Indiana University Athletics
Wright Named to Wooden List
8/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
August 6, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Indiana junior guard Bracey Wright has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team. The team is composed 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 and freshmen as well as other players who excel throughout the season, will be evaluated and considered for the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot.
An NABC first team All-District 10 and All-Big Ten second team selection as a sophomore, Wright became the 39th member of Indiana's 1,000 career point club when he scored 20 points against Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on March 11.
A finalist for The Rupp Award and The Naismith Award, each honoring the nation's most outstanding player, Wright closed the season ranked third in the league in scoring at 18.5 ppg, the best finish by a Hoosier since Kirk Haston was second in 2000-01. Wright also ranked 16th in the league in rebounding (5.4), ninth in free-throw percentage (.789) and third in three-point field goals per game (2.41). Wright scored at least 20 points 12 times as a sophomore, and he hit the 25-point plateau on seven separate occasions.
Ten NCAA conferences are represented, including the ACC (12 players), Big East (8 players), Big 12 (6 players), Pac 10 (6 players), Big 10, (5 players), SEC (5 players), Conference USA (5 players), West Coast Conference (1 player), Mountain West Conference (1 player), and the American East Conference (1 player).
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 university that he 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, Jameer Nelson ('04).
In mid-January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 on CBS Sports, and on Tuesday, March 29th, the ten player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2005 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 9, 2005 and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast.
The top five male and female finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund.
Players Mentioned
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