Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Ford Earns Spot on Wooden Award Watch List
11/5/2019 10:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES — The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's® announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List today on ESPN's SportsCenter and on ESPN.com. On that list is Gaels' senior guard Jordan Ford who has already been named to the Bob Cousy Award and Naismith Trophy watch lists this preseason.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The Preseason Top 50 list represents 12 conferences. The Pac-12 leads all conferences with 8 selections, followed by the Big East and SEC with seven apiece, the Big Ten with six, the ACC with five, the Big 12 with four, the American and WCC with three apiece, the A-10 and Mountain West with two each, and the America East, Conference USA, and Horizon League with one selection apiece.
The other two members from the West Coast Conference are BYU's Yoeli Childs and Gonzaga's Killian Tillie.
Ford was one of the top producers on the West Coast last season with 21.1 points per game, 2.5 assists, and 41-percent shooting from beyond the arc. The senior was named First Team All-WCC in the spring and was honored to the conference's preseason squad just a month ago.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. 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 American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020
*indicates player was selected to the 2018-19 Wooden Award All American
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Zion Williamson of Duke.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The Preseason Top 50 list represents 12 conferences. The Pac-12 leads all conferences with 8 selections, followed by the Big East and SEC with seven apiece, the Big Ten with six, the ACC with five, the Big 12 with four, the American and WCC with three apiece, the A-10 and Mountain West with two each, and the America East, Conference USA, and Horizon League with one selection apiece.
The other two members from the West Coast Conference are BYU's Yoeli Childs and Gonzaga's Killian Tillie.
Ford was one of the top producers on the West Coast last season with 21.1 points per game, 2.5 assists, and 41-percent shooting from beyond the arc. The senior was named First Team All-WCC in the spring and was honored to the conference's preseason squad just a month ago.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. 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 American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020
| Name | School | Conference | Height | Class | Position |
| Precious Achiuwa | Memphis | American | 6-9 | Fr. | F |
| Ty-Shon Alexander | Creighton | Big East | 6-4 | Jr. | G |
| Cole Anthony | North Carolina | ACC | 6-3 | Fr. | G |
| Udoka Azubuike | Kansas | Big 12 | 7-0 | Sr. | C |
| Kamar Baldwin | Butler | Big East | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Desmond Bane | TCU | Big 12 | 6-6 | Sr. | G |
| Charles Bassey | Western Kentucky | Conference USA | 6-11 | So. | C |
| Saddiq Bey | Villanova | Big East | 6-8 | So. | F |
| Kerry Blackshear Jr. | Florida | SEC | 6-10 | Sr. | F |
| Vernon Carey Jr. | Duke | ACC | 6-10 | Fr. | C |
| Yoeli Childs | BYU | WCC | 6-8 | Sr. | F |
| Anthony Cowan Jr. | Maryland | Big Ten | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Jarron Cumberland | Cincinnati | American | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Antoine Davis | Detroit Mercy | Horizon League | 6-1 | So. | G |
| Mamadi Diakite | Virginia | ACC | 6-9 | Sr. | F |
| Alpha Diallo | Providence | Big East | 6-7 | Sr. | G |
| Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois | Big Ten | 6-5 | So. | G |
| Devon Dotson | Kansas | Big 12 | 6-2 | So. | G |
| Anthony Edwards | Georgia | SEC | 6-5 | Fr. | G |
| CJ Elleby | Washington State | Pac-12 | 6-6 | So. | F |
| Jordan Ford | Saint Mary's | WCC | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Kellan Grady | Davidson | A-10 | 6-5 | Jr. | G |
| Jon Axel Gudmundsson | Davidson | A-10 | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Ashton Hagans | Kentucky | SEC | 6-3 | So. | G |
| Tyrese Haliburton | Iowa State | Big 12 | 6-5 | So. | G |
| Markus Howard* | Marquette | Big East | 5-11 | Sr. | G |
| Tre Jones | Duke | ACC | 6-3 | So. | G |
| Anthony Lamb | Vermont | America East | 6-6 | Sr. | F |
| Scottie Lewis | Florida | SEC | 6-5 | Fr. | G |
| Nico Mannion | Arizona | Pac-12 | 6-6 | Fr. | G |
| Naji Marshall | Xavier | Big East | 6-7 | Jr. | F |
| Tyrese Maxey | Kentucky | SEC | 6-3 | Fr. | G |
| Jaden McDaniels | Washington | Pac-12 | 6-9 | Fr. | F |
| Sam Merrill | Utah State | Mountain West | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Andrew Nembhard | Florida | SEC | 6-5 | So. | G |
| Jordan Nwora | Louisville | ACC | 6-7 | Jr. | F |
| Reggie Perry | Mississippi State | SEC | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Myles Powell | Seton Hall | Big East | 6-2 | Sr. | G |
| Payton Pritchard | Oregon | Pac-12 | 6-2 | Sr. | G |
| Neemias Queta | Utah State | Mountain West | 7-0 | So. | C |
| Nick Rakocevic | USC | Pac-12 | 6-11 | Sr. | F |
| Jalen Smith | Maryland | Big Ten | 6-10 | So. | F |
| Lamar Stevens | Penn State | Big Ten | 6-8 | Sr. | F |
| Isaiah Stewart | Washington | Pac-12 | 6-9 | Fr. | F |
| Killian Tillie | Gonzaga | WCC | 6-10 | Sr. | F |
| Tres Tinkle | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 6-7 | Sr. | F |
| Kaleb Wesson | Ohio State | Big Ten | 6-9 | Jr. | F |
| Cassius Winston* | Michigan State | Big Ten | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| James Wiseman | Memphis | American | 7-1 | Fr. | C |
| McKinley Wright IV | Colorado | Pac-12 | 6-0 | Jr. | G |
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Zion Williamson of Duke.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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