Oct. 3, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Notre Dame forward Tim Abromaitis (Unionville, Conn.) has been selected to the Preseason Top 50 List for the John R. Wooden Award. 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.
Abromaitis is entering his fifth season with the Fighting Irish. He started all 34 games last season and registered 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Abromaitis earned third-team all-BIG EAST honors in addition to taking home the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for men’s basketball for the second straight year.
He also was named to the Capital One Academic All-America first team for men’s basketball each of the past two seasons. Abromaitis graduated from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business with a degree in finance in May 2010 and earned his MBA in May 2011 after being enrolled in an intensified one-year MBA program during the 2010-11 school year.
Abromaitis netted his 1,000th career point last season and his career total stands at 1,109 (13.7 ppg.) entering the 2011-12 campaign. His 160 made three-pointers ranks 10th in program history, while his 42.2% career three-point shooting percentage currently is sixth in Irish history.
The Connecticut native was an integral part in Notre Dame notching a 27-7 record last season, establishing the most wins in the modern era of Fighting Irish basketball. Notre Dame finished second in the BIG EAST with a 14-4 mark. The Irish peaked at No. 4 in the national polls and garnered the No. 2 seed in the Southwest Region for the 2011 NCAA Tournament. That signified the highest NCAA seed for the Irish since the 1980-81 campaign.
In August, Abromaitis represented the United States at the 2011 World University Games in China. The U.S. squad posted a 7-1 record and placed fifth in the competition. Abromaitis started three of the games and averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Abromaitis and Scott Martin recently were named team captains for the 2011-12 season. Abromaitis is the 19th player in program history to serve as a two-time team captain.
Abromaitis is one of 10 players from the BIG EAST Conference on the Wooden Preseason Top 50 List. That is the most of any league in the country. The Big Ten had nine players chosen while the SEC had seven, followed by the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 each with four; and the Atlantic 10, Big West and Conference USA with two each. Conferences with one players named include the Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West and WCC.
Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the Preseason list. The players on the Preseason list are considered strong candidates for the Midseason list and the official voting ballot, both of which are open to freshman and transfer students. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 36th annual Wooden Award ceremony marks the 25th anniversary of the selection of the Naval Academy’s David Robinson as the Wooden Award winner. The 2012 event will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, and will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award. It will take place the weekend of April 6-8, 2012.
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 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 minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and `11). BYU’s Jimmer Fredette won the men’s Award in 2011.
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 day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email at woodenaward@laac.net.
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