FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Linda Reid, LRPR Cory Hathaway, John R. Wooden Award 310-291-9205 213-630-5231 [email protected] [email protected] 2009-10 JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD® MIDSEASON TOP 30 CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED TODAY Notre Dame’s Harangody, Kentucky’s Patterson and Wall and three Jayhawks head the list LOS ANGELES (Jan. XX, 2010) – 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. Among the Midseason Top 30 candidates are returning Wooden Award All-American Luke Harangody (2008, 2009) of Notre Dame (the nation’s No .4 scorer at 24.5 ppg) and returning players from last year’s Wooden Award ballot, Sherron Collins (13.8 ppg, 4.2 ast) of Kansas, Duke’s Kyle Singler (15.5 points, 7.4 rebs) and Kalin Lucas of Michigan State (15.7 ppg, 4.1 ast). 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. Three teams have multiple players nominated: No. 1-ranked Kansas (Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry, who leads his team in scoring at 16.4 ppg); No. 7 Duke (Singler and John Scheyer) and No. 3 Kentucky (Patrick Patterson and John Wall). 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. Ten players have been selected to the midseason Top 30 who were not on the preseason list. This impressive group includes two freshmen, Kentucky’s Wall and Kansas’ Henry; and eight returning players: James Anderson (Oklahoma State), Jimmer Fredette (Brigham Young), Darington Hobson (New Mexico), Wesley Johnson (Syracuse), Jeremy Lin (Harvard), Quincy Pondexter (Washington), Omar Samhan (Saint Mary’s) and Klay Thompson (Washington State). Just as players who are not on the preseason list are eligible for the Midseason Top 30, players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the 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- 2009-10 Wooden Award Top 30 List – page 2 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. About the John R. Wooden Award 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. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Cory Hathaway at 213- 630-5231/[email protected] or visit www.WoodenAward.com. Media may visit the website or contact Linda Reid at 310-291-9205/[email protected]. # # # MIDSEASON TOP 30 Name Height Class Position University 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 $ 2009 Wooden All-American % 2008 Wooden All-American # Injured, playing status uncertain .