Cade Cunningham and Luka Garza Among Wooden Award Final Ballot Nominees
The national ballot for the John R. Wooden Award was released Saturday and among the names of men's college basketball's brightest stars were Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham and Iowa's Luka Garza.
The Wooden Award, given to the top player in college basketball, has narrowed down its finalists to 15 names. Cunningham, Jeremy Woo's projected No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, is averaging 19.7 points per game with 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Garza has been a force down low for the Hawkeyes. The center is leading the Big Ten in scoring (23.9) and has led his team to the No. 5 seed heading into the conference tournament. Garza was the runner-up for last year's Wooden Award, losing to Obi Toppin, but the stars are aligning for the 6'11" senior in 2021.
Three Gonzaga players make an appearance on the ballot while Villanova and Illinois are represented by two each.
Full ballot:
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky — 18 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 3.1 B
Jared Butler, Baylor — 17.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, 2.2 SPG
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois — 17.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 66.5 FG%
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State — 19.7 PPG, 6.3 APG, 42.5 3PT%
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan — 14.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 60.6 FG%
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois — 21.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.3 APG
Luka Garza, Iowa — 23.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG
Collin Gillespie, Villanova — 14.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, 3.3 RPG
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana — 19.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.4 BPG
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga — 19.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 46.3PT%
E.J. Liddell, Ohio State — 15.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG
Evan Mobley, USC — 16.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.8 BPG
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova — 15.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.9 APG
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga — 13.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.3 APG
Drew Timme, Gonzaga — 18.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 65.1 FG%
