The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced its John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Midseason Top 25 today on ESPNU and Arizona freshman forward Lauri Markkanen is one of the them.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor, based on their performances during the first half of the 2016-17 season.
Markkanen, who is averaging 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds a game, is one of seven freshmen among the top 25 players listed.
On the 2017 Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list, four players not on the Preseason Top 50 were named to Midseason Top 25: Luke Kennard of Duke, TJ Leaf of UCLA, Kelan Martin of Butler, and Johnathan Motley of Baylor.
Five schools have two players that were chosen: Kansas (Josh Jackson and Frank Mason III), Kentucky (De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk), North Carolina (Joel Berry II and Justin Jackson), UCLA (Lonzo Ball and Leaf), and Wisconsin (Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes).
After only two freshmen were named to the 2016 list, seven freshmen were named to the 2017 Midseason Top 25: Markkanen, Ball, Fox, Markelle Fultz of Washington, Jackson, Leaf and Monk.
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