Middleton on Wooden Award Watch List
Oct 03, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Middleton (North Charleston, S.C.), a consensus All-Big 12 and All-Region selection last year, was one of only four Big 12 players to make the list. He paced Texas A&M in scoring last year, averaging 14.4 points, and ranked second on the squad in rebounds (5.2/game). Middleton led the Aggies to a 24-9 record, a third-place league finish and the school's sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. He is the first A&M player to make the list since Joseph Jones in the fall of 2007.
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 university that he 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) and Tim Duncan ('97). BYU's Jimmer Fredette won the men's Award in 2011.
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 frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor. Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the Preseason list but can be added mid-season.
The list will be cut down to 10 with the announcement of the Wooden Award All American Team in late March. The 36th annual Wooden Award ceremony will take place the weekend of April 6-8, 2012.
Fans can follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.woodenaward.com or www.facebook.com/woodenaward.
Middleton and the Aggies will begin preseason practice in a few weeks in preparation for the season opener against Liberty on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Reed Arena. Season tickets are available for as low as $200 and are on sale now by calling 888-99-AGGIE or by logging on to tickets.12thmanfoundation.com.
2011-12 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List, Men
- Name Height Class Position University Conference
- Tim Abromaitis 6-8 GS F Notre Dame Big East
- Harrison Barnes 6-8 So. F North Carolina ACC
- Will Barton 6-6 So. G Memphis Conference USA
- Dee Bost 6-2 Sr. G Mississippi State SEC
- William Buford 6-5 Sr. G Ohio State Big Ten
- Allen Crabbe 6-6 So. G California Pac-12
- Aaron Craft 6-2 So. G Ohio State Big Ten
- Marcus Denmon 6-3 Sr. G Missouri Big 12
- Festus Ezeli 6-11 Sr. C Vanderbilt SEC
- Ashton Gibbs 6-2 Sr. G Pitt Big East
- Michael Glover 6-7 Sr. F Iona MAAC
- Drew Gordon 6-9 Sr. F New Mexico Mountain West
- Draymond Green 6-7 Sr. F Michigan State Big Ten
- JaMychal Green 6-8 Sr. F Alabama SEC
- Jorge Gutierrez 6-3 Sr. G California Pac-12
- Tim Hardaway, Jr. 6-5 So. G Michigan Big Ten
- Elias Harris 6-7 Jr. F Gonzaga WCC
- John Henson 6-11 Jr. F North Carolina ACC
- Tu Holloway 6-0 Sr. G Xavier Atlantic 10
- Robbie Hummel 6-8 Sr. F Purdue Big Ten
- Joe Jackson 6-1 So. G Memphis Conference USA
- Scoop Jardine 6-2 Sr. G Syracuse Big East
- John Jenkins 6-3 Jr. G Vanderbilt SEC
- Orlando Johnson 6-5 Sr. G UCSB Big West
- Darius Johnson-Odom 6-2 Sr. G Marquette Big East
- Kevin Jones 6-8 Sr. F West Virginia Big East
- Terrence Jones 6-8 So. F Kentucky SEC
- Perry Jones III 6-11 So. F Baylor Big 12
- Kris Joseph 6-7 Sr. F Syracuse Big East
- Jeremy Lamb 6-5 So. G Connecticut Big East
- Kendall Marshall 6-4 So. G North Carolina ACC
- Trevor Mbakwe 6-8 Sr. F Minnesota Big Ten
- Ray McCallum 6-1 So. G Detroit Horizon League
- Doug McDermott 6-7 So. F Creighton Missouri Valley
- Khris Middleton 6-7 Jr. F Texas A&M Big 12
- Reeves Nelson 6-8 Jr. F UCLA Pac-12
- Andrew Nicholson 6-9 Sr. F St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10
- Alex Oriakhi 6-9 Jr. C Connecticut Big East
- Thomas Robinson 6-9 Jr. F Kansas Big 12
- John Shurna 6-9 Sr. F Northwestern Big Ten
- Peyton Siva 6-0 Jr. G Louisville Big East
- Joshua Smith 6-10 So. C UCLA Pac-12
- Jared Sullinger* 6-9 So. C Ohio State Big Ten
- Jeffery Taylor 6-7 Sr. G/F Vanderbilt SEC
- Jordan Taylor 6-1 Sr. G Wisconsin Big Ten
- Casper Ware 5-10 Sr. G Long Beach State Big West
- Maalik Wayns 6-2 Jr. G Villanova Big East
- Keith Wright 6-8 Sr. F Harvard Ivy League
- Patric Young 6-9 So. F/C Florida SEC
- Tyler Zeller 7-0 Sr. F North Carolina ACC
Players listed alphabetically *indicates player chosen to the 2011 Wooden All American Team; GS=Graduate Student
Based on a preseason poll. Award winner honored April 6, 2012 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
