Fredette and Leonard Named to 2011 John R. Wooden Award

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March 30, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The John R. Wooden Award Men's All American team was announced today by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and the Mountain West Conference was represented by two student-athletes. The ten-player team includes Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State; Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Marcus Morris, Kansas; Jacob Pullen, Kansas State; Nolan Smith, Duke; Jared Sullinger, Ohio State; Kemba Walker, Connecticut; and Derrick Williams, Arizona. The Mountain West is one of four leagues (Big 12, Big East, Big Ten) with multiple honorees on the list.

Fredette, who is the only player returning from the 2010 Wooden Award men's ballot, led the nation in scoring at 28.9 points per game this season while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point range. The Glens Falls, N.Y., native also led the Cougars in assists with 4.3 per game and shot 89.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Mountain West Conference Player of the Year shattered Danny Ainge's school career scoring mark, finishing his career with 2,599 points after scoring a school-record 1,068 points this season. He had 15 games in which he scored at least 30 points, including four 40-plus-point games and a 52-point performance in the MWC Tournament semifinals on March 11 vs. New Mexico. Fredette is BYU's first All-American since Danny Ainge in 1981. In addition to Wooden Award All American Team, the Oscar Robertson Trophy winner has collected All-America honors this season from the Associated Press, CBSSports.com, FOXSports.com, SI.com, Sporting News, Yahoo! Sports and USBWA.

Hailing from Riverside, Calif., Leonard averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds, while adding 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals, as a starter in all 36 of the Aztecs' games this season. The Mountain West Conference first-team selection tied Michael Cage's school record with 23 double-doubles in 2010-11, which ranks fourth in Division I. His 10.6 rebounding average is the ninth-best in the country. Leonard is the first player from a Southern California school to be honored by the Wooden Award All American Team since UCLA's Kevin Love in 2008, and is the second Aztec ever chosen to a Wooden All American team (Michael Cage, 1984). Coincidentally, the last BYU player to make the team was also in 1984, Devin Durrant. Earlier this month, Leonard was named a second-team All-American by the AP, Sporting News and FOXSports.com.

The top five vote-getters are invited to Los Angeles for the April 8 announcement of the 2011 John R. Wooden Award winner as the men's college basketball player of the year. The presentation of the John R. Wooden Award Trophy will be made as part of the Wooden Award Gala at 6 p.m. PT that day.

Voters include nearly 1,000 members of the media who cover men's and women's college basketball. Men's voters selected and ranked 10 players from the 20 athletes listed on the ballot. All players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason through the Elite Eight, as well as a player's character and academic performance, essential components of an outstanding player.

The winner will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for his university's general scholarship fund.

About the John R. 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 or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the morning after the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.woodenaward.com. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or email at woodenaward@laac.net.