Nov. 7, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior forward Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) has been named a 2008-09 preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy. The list is composed 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.
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 2007 recipient Kevin Durant of Texas. Candace Parker of Tennessee won the Women’s Wooden Award in 2007 and 2008.
Last season, Harangody was a Wooden Award All-American as he averaged 20.4 points per game and 10.6 rebounds a game. In addition, he was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year. Harangody has been tabbed as the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year along with being named to The Associated Press’ preseason All-America squad.
In all, 42 schools and 13 conferences are represented on the Wooden Award Pre-Season list. Leading the way is the Big East (12), followed by the ACC (8), Pac-10 (5), SEC (5), Big 12 (5), Atlantic-10 (2), Big Ten (3), Conference USA (3), Mountain West (2), West Coast (2), Colonial Athletic Association (1), Ohio Valley (1), and the Southern Conference (1)
In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.
The 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award to Rick Barnes from The University of Texas, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April, 2009.
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 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-Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
The Race for the Wooden Award is on! Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.woodenaward.com.
2008-2009 John R. Wooden Award
Preseason Top 50 List
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
Player Last Player Last Height Position Class University
A.J. Abrams 5-11 G Sr. Texas
Wink Adams 6-0 G Sr. UNLV
DeJuan Blair 6-7 F So. Pittsburgh
Jon Brockman 6-7 F Sr. Washington
Derrick Brown 6-8 F Jr. Xavier
Chase Budinger 6-7 F Jr. Arizona
Nick Calathes 6-6 G/F So. Florida
Dionte Christmas 6-5 G Sr. Temple
Earl Clark 6-9 G/F Jr. Louisville
Sherron Collins 5-11 G Jr. Kansas
Darren Collison 6-0 G Sr. UCLA
Lee Cummard 6-7 G Sr. BYU
Stephen Curry * 6-3 G Jr. Davidson
Devan Downey 5-9 G Jr. South Carolina
Robert Dozier 6-9 F Sr. Memphis
Wayne Ellington 6-4 G Jr. North Carolina
Jonny Flynn 6-0 G So. Syracuse
Taj Gibson 6-9 F Jr. USC
Blake Griffin 6-10 F So. Oklahoma
Tyler Hansbrough ! *^ 6-9 F Sr. North Carolina
Luke Harangody * 6-8 F Jr. Notre Dame
James Harden 6-4 G So. Arizona State
Gerald Henderson 6-4 G/F Jr. Duke
Lester Hudson 6-2 G Sr. Tennessee Martin
Robbie Hummel 6-8 F So. Purdue
Stefon Jackson 6-5 G Sr. UTEP
Dominic James 5-11 G Sr. Marquette
Damion James 6-7 G/F Jr. Texas
Curtis Jerrells 6-1 G Sr. Baylor
James Johnson 6-8 F So. Wake Forest
Marcus Landry 6-7 F Sr. Wisconsin
Ty Lawson 5-11 G Jr. North Carolina
Eric Maynor 6-2 G Sr. VCU
Jack McClinton 6-1 G Sr. University of Miami
Jerel McNeal 6-3 G Sr. Marquette
Patrick Mills 6-0 G So. Saint Mary’s
Raymar Morgan 6-7 F Jr. Michigan State
A.J. Ogilvy 6-11 C So. Vanderbilt
Jeremy Pargo 6-2 G Sr. Gonzaga
Patrick Patterson 6-8 F So. Kentucky
A.J. Price 6-2 G Sr. Connecticut
Scottie Reynolds 6-2 G Jr. Villanova
Tyrese Rice 6-1 G Sr. Boston College
Kyle Singler 6-8 F So. Duke
Tyler Smith 6-7 F Jr. Tennessee
DaJuan Summers 6-8 F Jr. Georgetown
Hasheem Thabeet 7-3 C Jr. Connecticut
Robert Vaden 6-5 G/F Sr. UAB
Terrence Williams 6-6 F Sr. Louisville
Sam Young 6-6 F Jr. Pittsburgh
! 2008 John R. Wooden Award Winner
* 2007-08 Wooden Award All-American
^2006-07 Wooden Award All-American
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