The 10 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, to be presented April 8 in L.A., include two other players from the Big 12 (Kansas’ Perry Ellis and Iowa State’s Georges Niang) and two others from the ACC (Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon and Duke’s Grayson Allen).
MORE: SN’s All-Americans | Freshman All-Americans
Rounding out the All-American team: Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell, Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis and Providence’s Kris Dunn.
To be eligible for the Wooden Award, a player must maintain at least a cumulative 2.0 grade-point average and be making progress toward a degree. SN’s Mike DeCourcy wrote about why that rule unfairly alienates and embarrasses players like LSU’s Ben Simmons.
Earlier Monday, Hield, Brogdon, Johnson and Valentine were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ first-team All-America team, voted on by Division I coaches. LSU freshman Ben Simmons, who because of his academics isn’t eligible for the Wooden Award, rounded out the NABC’s first team.
