Wooden Award: Midseason Top 30

Midway through the 2009 college basketball season, the top 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, the nation's most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award Committee. Composed of the players who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual player performance and team records during the first half of the season.

"We have nine players on the midseason list who were not on our preseason watch list," said Wooden Award Chairman Richard "Duke" Llewellyn. "That is indicative of the breadth of talent across the country. We look forward to following all of these players as we finish up the conference season and head into the NCAA Tournament."

Heading the list are returning Wooden Award winner Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina and Wooden All Americans Stephen Curry of Davidson and Notre Dame's Luke Harangody. Curry leads the nation in scoring at 28.9 ppg and adds 6.5 apg for 19-3 Davidson. Hansbrough, UNC's 6-9 senior, posts averages of 22.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, while shooring 52.9% from the field and 84.6% from the free throw line. Harangody is the nation's No. 4 scorer (25.3 ppg) and No. 3 rebounder (13.2 rpg).

Nine players have been selected to the midseason Top 30 who were not on the preseason list. This impressive group includes the only freshman on the list, Georgetown's 6-11 center Greg Monroe, and eight returning players: Adrien, Manny Harris (Michigan), Jordan Hill (Arizona), Matt Howard (Butler), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Matthews, Jodie Meeks (Kentucky), and Jeff Teague (Wake Forest).

Players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee, who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

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 Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), and Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipients, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina and Candace Parker of Tennessee.