Hield Named to Wooden Award Ballot

NORMAN, Okla. – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday that OU senior guard Buddy Hield was included on its 2016 National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's®. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is comprised of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award, which is given to the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

Heading into postseason, Hield's averaging 25.1 points (first among Power 5 players), 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.9 minutes. He's shooting .495 (244-493) from the field, .473 (124-262) from downtown and .893 (142-159) from the foul line. He finished the Big 12 season with 79 made 3-pointers, the most in conference history. His 124 total treys mark the most in Big 12 history and are the most in college basketball this season.

Hield, who was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team for the second consecutive year, has nine games of at least 30 points this season, which is the same total as the rest of the Big 12 combined. Through 30 regular season contests, he has 15 games of 25 points and 22 outings of at least 20.

Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Fans may vote through the fan voting site, sponsored by Wendy's, at www.woodenawardvote.com. The Wooden Award™ All-American Team, consisting of the nation's top 10 players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award, widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show March 28th on ESPNU at 7 p.m. CT.

The 40th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award® to the men's and women's most outstanding basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's® on ESPN2 on Friday, April 8th at 7 p.m. CT.

Fans can follow the candidates en route to the Wooden Award presentation and get the latest news by liking the Wooden Award Facebook page or following @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Ernest Baskerville at (213) 630-5231 or via email at woodenaward@laac.net.

John R. Wooden Award Men's 2016 National Ballot
Grayson Allen, Duke
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia ACC
Kris Dunn, Providence
Perry Ellis, Kansas
Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
Josh Hart, Villanova
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Jakob Poeltl, Utah
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

Players Mentioned

Buddy Hield

Buddy Hield

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics