Oct. 4, 2010

Complete Preseason Wooden Award List in PDF Format

LOS ANGELES - Baylor men's basketball senior guard LaceDarius Dunn is among 50 student-athletes named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list, The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday. The list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.

Dunn enters the 2010-11 season ranked fourth in Baylor history with 1,739 career points and needs 451 points to become the school's all-time leading scorer (Terry Teagle - 2,189). He also needs 518 points to become the Big 12's all-time leading scorer (Texas Tech's Andre Emmett - 2,256). The school's career leader with 299 3-point field goals made, he is a preseason All-American selection by three publications - Athlon (first team), Blue Ribbon (first team) and Sporting News (third team). He is also a preseason All-Big 12 pick by four publications - Athlon, Blue Ribbon, Lindy's and Sporting News - and Big 12 Player of the Year by Athlon and Blue Ribbon.

An honorable mention All-American as a junior, Dunn enjoyed one of the great all-around individual seasons in Baylor history, establishing single-season school records for points scored (704) and 3-point field goals made (116). The Monroe, La., native averaged a team-best 19.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 32.6 minutes in 36 games. He was earned second-team All-Big 12 honors by numerous media outlets and was later named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament team.

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason list. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December's Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March. 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 will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round during the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue was the only school with three players named to the Wooden Award preseason Top 50. Five schools had two players chosen to the list: Colorado, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan State and Syracuse. Eleven conferences are represented on the Wooden Award Preseason List. Leading the way is the Big 10 (10), followed by the ACC (8), Big East (7), SEC (3), Big 12 (7), Pac-10 (6), Atlantic 10 (3), Mountain West (2), West Coast (2); and Conference USA, and the Horizon League with one apiece.

The 35th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, a special tribute to Coach Wooden and Wooden Award founder Duke Llewellyn, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 8-10, 2011.

About the John R. Wooden Award
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), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or email at woodenaward@laac.net.