Trayce Jackson-Davis named to Wooden Award midseason top-25 list
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Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been named to the Wooden Award midseason top-25 watch list.
Jackson-Davis is averaging 19.3 points (5th in B1G), 8.2 rebounds (5th) and 3.1 blocks per game (1st) this year.
Below is the full release.
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's® Midseason Top 25 Watch List today on ESPNU. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2021-22 season thus far, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor.
Junior/sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who also made the list a year ago, is living up to his preseason accolades, averaging 19.3 points (5th in B1G), 8.2 rebounds (5th), shooting 59.9% from the floor (5th) and contributing 3.1 blocked shots per game (1st). He set a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record by scoring 43 points against Marshall, breaking the previous mark (42) set by Steve Alford against Michigan State.
The leading returning scorer in the Big Ten has been named a first-team 2021-22 Preseason All-American by the Associated Press, and selected to the watch list for the Karl Malone Watch, the NABC Player of the Year, Wooden Award and Naismith Award. He has had four double-doubles this season and 26 in his career with IU posting a 20-6 record in those games. Jackson-Davis now has scored 1,200 points as a Hoosier, rating 39th all-time in IU lore.
On the 2022 Wooden Award™ Midseason Top 25, nine players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: James Akinjo (Baylor), Izaiah Brockington (Iowa State), Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Zach Edey (Purdue), Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona), Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke), Keegan Murray (Iowa), David Roddy (Colorado State), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky). Four schools have multiple players on the list, led by Purdue (Edey, Jaden Ivey, and Trevion Williams), and followed by Duke (Paolo Banchero and Moore Jr.), Gonzaga (Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme), and UCLA (Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang).
The Big Ten leads all conferences with nine selections on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, followed by the Pac-12 with four, the Big 12 with three, the ACC, SEC and WCC with two selections each, and the Big East, Mountain West and Summit League with one selection apiece. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2022 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ 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 2022 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's following the NCAA Tournament in April.
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 Legends 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), Breanna Stewart ('15 and '16) and last year's recipients, Paige Bueckers of Connecticut and Luka Garza of Iowa.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
WATCH LIST
Max Abrams, Oral Roberts
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas
James Akinjo, Baylor
Paolo Banchero, Duke
Izaiah Brockington, Iowa State
Kofi Cockburn*, Illinois
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
Hunter Dickinson*, Michigan
Zach Edey, Purdue
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga
Jaden Ivey, Purdue
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS, INDIANA
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Johnny Juzang, UCLA
E.J. Liddell, Ohio State
Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona
Isaiah Mobley, USC
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke
Keegan Murray, Iowa
David Roddy, Colorado State
Jabari Smith, Auburn
Drew Timme*, Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Trevion Williams, Purdue
*Indicates player selected as 2020-21 Wooden Award All American
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