Jan 31, 2023

🏀 KU MBB: Wilson named to Wooden Award late season Top 20 watch list

Posted Jan 31, 2023 12:07 PM

LOS ANGELES â€“ Kansas redshirt-junior Jalen Wilson has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday on ESPN2.

Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2022-23 season thus far, the list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the John R. Wooden Award. Wilson is looking to become the third Jayhawk to win the Wooden Award, joining Danny Manning (1988) and Frank Mason III (2017).

Wilson leads the Big 12 in scoring at 21.4 points per game, which is 11th nationally, and double-doubles with eight, which is 31st nationally. The Denton, Texas, forward is second in the conference in rebound average with 8.6 boards per contest.

In his last four games, Wilson scored a career-high 38 points at Kansas State (1/17), 30 points versus TCU (1/21), 23 points at Baylor (1/23) and 22 at Kentucky (1/28). His 113 points in four-consecutive games are the most in the Bill Self 20-season era (since 2003-04). In fact, Wilson has three of the top four in the stat with all three occurring during the 2022-23 season.

Historically, Wilson ranks 41st on the Kansas career scoring list with 1,201 points. His 685 career rebounds are tied for 18th with Udoka Azubuike (2017-20) and his 24 double-doubles are ninth all-time at Kansas.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the late season 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 2022 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

2022-23 John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List
Armando Bacot (North Carolina)
Antoine Davis (Detroit Mercy)
Kendric Davis (Memphis)
Zach Edey (Purdue)
Kyle Filipowski (Duke)
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
Kris Murray (Iowa)
Markquis Nowell (Kansas State)
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
Terquavion Smith (NC State)
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
JALEN WILSON (KANSAS)
Isaiah Wong (Miami, Fla.)