Burks Named to Wooden List Top 30

LOS ANGELES - University of Colorado sophomore guard Alec Burks was one of 30 student-athletes named to The John R. Wooden Award Midseason list announced Thursday by The Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 30 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November and December, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.

Burks leads the Buffaloes in scoring with 19.1 points per game and has led the team in scoring nine times in 2010-11. The Grandview, Mo. native has recorded eight, 20-point game efforts this season and is shooting 49.7 from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line. CU is 11-4 during non-conference play and opens Big 12 Conference play this Saturday against No. 9/8 ranked Missouri (14-1).

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are eligible for this midseason list but did not appear on the preseason Top 50. All players nationally who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 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. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round during the NCAA Tournament, making it unique among college postseason awards.

The Big 10 and Big 12 conferences boast the largest number of players chosen to the list, with six each. Other conferences with multiple players represented include the ACC (5), Big East (5), Pac-10 (3), and the Mountain West (2). The Horizon, SEC and Ohio Valley each had one player selected.

Purdue (JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore) and No. 1-ranked Duke (Singler, Nolan Smith) were the only schools with two players on the Midseason List. In a change from the past several years, half of the players chosen are seniors. Only two freshmen made the list: Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Terrence Jones of Kentucky.

The 35th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, a special tribute to Coach Wooden and Wooden Award founder Duke Llewellyn, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 8-10, 2011.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or email at woodenaward@laac.net.

Name	Height	Class	Position	University	Conference
Marshon Brooks	6-5	Sr.	G/F	Providence	Big East
Alec Burks	6-6	So.	G	Colorado	Big 12
Malcolm Delaney	6-3	Sr.	G	Virginia Tech	ACC
Marcus Denmon	6-3	Jr.	G	Missouri	Big 12
LaceDarius Dunn	6-4	Sr.	G	Baylor	Big 12
Kenneth Faried	6-8	Sr.	F/C	Morehead State	Ohio Valley
Jimmer Fredette*	6-2	Sr.	G	Brigham Young	Mountain West
Austin Freeman	6-4	Sr.	G	Georgetown	Big East
Jordan Hamilton	6-7	So.	G/F	Texas	Big 12
Matt Howard	6-8	Jr.	F	Butler	Horizon League
Reggie Jackson	6-3	Jr.	G	Boston College	ACC
Rick Jackson	6-9	Sr.	F	Syracuse	Big East
JaJuan Johnson	6-10	Sr.	F/C	Purdue	Big Ten
Terrence Jones	6-8	Fr.	F	Kentucky	SEC
Kawhi Leonard	6-7	So.	F	San Diego State	Mountain West
Jon Leuer	6-10	Sr.	F	Wisconsin	Big Ten
Demetri McCamey	6-3	Sr.	G	Illinois	Big Ten
E'Twaun Moore	6-4	Sr.	G	Purdue	Big Ten
Marcus Morris	6-9	Jr.	F	Kansas	Big 12
Jacob Pullen	6-0	Sr.	G	Kansas State	Big 12
John Shurna	6-8	Jr.	F	Northwestern	Big Ten
Kyle Singler*	6-8	Sr.	F	Duke	ACC
Nolan Smith	6-2	Sr.	G	Duke	ACC
Jared Sullinger	6-9	Fr.	F	Ohio State	Big Ten
Isaiah Thomas	5-9	Jr.	G	Washington	Pac-10
Klay Thompson	6-6	Jr.	G	Washington State	Pac-10
Kemba Walker	6-1	Jr.	G	Connecticut	Big East
Brad Wanamaker	6-4	Sr.	G	Pitt	Big East
Derrick Williams	6-8	So.	F	Arizona	Pac-10
Jordan Williams	6-10	So.	F	Maryland	ACC

(Players listed alphabetically.)

*indicates player chosen to the 2010 Wooden Award ballot

Colorado University Athletics

About the John R. Wooden Award