The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Durant named finalist for John R. Wooden Award
03.27.2007 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES -- University of Texas freshman swingman Kevin Durant is one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the most outstanding college basketball player in the nation, the Wooden Award Committee announced Tuesday. Durant is joined on the list of finalists by Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Acie Law (Texas A&M), Greg Oden (Ohio State) and Alando Tucker (Wisconsin).
Each of the five finalists are invited to Los Angeles for the 31st annual Wooden Award Presentation. The Wooden Award Player of the Year will be announced on Saturday, April 7, live during a national telecast on CBS Sports from The Los Angeles Athletic Club at 1 p.m. Central (11 a.m. Pacific). This marks the first time in the 31-year history of the Wooden Award that two freshmen (Durant and Oden) will be among the top five finalists.
Durant led the Big 12 Conference in scoring (25.8 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg) and blocked shots (67). He is the only player in the country to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring (fourth) and rebounding (fourth). Durant led the Longhorns to a 25-10 record and the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Durant has already claimed three major National Player of the Year honors this year (NABC, USBWA and Adolph Rupp Trophy) and is a finalist for both the Associated Press Player of the Year and the Naismith Award presented by AT&T.
A panel consisting of more than 1,000 voters including sports media and college basketball experts from across the nation had until 3 p.m. Eastern on Monday, March 26 to cast their votes for both the 10-player All-American Team and the Wooden Award Player of the Year as the most outstanding collegiate basketball player in the nation. In addition to on-court performance, voters were asked to base their votes on the student-athlete's character and academic performance, essential components of the Wooden Award.
The Wooden Award All-Americans, in alphabetical order, are Arron Afflalo (UCLA); Aaron Brooks (Oregon); Kevin Durant (Texas); Nick Fazekas (Nevada); Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina); Acie Law (Texas A&M); Joakim Noah (Florida); Greg Oden (Ohio State); Brandon Rush (Kansas); and Alando Tucker (Wisconsin).
"There have been a variety of firsts this year for the Wooden Award including having a couple of freshmen on the All-American team as well as the fan participation in the voting," said Duke Llewellyn, founder and chairman of the Wooden Award. "The finalists are a talented bunch and all well-deserving of the award. Each one would represent the award well as they've lead their teams to successful seasons while also achieving greatness off the court. The anticipation is building and we look forward to the ceremony and the crowning of this year's Wooden Award Player of the Year."
The 2007 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to recipient Gene Keady of Purdue University, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 7, 2007. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.
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 cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Andrew Bogut ('05), and last year's recipients, Seimone Augustus ('06) and J.J. Redick ('06).
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 as well as sent over 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the awards 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-American selections, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
