Wooden Award 2012-13 Midseason Top 25
Their are a few NCAA most valuable player awards and the John R. Wooden award, named after the legendary UCLA coach, usually seen as the biggest. The Mid-Season Top 25 list was announced with these names:
Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Laurence Bowers, Missouri
Trey Burke, Michigan
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
Michael Carter Williams, Syracuse
Jack Cooley, Notre Dame
Seth Curry, Duke
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Elias Harris, Gonzaga
Pierre Jackson, Baylor
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati
CJ McCollum, Lehigh
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Ben McLemore, Kansas
Brandon Paul, Illinois
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Otto Porter, Georgetown
Phil Pressey, Missouri
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Russ Smith, Louisville
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State
Jeff Withey, Kansas
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
Cody Zeller, Indiana
The only two players on the list who were Wooden All-American's last season were Isaiah Canaan and Doug McDermott. Three freshman were chosen with Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore and Marcus Smart garnering notice. The list will be trimmed to 10 during the Elite 8 weekend with the winner announced during the weekend of the Final Four. Here is what NCAA Daily predicts as the 10 man Wooden All-American team:
- Doug McDermott
- Trey Burke
- Cody Zeller
- Mason Plumlee
- Michael Carter-Williams
- Deshaun Thomas
- Laurence Bowers
- Pierre Jackson
- Jeff Withey
- Anthony Bennett
My ommission of Isaiah Canaan is due to Murray State not having the same type of season as last year. Others who were close to the top 10 were Jamaal Franklin, Brandon Paul, Nate Wolters, Marcus Smart and Ben McLemore. In a sign that the conference still has a little ways to go, the Pac-12 did not have a single top 25 selection. Also, nobody ranked within the top 5 during the final 2012 HS rankings made the cut for the Midseason Wooden list.
