University of Louisville guard Carlik Jones has been named to the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Midseason Top 25 Watch List, an award presented by The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced and announced today on ESPNU.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2020-21 season thus far, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.
A 6-1 graduate student from Cincinnati, Ohio, Jones is one of three players who make their debut on the Wooden Watch™, which also includes watch list newcomers Derek Culver (West Virginia) and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga). Jones is one of five ACC players on the list, joining Florida State’s Scottie Barnes, North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks, Virginia’s Sam Hauser and Duke’s Matthew Hurt.
Entering tonight’s game against Virginia Tech, Jones is the only player in the ACC to rank among the top 15 in scoring (8th in the ACC, 16.4 ppg), rebounding (15th, 6.6 rpg) and assists (first, 5.1 apg). Combined with Radford and Louisville, he has 90 career double-figure scoring efforts, including the last 30 consecutive games (eight this year).
Through games of Jan. 3, Jones is 10th in the nation in career assists among active players with 505 (36 at Louisville, 469 at Radford) and is 12th nationally among active career scorers with 1,677 points (115 at UofL, 1,552 at Radford). The preseason All-America selection handed out his 500th career assist at Boston College.
The players on the watch list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 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 2021 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), Darrell Griffith (’80), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), Breanna Stewart (’15; ’16) and last year’s recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
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.
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.
Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s
2020-21 Midseason Top 25
Scottie Barnes, Florida State
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky
James Bouknight, Connecticut
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina
Jared Butler, Baylor
Marcus Carr, Minnesota
Kofi Cockburn. Illinois
Derek Culver, West Virginia
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
John Fulkerson, Tennessee
Luka Garza, Iowa
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers
Sam Hauser, Virginia
Matthew Hurt, Duke
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Carlik Jones, Louisville
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Remy Martin, Arizona State
Evan Mobley, USC
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
KENNY KLEIN
