October 25, 2007
Texas A&M senior Joseph Jones is among the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award, the nation?â„¢s most coveted college basketball award. The list was announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club?â„¢s Wooden Award Committee.
Jones also was one the preseason top 50 list last season while teammate Acie Law IV went on to become one of the four finalists. Jones averaged 13.2 points and 6.8 rebounds as a junior and is a preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection.
Two returning Wooden All-Americans made the list, center Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina and Kansas guard Brandon Rush. Five schools had two players on the list: UCLA (Darren Collison, Josh Shipp), North Carolina (Hansbrough, Ty Lawson), Kansas (Mario Chalmers, Rush), Washington State (Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver), Georgetown (Roy Hibbert, Johnathan Wallace). More than 100 players received at least one vote.
The list is composed of 50 student athletes who, based on last year?â„¢s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball?â„¢s most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players. Transfers, freshmen, and medical redshirts are not eligible for this preseason list, but will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot. Players not on the preseason list are eligible for the midseason top 30 and ballot.
A total of 16 NCAA conferences are represented. The Pac-10 leads the way with 10 Wooden Award All American team candidates. Other conferences include the Big East (eight players), the ACC (seven players), the Big 12 (six players), the SEC (five players), the Big Ten (two players), the Sun Belt (two players), Western Athletic (two players), Conference USA (one player), Southern Conference (one player), the Sun Belt (one player), the Horizon League (one player), the Colonial Athletic Association (one player), the Big South (one player), West Coast (one player) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (one player).
In January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed by the distribution of the National Ballot to more than 1,000 voters in early March. The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the Tuesday after the ?Elite Eight? round of the NCAA Tournament is completed.
The 2008 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men?â„¢s and Women?â„¢s John R. Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to recipient Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-13, 2008. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the Award?â„¢s ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university?â„¢s general scholarship fund. One of these five players will be named the John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year at a live televised announcement from The Club where he is awarded the prestigious five-figured bronze trophy.
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?â„¢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 (?â„¢79), Michael Jordan (?â„¢84), Tim Duncan (?â„¢97), and last year?â„¢s recipients, Kevin Durant of Texas and Candace Parker of Tennessee.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities?â„¢ general scholarship fund in the names of the All-American recipients, as well as sent over 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the awards 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-American selections, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
All-American Team ?- Top 50 Candidates
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
Jeff Adrien 6-7 F Jr. Connecticut
Ryan Anderson 6-10 F So. California
D.J. Augustin 6-10 G So. Texas
Patrick Beverley 6-1 G So. Arkansas
Jon Brockman 6-7 F Jr. Washington
Chase Budinger 6-7 F So. Arizona
Jaycee Carroll 6-2 G Sr. Utah State
Mario Chalmers 6-1 G Jr. Kansas
Darren Collison 6-1 G Jr. UCLA
Brandon Costner 6-9 F So. NC State
Stephen Curry 6-0 G So. Davidson
Eric Devendorf 6-4 G Jr. Syracuse
Chris Douglas-Roberts 6-6 G Jr. Memphis
Randal Falkner 6-7 F Sr. Southern Illinois
Shan Foster 6-6 G/F Sr. Vanderbilt
Taj Gibson 6-9 F So USC
James Gist 6-8 F Sr. Maryland
Jamont Gordon 6-4 G/F Jr. Mississippi State
Kentrell Gransberry 6-9 C Sr. So. Florida
A.J. Graves 6-1 G Sr. Butler
Malik Hairston 6-6 G Jr Oregon
Tyler Hansbrough* 6-9 F Jr. North Carolina
Richard Hendrix 6-8 F Jr. Alabama
Roy Hibbert 7-2 C Sr. Georgetown
Dominic James 5-11 G Jr. Marquette
Joseph Jones 6-9 F/C Sr. Texas A&M
Marcelus Kemp 6-5 G Sr. Nevada
Ty Lawson 5-11 G So. North Carolina
Courtney Lee 6-5 G/F Sr. Western Kentucky
Chris Lofton 6-2 G Sr. Tennessee
Derrick Low 6-2 G Sr. Washington State
Aleks Maric 6-11 C Sr. Nebraska
Eric Maynor 6-2 G Jr. VCU
Bo McCalebb 6-0 G Sr. New Orleans
Drew Neitzel 6-0 G Sr. Michigan State
DeMarcus Nelson 6-4 G Sr. Duke
Jeremy Pargo 6-2 G Jr. Gonzaga
Jeff Pendergraph 6-9 F Jr. Arizona State
Scottie Reynolds 6-2 G So. Villanova
Tyrese Rice 6-1 G Jr. Boston College
Brandon Rush* 6-6 G Jr. Kansas
Josh Shipp 6-5 F Jr. UCLA
Sean Singletary 6-0 G Sr. Virginia
Jason Thompson 6-11 F Sr. Rider
Johnathan Wallace 6-1 G Sr. Georgetown
Kyle Weaver 6-6 G Sr. Washington State
D.J. White 6-9 F Sr. Indiana
Reggie Williams 6-5 F Sr. VMI
Terrence Williams 6-6 F Jr. Louisville
Martin Zeno 6-5 G Sr. Texas Tech
* Indicates player was a 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American.