UT's Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter named to preseason Top 50 watch list for John R. Wooden Award
Texas Men’s Basketball senior forward Timmy Allen and sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter are two of 50 preseason watch list candidates for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s.
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For one of the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All-American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award, Texas is one of 10 programs to have more than one player selected to the Wooden Award preseason watch list.
Allen, also on the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, honoring the nation’s top small forward, and was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Allen’s the only active NCAA Division I player to boast at least 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists, while playing 121 career games (118 starts) with career totals of 1,752 points, 764 rebounds and 336 assists. In the Horns’ first two games of 2022-23, he ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg), third in minutes played (21.7 mpg) and fourth in scoring average (9.5 ppg)
Hunter, a watch list candidate for the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the nation’s top point guard, and was named Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12. Hunter was 2nd-ranked transfer nationally of the 2022 offseason by multiple sports outlets after Hunter earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors last season at Iowa State. After the Longhorns’ first two games this year, he leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and minutes played (27.1 mpg) and ranks third in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Hunter has also shot 10-of-18 (.556) field goals and 7-of-8 (.875) free throws.
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The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. 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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April. Former Longhorns T.J. Ford (2003) and Kevin Durant (2007) are previous recipients of the Wooden Award.
No. 11/11 Texas (2-0) returns to action against No. 2/2 Gonzaga on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Central at Moody Center, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award
| Player | School |
| Max Abmas | Oral Roberts |
| Posh Alexander | St. John’s |
| Timmy Allen | TEXAS |
| Armando Bacot | North Carolina |
| Matt Bradley | San Diego State |
| Tyger Campbell | UCLA |
| Colin Castleton | Florida |
| Antoine Davis | Detroit Mercy |
| Kendric Davis | Memphis |
| RJ Davis | North Carolina |
| Hunter Dickinson | Michigan |
| Zach Edey | Purdue |
| Adam Flagler | Baylor |
| Jayden Gardner | Virginia |
| Keyonte George | Baylor |
| DaRon Holmes II | Dayton |
| Tyrese Hunter | TEXAS |
| Harrison Ingram | Stanford |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr. | UCLA |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton |
| Dereck Lively II | Duke |
| Caleb Love | North Carolina |
| Hunter Maldonado | Wyoming |
| Kevin McCullar Jr. | Kansas |
| Darius McGhee | Liberty |
| Mike Miles Jr. | TCU |
| Brandon Miller | Alabama |
| Kris Murray | Iowa |
| Nijel Pack | Miami, Fla. |
| Will Richardson | Oregon |
| Jeremy Roach | Duke |
| Adama Sanogo | Connecticut |
| Marcus Sasser | Houston |
| Baylor Scheierman | Creighton |
| Terrence Shannon Jr. | Illinois |
| Terquavion Smith | NC State |
| Nick Smith Jr. | Arkansas |
| Julian Strawther | Gonzaga |
| Drew Timme | Gonzaga |
| Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky |
| Azuolas Tubelis | Arizona |
| Santiago Vescovi | Tennessee |
| Jordan Walker | UAB |
| Cason Wallace | Kentucky |
| Sahvir Wheeler | Kentucky |
| Dariq Whitehead | Duke |
| Cam Whitmore | Villanova |
| Jalen Wilson | Kansas |
| Isaiah Wong | Miami, Fla. |
