Caner-Medley Named To Preseason Wooden Award Watch List
8/9/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 9, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Maryland rising senior Nik Caner-Medley is in elite company as the top 50 preseason candidates for the men's 2005-06 John R. Wooden Award and All-American Team were announced on Tuesday. The list is composed of 50 student athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers, freshmen and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason top 30 list and the National Ballot.
As a junior in 2004-05, Caner-Medley led the Terps in scoring at 16.0 points per game, which included a 16.6 ppg effort against league opponents. The 2005-06 All-America and All-ACC candidate was a third team all-conference selection a season ago, netting double-figures in 27 of 32 games and finishing third on the Terrapin squad in rebounding (6.2 rpg). He paced his team in minutes played (1,008), starts (31) and made 3-pointers (43) last season.
"With so many players jumping to the next level and so many standout athletes from last year, the committee had a tough time nominating these candidates from such a wide selection of tremendous players," said Duke Llewellyn, Wooden Award chairman. "These preseason selections represent the elite of college basketball, and our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation prove their case as college basketball's player of the year."
Eleven NCAA conferences are represented on the preseason list, including the Big East (nine players), ACC (eight players), Pac 10 (seven players), Big Ten (six players), Big 12 (six players), Atlantic 10 (four players), SEC (four players), Conference USA (two players), Western Athletic Conference (two players), West Coast Conference (one player), and the Missouri Valley Conference (one player).
In mid-January, the Wooden Award committee will release the midseason top 30 on CBS Sports, and on Tuesday, March 28, the 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2006 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 8, 2006, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, Andrew Bogut ('05).
As a part of the John R. Wooden Award, the top five male and female finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund for their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. Applied Materials distributed $10,000 last year to each university represented by a men's and women's Wooden Award All-American Team finalist (for a total of $100,000). Additional donations to Applied Materials' John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund can be made by contacting the scholarship fund through the CCF (www.calfund.org).
Visit www.WoodenAward.com to view the complete list of Preseason Wooden Award Candidates.
