The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced its Preseason Top 50 today on ESPN's SportsCenter and on ESPN.com. 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 sport’s most prestigious honor.  

Los Angeles (April 11, 2014)— The Los Angeles Athletic Club will present its first-ever Outreach Award to Michigan State senior basketball player Adreian Payne as part of the 38^th Annual Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s. The event also honors the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, and includes the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, this year given to Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer.

Two-time All American Caps Career With Nation’s Top Women’s Basketball Honor

Los Angeles (April 11, 2014)— The John R. Wooden Award®, the preeminent collegiate basketball player of the year award, was presented this evening at the Los Angeles Athletic Club by Coach John Wooden’s grandson, Craig Impelman, to Stanford University senior Chiney Ogwumike.  Impelman made the announcement and presented Ogwumike with the Wooden Award Trophy whose unique design was inspired by Coach Wooden’s ideal of the “total basketball player.”

Greg Wooden, Doug McDermott, Greg McDermott with Wooden Award trophy in Dallas

Fort Worth, Texas (April 4, 2014) — The John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s, the preeminent men’s collegiate basketball player of the year honor, was awarded today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club in Fort Worth, Texas, to Creighton University senior forward Doug McDermott on ESPN’s SportsCenter. McDermott is a three-time Wooden All American and the No. 5 scorer in NCAA history. McDermott was awarded the Wooden Award Trophy whose unique design was inspired by Coach Wooden’s idea of the “total basketball player.” Coach Wooden’s grandson, Greg, was in attendance at the announcement to meet McDermott.

Returning All Americans Ogwumike and Sims Head the List

Los Angeles (April 2, 2014)— The John R. Wooden Award Women’s All American Team was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. Voting by college basketball media members from throughout the nation took place from March 12 through 25, allowing voters to take into account play through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The All American Team is made up of the five student-athletes who received the highest point total over that period. All players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA, an important component of the Award insisted upon by Coach Wooden.

Los Angeles (March 31, 2014) — The 10-player John R. Wooden Award All American Team was released today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club and announced on the ESPNU show “Katz Korner.” The 10 players were selected by a voting base of nearly 1,000 college basketball experts throughout the nation and by fans through the Fan Voting site woodenawardvote.com. The Top 5 vote-getters have been invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s on April 11 and were highlighted on the show. In alphabetical order, the invited players are Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early, Arizona’s Nick Johnson, Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Duke’s Jabari Parker, and Louisville’s Russ Smith.

Los Angeles (March 8, 2014)— The John R. Wooden Award Ballot was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on ESPN College GameDay. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the ballot is made up of 15 student-athletes who are the eligible for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. All balloted players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

Three players from No. 1 UConn and two returning All Americans head the list

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament after voting by hundreds of media members from March 12 through 25. The Wooden Award is unique in that voters may take into account play through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year will be announced as part of the 38th annual Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s weekend April 10-12, 2014 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The 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, this year given to Stanford Head Women’s Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer.

We reiterate our reluctance to rely too heavily on statistics in determining the top candidates for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s. We feel that they overemphasize offensive categories, don’t accurately capture leadership traits, and are skewed by many factors, including strength of opponent, game flow, and coaching philosophy.