Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap and Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas have been named as two of the top 50 preseason candidates for the men's 2005-06 Wooden Award All-America team.
The Wooden Watch List is comprised of 50 student athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers, freshmen and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason top 30 list and the National Ballot.
Millsap has proven to be the nation's top rebounder over the past two seasons as he became the first NCAA player ever to earn back-to-back individual rebounding titles as a freshman and sophomore. No NCAA player has ever won three consecutive rebounding titles. Last year, he led Louisiana Tech with 20.4 points per game along with his 12.4 rebounds per contest. In his first season, he was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year.
In his first two seasons at the University of Nevada, Fazekas helped lead the Wolf Pack to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet Sixteen in 2004 and the second round in 2005. This past season, Fazekas led the WAC and ranked 14th in the nation in scoring at 20.7 points per game. He was named the WAC's Player of the Year in 2004-05.
"With so many players jumping to the next level and so many standout athletes from last year, the committee had a tough time nominating these candidates from such a wide selection of tremendous players," said Duke Llewellyn, Wooden Award chairman. "These preseason selections represent the elite of college basketball, and our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation prove their case as college basketball's player of the year."
In mid-January, the Wooden Award committee will release the midseason top 30 on CBS Sports, and on Tuesday, March 28, the 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2006 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 8, 2006, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast.
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 cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, Andrew Bogut ('05).