Warrick Earns Spot On 2005 Wooden Award Ballot

LOS ANGELES, CA – The John R. Wooden Award Committee has announced the 23 student-athletes named to the official voting ballot for the 2005 Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate basketball player. The list includes Syracuse senior Hakim Warrick. The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 9, during a national CBS telecast of the John R. Wooden Award ceremony that will air live at 1 p.m. EST from The Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Warrick has helped Syracuse to a 24-6 record this winter. He is averaging 21.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, both club highs. The Orange have a first-round bye in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament which begins on Wednesday, March 9.

Ten NCAA conferences are represented on the ballot, including the ACC (5), America East (1), Big 10 (3), Big 12 (3), BIG EAST (3), Conference USA (1), Mountain West (1), Pac-10 (3), SEC (2), and the West Coast Conference (1). The best represented conferences include the ACC with five candidates and the Big 10, Big 12, BIG EAST and Pac-10 conferences, which each have three candidates. Several teams have multiple players nominated, including Illinois with three nominees, and Duke, Oklahoma State and North Carolina with two nominees each.

The ballot for the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball also features three 2003-04 Wooden Award All-Americans, including Ryan Gomes (Providence), John Lucas (Oklahoma State) and Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State). Luther Head of Illinois is the only candidate on the national ballot who was not a Wooden Award Midseason nominee. In total, 11 juniors, 10 seniors and two sophomores are represented.

“Each of these players should be commended for their athletic and academic achievements as they have all met the comprehensive Wooden Award criteria,” said Richard “Duke” Llewellyn, founder and chairman of the Wooden Award. “This year’s race for the Wooden Award is wide open, and we look forward to closely following both the conference and national tournament to see who will emerge from the talent-rich field of national finalists.”

In order to be considered for the national ballot, all players must have been accredited by their university as meeting the Wooden Award criteria which includes making normal progress towards graduation and maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. All players considered for the national ballot, including those on the midseason list, were deemed eligible as meeting the Wooden Award academic requirements.

A panel of over 1,000 voters comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from around the nation will have until 3 p.m. EST on Monday, March 28 to cast their votes for both the 10-member All-American Team and Wooden Award recipient as the most outstanding collegiate basketball player in the United States. The Wooden Award opts for the March 28 deadline because it allows voters to evaluate players up until the Final Four has been determined.

The 2005 award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and Legends of Coaching award recipient Jim Calhoun of the University of Connecticut, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9, 2005. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund for their university’s general scholarship fund.

The Wooden Award Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden’s dedication as an educator and mentor. The Scholarship Fund distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a men’s and women’s Wooden Award All-American Team finalist (for a total of $150,000).

About the 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/her university that he/she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), and last year’s recipient, Jameer Nelson (’04).

Wooden Award Ballot

Name, School

Andrew Bogut, Utah

Dee Brown, Illinois

Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont

Ike Diogu, Arizona State

Francisco Garcia, Louisville

Ryan Gomes, Providence

Joey Graham, Oklahoma State

Luther Head, Illinois

John Lucas, Oklahoma State

Sean May. North Carolina