Markus Howard One Of 15 Finalists For John R. Wooden Award

The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced its 2019 Men’s National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s today on ESPN College GameDay. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team® and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

On the Wooden Award National Ballot, Brandon Clarke makes his debut for Wooden Award consideration and PJ Washington returns after appearing on the Preseason Top 50. Duke (RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson) and Gonzaga (Clarke and Rui Hachimura) are the only universities with two players on the list. The ACC and Big Ten lead all conferences with three selections on the National Ballot, followed by the Big 12, SEC and WCC with two players each, and the Big East, Ohio Valley and Summit League with one selection apiece.

All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

Voting will take place from March 18thto March 25th, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Fans may vote through a fan voting site, sponsored by Wendy’s, at www.woodenawardvote.com.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top ten players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 3rd on ESPNU at 6:30pm ET.

The 43rdannual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men’s and women’s most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s on ESPN2 on Friday, April 12, 2019. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Team will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2019 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Lon Kruger, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Oklahoma.

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’s best basketball player at an NCAA Division I university who has proven to his or her university that he or she meets or exceeds the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07 & ’08), Maya Moore (’09 & ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), and last year’s recipients, A’ja Wilson of South Carolina and Jalen Brunson of Villanova.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.

For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo: Getty Images

John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s

2018-19 Men’s National Ballot

Name

School

Conference

Height

Class

Position

RJ Barrett

Duke

ACC

6-7

Fr.

F

Brandon Clarke

Gonzaga

WCC

6-8

Jr.

F

Jarrett Culver

Texas Tech

Big 12

6-6

So.

G

Mike Daum

South Dakota State

Summit League

6-9

Sr.

F

Carsen Edwards

Purdue

Big Ten

6-1

Jr.

G

Rui Hachimura

Gonzaga

WCC

6-8

Jr.

F

Ethan Happ

Wisconsin

Big Ten

6-10

Sr.

F

Markus Howard

Marquette

Big East

5-11

Jr.

G

De'Andre Hunter

Virginia

ACC

6-7

So.

G

Dedric Lawson

Kansas

Big 12

6-9

Jr.

F

Ja Morant

Murray State

Ohio Valley

6-3

So.

G

PJ Washington

Kentucky

SEC

6-8

So.

F

Grant Williams

Tennessee

SEC

6-7

Jr.

F

Zion Williamson

Duke

ACC

6-7

Fr.

F

Cassius Winston

Michigan State

Big Ten

6-1

Jr.

G

Butler v Marquette

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content