John R. Wooden Award

The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The national award program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the legend of coaching award and recognizes the All-America Teams. The awards given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club are named in honor of John Wooden, the 1932 national collegiate basketball player of the year from Purdue. Wooden was a Big Ten medal of honor winner who later taught and coached men's basketball at Indiana State (where he also served as A.D. and baseball coach) and UCLA. Coach Wooden, whose teams at UCLA won 10 NCAA championships, was the first man to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach. His 1948 Indiana State team was the NAIB (now NAIA) National Finalist. Mr. Wooden was also inducted into the Teachers Hall of Fame.

The award, which was originally given only to male athletes, was first given in 1977. Starting in 2004, the award was extended to women's basketball.

election process

Men's award

Each year, the Award's National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects approximately twenty candidates for Player of the Year and All-American Team honors. The candidates must be full-time students and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout their college career. Players who are nominated must have made outstanding contributions to team play, both offensively and defensively, and be model citizens, exhibiting strength of character both on and off the court. The selection ballot is announced prior to the NCAA basketball tournament. The voters consist of 1,000 sportswriters and sportscasters, representing the 50 states.

The top ten vote getters are selected to the All-American Team, and the results are announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The person who receives the most votes is named the Player of the Year, and the winner is announced following the NCAA championship game.

The Player of the Year is awarded a trophy consisting of five bronze figures. The player's school receives a duplicate trophy as well as a scholarship grant. The other top four members of the All-American Team receive an All-American Team trophy, a jacket, and a scholarship grant which goes to their school. Each coach of the top five All-American Team members also receives a jacket. The All-American Team members ranked six through ten receive an All-American Team trophy and a jacket, but their schools do not receive a scholarship.

Women's award

The criteria for the women's Player of the Year award and All-American Team honors are similar to that for the men. For the women's award, the National Advisory Board consists of 12 members, and approximately 15 candidates are selected for the ballot. The voters are 250 sportswriters and sportscasters. In contrast to the men's All-American Team, only five members are selected for the women's team. The Player of the Year receives a trophy, and her school receives a duplicate trophy and a scholarship grant.

The trophy

The trophy features five bronze figures, each depicting one of the five major skills that John Wooden believed that "total" basketball player must exhibit: rebounding, passing, shooting, dribbling, and defense.

The concept for the trophy originated with Wooden Award Chairman, Richard "Duke" Llewellyn. Work began on the trophy in 1975, and sculptor Don Winton, who had sculpted many top sports awards, was given the task of designing the model of the trophy.

The figures are bronze plated and attached to a pentagonal base plate. The tallest figure is 10¼ inches high (26 cm). The trophy's base is 7½ inches high (19 cm) and is made from solid walnut. The total height of the trophy is 17¾ inches (45 cm), and it weighs 25 lb (11.3 kg).

High School Player of the Year Award

The John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year awards are given to the most valuable player in each of the five divisions of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section and one Los Angeles City division.

Legends of Coaching Award

The Legends of Coaching Award recognizes the lifetime achievement of coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden's high standards of coaching success and personal achievement. When selecting the individual, the Wooden Award Committee considers a coach's character, success rate on the court, graduating rate of student athletes, his coaching philosophy and his identification with the goals of the John R. Wooden Award.

*2008 - Pat Summitt, Tennessee
*2007 - Gene Keady, Purdue
*2006 - Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
*2005 - Jim Calhoun, Connecticut
*2004 - Mike Montgomery, Stanford
*2003 - Roy Williams, Kansas
*2002 - Denny Crum, Louisville
*2001 - Lute Olson, Arizona
*2000 - Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
*1999 - Dean Smith, North Carolina

Player of the Year Award winners

Men

*2008 - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
*2007 - Kevin Durant, Texas
*2006 - J. J. Redick, Duke
*2005 - Andrew Bogut, Utah
*2004 - Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's
*2003 - T. J. Ford, Texas
*2002 - Jason Williams, Duke
*2001 - Shane Battier, Duke
*2000 - Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati
*1999 - Elton Brand, Duke
*1998 - Antawn Jamison, North Carolina
*1997 - Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
*1996 - Marcus Camby, UMass
*1995 - Ed O'Bannon, UCLA
*1994 - Glenn Robinson, Purdue
*1993 - Calbert Cheaney, Indiana
*1992 - Christian Laettner, Duke
*1991 - Larry Johnson, UNLV
*1990 - Lionel Simmons, La Salle
*1989 - Sean Elliott, Arizona
*1988 - Danny Manning, Kansas
*1987 - David Robinson, Navy
*1986 - Walter Berry, St. John's
*1985 - Chris Mullin, St. John's
*1984 - Michael Jordan, North Carolina
*1983 - Ralph Sampson, Virginia
*1982 - Ralph Sampson, Virginia
*1981 - Danny Ainge, BYU
*1980 - Darrell Griffith, Louisville
*1979 - Larry Bird, Indiana State
*1978 - Phil Ford, North Carolina
*1977 - Marques Johnson, UCLA

Women

*2008 - Candace Parker, Tennessee
*2007 - Candace Parker, Tennessee
*2006 - Seimone Augustus, LSU
*2005 - Seimone Augustus, LSU
*2004 - Alana Beard, Duke

Trademark Dispute

The Wooden family announced in August 2005 that he would no longer participate because of a trademark dispute concerning the use of his name. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncb&id=3342974 Hansbrough wins Wooden Award] ] John Wooden has withdrawn support for the award named in his honor and refuses to attend the ceremony due to a trademark dispute with the Los Angeles Athletic Club over the name of the award. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2144423 Wooden withdraws support for Wooden Award] ] However he has not contested the use of his name and the award continues to bear his name. “I don’t want anything to interfere with the continuation of the award,” (Wooden) told The Associated Press on Saturday. [ [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/9098598/ Wooden withdraws support for Wooden Award - Club unhappy coach allowed his name on another award] ]

External links

* [http://www.woodenaward.com/ Official website of the John R. Wooden Award]

References