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University of North Carolina Athletics
RJ Davis
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Bacot, Davis & Love Grab Spots On Wooden Award Watch List
November 16, 2022 | Men's Basketball
University of North Carolina players Armando Bacot, RJ Davis and Caleb Love are among the 50 players nationwide named this week to the watch list for the John Wooden Award, given to the national player of the year.
Carolina is one of three schools to have three players on the list: UNC, Kentucky and Duke.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The 2022 Wooden Award Winner Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) headlines the Preseason Top 50 along with two-time Wooden Award All American Drew Timme (Gonzaga) and 2021 Wooden Award All American Hunter Dickinson (Michigan). Three schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Duke (Dereck Lively II, Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead), Kentucky (Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler), and Carolina (Bacot, Davis and Love).
Several other schools boast multiple players on the list: Baylor (Adam Flagler and Keyonte George), Creighton (Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman), Gonzaga (Julian Strawther and Timme), Kansas (Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jalen Wilson), Miami (Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong), Texas (Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter), and UCLA (Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 14 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the Big 12 and SEC with seven each, the Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 with five each, the American, Mountain West and WCC with two each, and the ASUN, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Horizon and Summit League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the national ballot.
Carolina is one of three schools to have three players on the list: UNC, Kentucky and Duke.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The 2022 Wooden Award Winner Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) headlines the Preseason Top 50 along with two-time Wooden Award All American Drew Timme (Gonzaga) and 2021 Wooden Award All American Hunter Dickinson (Michigan). Three schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Duke (Dereck Lively II, Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead), Kentucky (Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler), and Carolina (Bacot, Davis and Love).
Several other schools boast multiple players on the list: Baylor (Adam Flagler and Keyonte George), Creighton (Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman), Gonzaga (Julian Strawther and Timme), Kansas (Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jalen Wilson), Miami (Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong), Texas (Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter), and UCLA (Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 14 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the Big 12 and SEC with seven each, the Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 with five each, the American, Mountain West and WCC with two each, and the ASUN, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Horizon and Summit League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the national ballot.
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