Ali Patberg On Wooden Award Preseason Top 30
11/5/2019 1:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg has been named a candidate to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 30.
Patberg returns as the program's leader in assists last season with 4.8 per game while also returning as the team's leading scorer from the 2018-19 season. She played and started in 31 games in her first season at IU, as she helped guide Indiana to a NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance in Eugene that featured a win over Texas. The All-Big Ten Second Team selection averaged 15.8 points per game as she scored in double figures 24 times.
The Columbus, Ind. native also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game as she also shot 80.4 percent from the free throw line. She set a career-high 13 assists against Missouri State last season and dished out multiple assists in 29 games. This preseason, Patberg has picked up honors as an All-Big Ten preseason honoree and one of 20 point guards on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college
basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Zion Williamson of Duke.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
John R. Wooden Award
Presented by Wendy's
2019-20 Preseason Top 30
| Name | School | Conference | Height | Class | Position |
| Bella Alarie | Princeton | Ivy League | 6-4 | Sr. | G/F |
| DiJonai Carrington | Stanford | Pac-12 | 5-11 | Sr. | G |
| Chennedy Carter | Texas A&M | SEC | 5-7 | Jr. | G |
| Kaila Charles | Maryland | Big Ten | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Lauren Cox | Baylor | Big 12 | 6-4 | Sr. | F |
| Crystal Dangerfield | Connecticut | American | 5-5 | Sr. | G |
| Rennia Davis | Tennessee | SEC | 6-2 | Jr. | G/F |
| Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas | SEC | 5-11 | Jr. | G |
| Dana Evans | Louisville | ACC | 5-6 | Jr. | G |
| Kiah Gillespie | Florida State | ACC | 6-2 | Jr. | F |
| Haley Gorecki | Duke | ACC | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Tyasha Harris | South Carolina | SEC | 5-10 | Sr. | G |
| Ruthy Hebard | Oregon | Pac-12 | 6-4 | Sr. | F |
| Becca Hittner | Drake | Missouri Valley | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Rhyne Howard | Kentucky | SEC | 6-2 | So. | G |
| Sabrina Ionescu# | Oregon | Pac-12 | 5-11 | Sr. | G |
| Juicy Landrum | Baylor | Big 12 | 5-8 | Sr. | G |
| Aari McDonald | Arizona | Pac-12 | 5-6 | Jr. | G |
| Ayana Mitchell | LSU | SEC | 6-0 | Sr. | F |
| Beatrice Mompremier | Miami | ACC | 6-4 | Sr. | F |
| Erica Ogwumike | Rice | Conference USA | 5-9 | Sr. | G |
| Michaela Onyenwere | UCLA | Pac-12 | 6-0 | Jr. | F |
| Ali Patberg | Indiana | Big Ten | 5-11 | Jr. | G |
| Mikayla Pivec | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 5-10 | Sr. | G |
| DiDi Richards | Baylor | Big 12 | 6-1 | Jr. | G |
| Satou Sabally | Oregon | Pac-12 | 6-4 | Jr. | F |
| Destiny Slocum | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 5-7 | Jr. | G |
| Christyn Williams | Connecticut | American | 5-11 | So. | G |
| Kiana Williams | Stanford | Pac-12 | 5-8 | Jr. | G |
| Peyton Williams | Kansas State | Big 12 | 6-4 | Sr. | F |
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