Butler, Collins, Johnson, Turner, Wall, Invited to April 9 Gala Presentation in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (April 6, 2010) – The five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award_® were announced today; all are invited to Los Angeles for the April 9 announcement of the 2010 John R. Wooden Award winner as college basketball’s player of the year, streamed live by CBS College Sports Network.

The 2010 John R. Wooden Award finalists are: West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler (17.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who led his team to the Final Four this season; Kansas’ Sherron Collins (15.5 ppg, 4.5 ast); Wesley Johnson of Syracuse (16.5 ppg, 8.5 assists), the Big East Player of the Year; Ohio State’s Evan Turner (20.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg), the Big 10 Player of the Year; and Kentucky’s John Wall, who averaged 16.6 points and 6.4 assists in his freshman campaign.

The 34th John R. Wooden Award Presentation Gala will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 9 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 W. Seventh Street in Los Angeles.  In addition to honoring the Wooden All-American teams, the “Legends of Coaching” Award will be presented to Florida’s Billy Donovan, who made his 10th appearance as a coach in the NCAA Tournament this year. The final vote tally will be released that night as well. Tickets may be obtained by calling The Los Angeles Athletic Club at (213) 630-5231 for $105.  Internet users may watch the announcement live at 7:30 p.m. that night on the CBS College Sports Network, by using the following link:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13172567

The winners will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university’s general scholarship fund.  The Women’s John R. Wooden All-America team and finalists were announced last week.

Men’s 2010 John R. Wooden Award Finalists