LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas forward Thomas Robinson was named as one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, the school announced on Tuesday.
The award, named for legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, is awarded to the nation’s best college player who is progressing toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Danny Manning (’88), Tim Duncan (’97), Blake Griffin (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ’11).
BYU’s Jimmer Fredette was the Wooden Award winner in 2011.
Robinson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, is averaging 18.0 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this season. He leads the Big 12 in double-doubles (22) and rebounds per game (11.8), while both rank second nationally. Against eight nationally-ranked teams in 2011-12, Robinson averaged 19.8 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 55.6 percent. Robinson was also recently named the Big 12 Player of the Year, AP Big 12 Player of the Year, Sporting News Big 12 Player of the Year, while being named to the All-Big 12 First Team, AP All-Big 12 First Team and Sporting News All-American First Team.
Last season former Jayhawk Marcus Morris was named a finalist for the Wooden Award, while former guard Brandon Rush was a two-time finalist under head coach Bill Self.
The Wooden Award All-American Teams will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. Voters have until Monday, March 19 at Noon PDT to return their ballots, allowing them to take into consideration performance during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
