils to the NCAA title in averaging 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds his junior season. Hummel was a 2008 and 2010 All-Big 10 selection, and also a two-time Academic All-Big 10 pick who averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 2010. Lucas is considered among the nation’s top point guards after leading the Spartans in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (4.0 ast) during their Final Four campaign a year ago. Fredette was his team’s top scorer (22.1 ppg) and playmaker (4.7 ast) and was an All-MWC player as a junior.

    Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason list. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December’s Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March. 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 will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.

    Purdue (Hummel, JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore) was the only school with three players named to the Wooden Award preseason Top 50. Five schools had two players chosen to the list: Colorado (Alec Burks, Cory Higgins); Duke (Singler, Nolan Smith); Gonzaga (Steven Gray, Elias Harris); Michigan State (Lucas, Durrell Summers); Syracuse (Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche).

    Eleven conferences are represented on the Wooden Award Preseason List. Leading the way is the Big 10 (10), followed by the ACC (8), Big East (7), SEC (3), Big 12 (7), Pac-10 (6), Atlantic 10 (3), Mountain West (2), West Coast (2); and Conference USA, and the Horizon League with one apiece.

    The 35th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, a special tribute to Coach Wooden and Wooden Award founder Duke Llewellyn, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 8-10, 2011.

    2010-11 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List

    Name Height Class Position University Conference
    Ty Abbott 6-3 Sr. G Arizona State Pac-10
    Lavoy Allen 6-9 Sr. F Temple Atlantic 10
    Kevin Anderson 6-0 Sr. G Richmond Atlantic 10
    Talor Battle 6-0 Sr. G Penn State Big Ten
    Kenny Boynton 6-2 So. G Florida SEC
    William Buford 6-5 Jr. G Ohio State Big Ten
    Alec Burks 6-6 So. G Colorado Big 12
    Randy Culpepper 6-0 Sr. G UTEP Conference USA
    Malcolm Delaney 6-3 Sr. G Virginia Tech ACC
    LaceDarius Dunn 6-4 Sr. G Baylor Big 12
    Kim English 6-6 Jr. G Missouri Big 12
    Corey Fisher 6-1 Sr. G Villanova Big East
    Jimmer Fredette* 6-2 Sr. G Brigham Young Mountain West
    Austin Freeman 6-4 Sr. G Georgetown Big East
    Ashton Gibbs 6-2 Jr. G Pittsburgh Big East
    Steven Gray 6-5 Sr. G Gonzaga West Coast
    Jordan Hamilton 6-7 So. G/F Texas Big 12
    Elias Harris 6-7 So. F Gonzaga West Coast
    Jeremy Hazell 6-5 Sr. G Seton Hall Big East
    John Henson 6-10 So. F North Carolina ACC
    Cory Higgins 6-5 Sr. G Colorado Big 12
    Tyler Honeycutt 6-8 So. F UCLA Pac-10
    Robbie Hummel* 6-8 Sr. F Purdue Big Ten
    JaJuan Johnson 6-10 Sr. F/C Purdue Big Ten
    Kris Joseph 6-7 Jr. F Syracuse Big East
    Kawhi Leonard 6-7 So. F San Diego State Mountain West
    Jon Leuer 6-10 Sr. F Wisconsin Big Ten
    Kalin Lucas* 6-1 Sr. F Michigan State Big Ten
    Shelvin Mack 6-3 Jr. G Butler Horizon League
    Demetri McCamey 6-3 Sr. G Illinois Big Ten
    E’Twaun Moore 6-4 Sr. G Purdue Big Ten
    Marcus Morris 6-9 Jr. F Kansas Big 12
    Jacob Pullen 6-0 Sr. G Kansas State Big 12
    John Shurna 6-8 Jr. F Northwestern Big Ten
    Kyle Singler* 6-8 Sr. F Duke ACC
    Chris Singleton 6-9 Jr. F Florida State ACC
    Nolan Smith 6-2 Sr. G Duke ACC
    Tracy Smith 6-8 Sr. F North Carolina State ACC
    Durrell Summers 6-5 Sr. G Michigan State Big Ten
    Jeffery Taylor 6-7 Jr. G/F Vanderbilt SEC
    Isaiah Thomas 5-9 Jr. G Washington Pac-10
    Trey Thompkins 6-10 Jr. F Georgia SEC
    Klay Thompson 6-6 Jr. G Washington State Pac-10
    Joe Trapani 6-8 Sr. F Boston College ACC
    Brandon Triche 6-4 So. G Syracuse Big East
    Nikola Vucevic 6-10 Jr. F USC Pac-10
    Kemba Walker 6-1 Jr. G Connecticut Big East
    Derrick Williams 6-8 So. F Arizona Pac-10
    Jordan Williams 6-10 So. F Maryland ACC
    Chris Wright 6-8 Sr. F Dayton Atlantic 10
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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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