University of Memphis Athletics
James Wiseman was named to John Wooden Preseason Watch List.
Photo by: Karen Pulfer Focht
Achiuwa, Wiseman add to their preseason honors
Nov 05, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Tigers' freshmen are among 50 named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Watch List
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – University of Memphis freshmen James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa have been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List, presented by Wendy's.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
In addition to the UofM, several universities boast multiple players on the list: Florida (Kerry Blackshear Jr., Scottie Lewis, and Andwew Nembhard) leads all schools with three selections, while Davidson (Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson), Duke (Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones), Kansas (Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson), Kentucky (Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey), Maryland (Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith), Utah State (Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta), and Washington (Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart) each have two selections on the Preseason Top 50.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 34 are upperclassmen, including 22 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with 10 named to the list: Memphis' Achiuwa and Wiseman, North Carolina's Cole Anthony, Duke's Carey Jr, Georgia's Anthony Edwards, Florida's Lewis, Airzona's Nico Mannion, Kentucky's Maxey, and Washington's McDaniels and Stewart.
Wiseman, a 7-foot-1 center, was named to the Associated Preseason All-America first team and the American Athletic Conference Preseason Rookie of the Year, among several other awards. Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9 forward, was named last month to the Julius Erving Award Watch List honoring the nation's top small forwards.
The Preseason Top 50 list represents 12 conferences. The Pac-12 leads all conferences with 8 selections, followed by the Big East and SEC with seven apiece, the Big Ten with six, the ACC with five, the Big 12 with four, the American and WCC with three apiece, the A-10 and Mountain West with two each, and the America East, Conference USA, and Horizon League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list, and the 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 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
In addition to the UofM, several universities boast multiple players on the list: Florida (Kerry Blackshear Jr., Scottie Lewis, and Andwew Nembhard) leads all schools with three selections, while Davidson (Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson), Duke (Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones), Kansas (Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson), Kentucky (Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey), Maryland (Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith), Utah State (Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta), and Washington (Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart) each have two selections on the Preseason Top 50.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 34 are upperclassmen, including 22 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with 10 named to the list: Memphis' Achiuwa and Wiseman, North Carolina's Cole Anthony, Duke's Carey Jr, Georgia's Anthony Edwards, Florida's Lewis, Airzona's Nico Mannion, Kentucky's Maxey, and Washington's McDaniels and Stewart.
Wiseman, a 7-foot-1 center, was named to the Associated Preseason All-America first team and the American Athletic Conference Preseason Rookie of the Year, among several other awards. Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9 forward, was named last month to the Julius Erving Award Watch List honoring the nation's top small forwards.
The Preseason Top 50 list represents 12 conferences. The Pac-12 leads all conferences with 8 selections, followed by the Big East and SEC with seven apiece, the Big Ten with six, the ACC with five, the Big 12 with four, the American and WCC with three apiece, the A-10 and Mountain West with two each, and the America East, Conference USA, and Horizon League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list, and the 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 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020
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