Hield on Wooden Award Midseason Top 25

NORMAN – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Wednesday that Oklahoma senior guard Buddy Hield is included in its John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's, Midseason Top 25. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the frontrunners for the sport's most prestigious individual honor.

Hield currently leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally with his 26.6 points per game. He's also averaging 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.7 minutes per game. The Bahamas native is shooting .524 (129-246) from the field, .518 (59-114) from long distance and .901 (82-91) from the foul line.

Hield has six games of at least 30 points this season, including five such games in the last nine contests. He has registered at least 20 points in nine straight games, including four consecutive 25-point outings during that span.

Hield has been named national player of the week on two occasions this season and three times has been chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Week.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 top players in early February. Fifteen top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be submitted to the voters on the ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. Every year, players have made the ballots that are not on the preseason or midseason lists. Voters are permitted to take into consideration the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament when casting the ballot. The ten-man Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 40^th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's. The men's and women's Wooden All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, as well as the 2016 Legends of Coaching Award, which will be presented to Tubby Smith, Head Men's Basketball Coach at Texas Tech. The event will take place the weekend of April 7-9, 2016.

Fans can follow the candidates en route to the Wooden Award presentation and get the latest news throughout the season by liking the Wooden Award Facebook page or following @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.

JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON TOP 25

Grayson Allen - Duke
Ryan Anderson - Arizona
Malcolm Brogdon - Virginia
Kris Dunn - Providence
Perry Ellis - Kansas
Kay Felder - Oakland
Daniel Hamilton - Connecticut
Buddy Hield - Oklahoma
Brice Johnson - North Carolina
Damion Lee - Louisville
Caris LeVert - Michigan
Nic Moore - SMU
Jamal Murray - Kentucky
Georges Niang - Iowa State
Marcus Paige - North Carolina
Gary Payton II - Oregon State
Jakob Poelt - Utah
Domantas Sabonis - Gonzaga
Wayne Selden Jr. - Kansas
Ben Simmons - LSU
Melo Trimble - Maryland
Tyler Ulis - Kentucky
Jarrod Uthoff - Iowa
Denzel Valentine - Michigan State
Kyle Wiltjer - Gonzaga