LOS ANGELES, CA (February 3, 2020) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced its John R. Wooden Award® Presented by Wendy’s® Men’s Late Season Top 20 Watch List on ESPN2. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the first half of the 2019-20 season, the list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who are currently the front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor and the John R. Wooden Award All American Team®.

Two players make their debut on the Wooden Watch after not being named on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 or Midseason Top 25: Jared Butler (Baylor) and Daniel Oturu (Minnesota). Preseason Top 50 nominee Jalen Smith of Maryland returns to the Wooden Watch after not appearing on the Midseason Top 25.

Three schools have two players on the list: Duke (Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones), Kansas (Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson), and Maryland (Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith). The Big Ten leads all conferences with six selections; followed by the ACC, Big 12, and Big East with three each; and the A-10, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, and WCC 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 appearing on this list are still eligible for the National Ballot, which will be announced in early March. 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.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The

Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), and last year’s recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Zion Williamson of Duke.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.

For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.

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John R. Wooden Award

Presented By Wendy’s

2019-20 Men’s Late Season Top 20 Watch List

* indicates player selected as 2018-19 Wooden Award All American