Fredette Named to Wooden Award Midseason Top 30

Los Angeles (January 6, 2011)— BYU senior guard Jimmer Fredette has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 that was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 30 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November and December, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.

Returning players from past Wooden Award ballots include a pair of seniors: Duke’s Kyle Singler (2009, 2010) and BYU’s Jimmer Fredette (2010). Singler was the MVP of the 2010 Final Four and is averaging 17.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 2010-11 for the undefeated Blue Devils; Fredette was an All-Mountain West Conference player as a junior and so far this year posts a 25.1 ppg scoring average.

Fredette is among the nation's scoring leaders and has led BYU to a 15-1 record and a No. 14 national ranking. The Glens Falls, N.Y., native has scored 20-plus points 12 times and has eclipsed 30 points four times.

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are eligible for this midseason list but did not appear on the preseason Top 50. All players nationally who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for 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, making it unique among college postseason awards.

The Big 10 and Big 12 conferences boast the largest number of players chosen to the list, with six each. Other conferences with multiple players represented include the ACC (5), Big East (5), Pac-10 (3), and the Mountain West (2). The Horizon, SEC and Ohio Valley each had one player selected.

Purdue (JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore) and No. 1-ranked Duke (Singler, Nolan Smith) were the only schools with two players on the Midseason List. In a change from the past several years, half of the players chosen are seniors. Only two freshmen made the list: Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Terrence Jones of Kentucky.

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.

John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 30
Marshon Brooks     Providence
Alec Burks         Colorado
Malcolm Delaney    Virginia Tech
Marcus Denmon      Missouri
LaceDarius Dunn    Baylor
Kenneth Faried     Morehead State
Jimmer Fredette*   Brigham Young
Austin Freeman     Georgetown
Jordan Hamilton    Texas
Matt Howard        Butler
Reggie Jackson     Boston College
Rick Jackson       Syracuse
JaJuan Johnson     Purdue
Terrence Jones     Kentucky
Kawhi Leonard      San Diego State
Jon Leuer          Wisconsin
Demetri McCamey    Illinois
E’Twaun Moore      Purdue
Marcus Morris      Kansas
Jacob Pullen       Kansas State
John Shurna        Northwestern
Kyle Singler*      Duke
Nolan Smith        Duke
Jared Sullinger    Ohio State
Isaiah Thomas      Washington
Klay Thompson      Washington State
Kemba Walker       Connecticut
Brad Wanamaker     Pitt
Derrick Williams   Arizona
Jordan Williams    Maryland
*indicates player chosen to the 2010 Wooden Award ballot