University of North Carolina Athletics
RJ Davis and Armando Bacot
Photo by: Jaylynn Nash/ACC
Bacot, Davis Named To Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
November 14, 2023 | Men's Basketball
The John Wooden Award announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List on Tuesday, and Tar Heels Armando Bacot and RJ Davis made the cut.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All-America Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 41 are upperclassmen, including 29 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with three named to the Preseason Top 50: Collier (USC), Justin Edwards (Kentucky), and Ja'Kobe Walter (Baylor).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 11 conferences. The ACC and Big East leads all conferences with 10 selections each, followed by the Big 12 with seven, Pac-12 with six, the Big Ten and SEC with five each, the WCC with three, and the American, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, and Mountain West with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the national ballot.
The national ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All-America Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All-America Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 41 are upperclassmen, including 29 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with three named to the Preseason Top 50: Collier (USC), Justin Edwards (Kentucky), and Ja'Kobe Walter (Baylor).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 11 conferences. The ACC and Big East leads all conferences with 10 selections each, followed by the Big 12 with seven, Pac-12 with six, the Big Ten and SEC with five each, the WCC with three, and the American, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, and Mountain West with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the national ballot.
The national ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All-America Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
Players Mentioned
F/C
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