Bouknight On Watch List For Wooden Award
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 1, 2020) – UConn sophomore guard James Bouknight has been named to the Top 50 preseason watch list for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, which encompasses the Wooden Award All-American Team, as well as the Most Outstanding Player Award.
It is the third such preseason watch list to name Bouknight, who is also a candidate for the Naismith Trophy Award and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
Bouknight, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has led UConn to victories in its first two games of the 2020-21 season, averaging 19.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and shooting .519 overall.
He is UConn’s leading returning scorer from last season (13.0). He established himself early in the year, earning a place on the Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team. He exploded in the final weeks of the season, helping the Huskies to a 9-3 record in their last 12 games, averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds during that span. Bouknight was an American Athletic Conference all-conference third team pick, and a unanimous selection on the AAC All-Freshman Team. This year, he has been selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team and was named to the BIG EAST honor roll after the first week of the season.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year. 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 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.