TicketsNov. 8, 2012
CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati junior guard Sean Kilpatrick has been named to the John R. Wooden Award List Preseason Top 50 the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced through ESPN.com on Thursday.
Kilpatrick, who was tabbed a preseason BIG EAST Conference first team selection by the league's coaches in October, ranks seventh among returning BIG EAST scorers (14.3 points per game) after leading the league in three-pointer made with 2.49 per game last season.
The Yonkers, N.Y., native was named a second team All-BIG EAST Conference selection last season. He scored in double figures in 29 of UC's 37 games and tallied 528 points last season - the second most in a single-season at UC during the Mick Cronin era. He posted a career-high 27 points in a 68-64 win at then-No. 11 Georgetown (1/9/12) and scored a team-high 16 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left, in a 70-67 UC win at then-No. 13 Connecticut (1/18/12).
Kilpatrick is one of seven BIG EAST Conference players named to the award's preseason Top 50 along with Louisville's Chane Behanan, Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva as well as Notre Dame's Jack Cooley, Providence's Vincent Council and Georgetown's Otto Porter.
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 minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Candace Parker ('07 and '08), Kevin Durant ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09 and `11). Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis won the men's Award in 2012.
Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the Preseason Top 50. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the midseason list and the official voting ballot, both of which are open to freshman and transfer students. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top 10 players, will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 37th annual Wooden Award ceremony 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, which in 2013 will go to Kansas Head Coach Bill Self. The event will take place the weekend of April 12-13, 2013.
The complete John R. Wooden Award List Preseason Top 50 list follows:
Name Height Class Position University Conference
Keith Appling 6-1 Jr. G Michigan State Big Ten
Chane Behanan 6-6 So. F Louisville Big East
Kenny Boynton 6-2 Sr. G Florida SEC
Lorenzo Brown 6-5 Jr. G North Carolina State ACC
Trey Burke 6-0 So. G Michigan Big Ten
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 6-5 So. G Georgia SEC
Isaiah Canaan 6-1 Sr. G Murray State Ohio Valley
Jack Cooley 6-9 Sr. F Notre Dame Big East
D.J. Cooper 6-0 Sr. G Ohio University Mid-American
Vincent Council 6-2 Sr. G Providence Big East
Allen Crabbe 6-6 Jr. G California Pac-12
Aaron Craft 6-2 Jr. G Ohio State Big Ten
Seth Curry 6-2 Sr. G Duke ACC
Brandon Davies 6-9 Sr. F BYU West Coast
Matthew Dellavedova 6-4 Sr. G Saint Mary's West Coast
Gorgui Dieng 6-11 Jr. C Lousville Big East
Jamaal Franklin 6-5 Jr. G San Diego State Mountain West
Tim Frazier 6-1 Sr. G Penn State Big Ten
Tim Hardaway, Jr. 6-6 Jr. G Michigan Big Ten
Elias Harris 6-8 Sr. F Gonzaga West Coast
Solomon Hill 6-7 Sr. F Arizona Pac-12
Pierre Jackson 5-10 Sr. G Baylor Big 12
Elijah Johnson 6-4 Sr. G Kansas Big 12
Sean Kilpatrick 6-4 Jr. G/F Cincinnati Big East
C.J. Leslie 6-9 Jr. F North Carolina State ACC
James Michael McAdoo 6-9 So. F North Carolina ACC
Ray McCallum 6-3 Jr. G Detroit Horizon League
C.J. McCollum 6-3 Sr. G Lehigh Patriot League
Doug McDermott* 6-8 Jr. F Creighton Missouri Valley
Rodney McGruder 6-4 Sr. G Kansas State Big 12
Tony Mitchell 6-8 So. F North Texas Sun Belt
Mike Moser 6-8 Jr. F UNLV Mountain West
Brock Motum 6-10 Sr. F Washington State Pac-12
Le'Bryan Nash 6-7 So. G/F Oklahoma State Big 12
Brandon Paul 6-4 Sr. G Illinois Big Ten
Mason Plumlee 6-10 Sr. F Duke ACC
Otto Porter 6-8 So. F Georgetown Big East
Phil Pressey 5-11 Jr. G Missouri SEC
André Roberson 6-7 Jr. F Colorado Pac-12
Peyton Siva 6-0 Sr. G Louisville Big East
Michael Snaer 6-5 Sr. G Florida State ACC
Jarnell Stokes 6-8 So. F Tennessee SEC
Adonis Thomas 6-7 So. G/F Memphis Conference USA
Deshaun Thomas 6-7 Jr. F Ohio State Big Ten
Christian Watford 6-9 Sr. F Indiana Big Ten
Jeff Withey 7-0 Sr. C Kansas Big 12
Nate Wolters 6-4 Sr. G South Dakota State Summit League
B.J. Young 6-3 So. G Arkansas SEC
Patric Young 6-9 Jr. C Florida SEC
Cody Zeller 7-0 So. F Indiana Big Ten
Players listed alphabetically
*indicates player chosen to the 2012 Wooden All American Team
Based on a preseason poll.
Award winner honored April 5, 2012 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.