Luka Garza, Corey Kispert, Cade Cunningham highlight Wooden Award Top 25 | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 8.
  • Luka Garza, Corey Kispert, Cade Cunningham highlight Wooden Award Top 25

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    Iowa’s Luka Garza, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham highlight the Midseason Top 25 list for the John R. Wooden® Award presented by Wendy’s®. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.  

    The list was unveiled earlier tonight on ESPNU and ESPN.com.

    On the 2021 Wooden Award™ Midseason Top 25, three players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: Derek Culver (West Virginia), Carlik Jones (Louisville), and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga). Three schools have multiple players on the list, led by Gonzaga (Corey Kispert, Suggs, and Drew Timme), and followed by Illinois (Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu) and Villanova (Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl).

    The Big Ten leads all conferences with six selections on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, followed by the ACC with five, the BIG EAST with four, the Big 12 and West Coast with three selections each, the Pac-12 with two , and Conference USA and the Southeastern with one selection apiece.

    The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

    NameSchoolClassPosition
    Scottie BarnesFlorida StateFr.Guard
    Charles BasseyWestern KentuckyJr.Center
    James BouknightConnecticutSo.Guard
    Garrison BrooksNorth CarolinaSr.Forward
    Jared ButlerBaylorJr.Guard
    Marcus CarrMinnesotaJr.Guard
    Kofi CockburnIllinoisSo.Center
    Derek CulverWest VirginiaJr.Forward
    Cade CunninghamOklahoma StateFr.Guard
    Ayo DosunmuIllinoisJr.Guard
    John FulkersonTennesseeSr.Forward
    Luka Garza*IowaSr.Center
    Collin GillespieVillanovaSr.Guard
    Ron Harper Jr.RutgersJr.Guard/Forward
    Sam HauserVirginiaSr.Forward
    Matthew HurtDukeSo.Forward
    Trayce Jackson-DavisIndianaSo.Forward
    Carlik JonesLouisvilleSr.Guard
    Corey KispertGonzagaSr.Forward
    Remy MartinArizona StateSr.Guard
    Evan MobleySouthern CaliforniaFr.Forward
    Jeremiah Robinson-EarlVillanovaSo.Forward
    Jalen SuggsGonzagaFr.Guard
    Drew TimmeGonzagaSo.Forward
    Marcus ZegarowskiCreightonJr.Guard
    * indicates player selected as 2020 Wooden Award All American

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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