Nov. 8, 2012
LOS ANGELES - San Diego State junior guard Jamaal Franklin has been named to the John R. Wooden Award preseason top-50 list, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced today on ESPN.com. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball media members, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
The Hawthorne, Calif., product enters 2012-13 as the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year, a season after he earned the postseason version of the award. Franklin, a 2012 Associated Press All-American, averaged a team- and MW-best 17.4 points and an Aztec-high 7.9 rebounds.
Franklin is the second SDSU player in three seasons, and third Aztec overall, to land on the preseason top-50 list. Former teammate Kawhi Leonard was on the list prior to the 2010-11 campaign and made it to the midseason top-30, before earning Wooden All-America honors after his stellar sophomore effort. Brandon Heath, the school's all-time leading scorer, was the first Aztec to earn such honors as he was recognized prior to the 2006-07 campaign.
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), Candace Parker ('07 and '08), Kevin Durant ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09 and `11). Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis won the men's Award in 2012.
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 day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward.