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Harvard's Lin Named to Wooden Midseason Watch List
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Courtesy: Harvard Athletic Communications
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard's Jeremy Lin is one of 30 players
to be named as one of the top 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, the
nation's most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los
Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award Committee. Composed of the players
who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the attached midseason
list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half
of the season.
Entering play at Santa Clara Monday night, Lin is averaging 18.3 points per
game (third Ivy), 5.1 rebounds (ninth), 54 percent shooting (fourth; first among
guards), 4.4 assists (third), 2.8 steals (first), 1.3 blocks (fourth, only guard
ranked), 1.2 assist-turnover ratio (sixth) and 3.9 defensive rebounds (fifth).
The list contains 31 players, not the traditional 30, because the playing
status of Ohio State's Evan Turner is uncertain due to a back injury. The Big
East leads the Midseason Top 30 with 6 players selected. The Big 12 and ACC
follow with five selections, the Big Ten with four, the SEC with three, the
Pac-10, Mountain West and West Coast with two and the Horizon League and Ivy
League with one selection each. Overall, more than 90 different players received
votes.
The final national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist
of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board
Committee. Players selected to the national ballot will have to be certified
by their university as making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative
2.0 GPA.
More than 1,000 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball
experts from across the nation, will then cast their votes to determine both
the 10-member All American Team and Player of the Year. In late March, the 10-player
Wooden Award All American Team will be announced. The Women's John R. Wooden
Award Midseason list will be released next week.
The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of
the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winner, and the presentation of the Legends
of Coaching Award to Florida's Billy Donovan, will take place on April 9, 2010.
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 cumulative
2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael
Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), and Blake Griffin ('09). Candace Parker (Tennessee)
won the Women's Wooden Award in 2007 and 2008 and Maya Moore (Connecticut) won
last year.
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 all-day tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes
and the All-Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club during the
John R. Wooden Award weekend.
WOODEN MIDSEASON TOP 30
Cole Aldrich, 6-11, Jr., C, Kansas
Al-Farouq Aminu, 6-9, So., F, Wake Forest
James Anderson, 6-6, Jr., G, Oklahoma State
Trevor Booker, 6-7, Sr., F, Clemson
Matt Bouldin, 6-5, Sr., G, Gonzaga
Da'Sean Butler, 6-7, Sr., F, West Virginia
Sherron Collins, 5-11, Jr., G, Kansas
Ed Davis, 6-10, So., F, North Carolina
Jerome Dyson, 6-3, Sr., G, Connecticut
Jimmer Fredette, 6-2, Jr., G, Brigham Young
Luke Harangody, 6-8, Jr., F, Notre Dame
Manny Harris, 6-5, Jr., G, Michigan
Gordon Hayward, 6-8, So., G/F, Butler
Xavier Henry, 6-6, Fr., G, Kansas
Darington Hobson, 6-7, Jr., G/F, New Mexico
Robbie Hummel, 6-8, Jr., F, Purdue
Damion James, 6-7, Sr., G/F, Texas
Wesley Johnson, 6-7, Jr., F, Syracuse
Jeremy Lin, 6-3, Sr., G, Harvard
Kalin Lucas, 6-0, Jr., G, Michigan State
Greg Monroe, 6-11, So., C, Georgetown
Patrick Patterson, 6-9, Jr., F, Kentucky
Quincy Pondexter, 6-6, Sr., F, Washington
Scottie Reynolds, 6-2, Jr., G, Villanova
Omar Samhan, 6-11, Sr., C, Saint Mary's
Jon Scheyer, 6-5, Sr., G, Duke
Kyle Singler, 6-8, Jr., F, Duke
Klay Thompson, 6-6, So., G, Washington State
Jarvis Varnado, 6-9, Sr., F/C, Mississippi State
John Wall, 6-4, Fr., G, Kentucky
Evan Turner, 6-7, Jr., G/F, Ohio State
