Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
St. Bonaventure junior Jaylen Adams has been named one of the top 50 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s®.
The announcement was made Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter and on ESPN.com. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.
Now in his third season as the Bonnies’ point guard, Adams has received recognition from the coaches and media within the Atlantic 10 Conference as well as national media and websites. To date, Adams’ awards include:
– Preseason honorable mention All-American and the mid-major “player to watch” by SI.com.
– Listed “Also Considered” by Sports Illustrated in its list of preseason national player of the year candidates
– Fifth-ranked point guard by Lindy’s college basketball magazine
– Atlantic 10 Conference preseason All-Conference first team
– No. 2 on A10Talk.com’s list of the top players in the conference
– No. 13 on American Sports Network’s list of the top 100 players the network covers
– Big 4 preseason Player of the Year
The Baltimore, Md., native, opened the 2016-17 season with a 23 point, eight assist performance in last Saturday’s win over St. Francis (Pa.). Last season, Adams was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team and to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 4 second team. He tied for eighth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 17.9 points per game, led the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (.438) and finished fourth in free throw percentage (.874). Adams also averaged 5.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. His .438 three-point percentage is the second-best mark in school history.
Adams helped lead St. Bonaventure to a share of the A-10 regular season title with a 14-4 mark.
After last season, Sports Illustrated named Adams one of its most surprising players of the 2015-16 season. In July, Adams attended the adidas Nations camp in Los Angeles, a prestigious event for a select group of top players.
Adams and the Bonnies will play Florida on Thursday in Lakeland, Fla.
Adams is one of two Atlantic 10 players named finalist with Davidson’s Jack Gibbs also appearing on the list.
About the John R. Wooden Award
The 41st 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 7, 2017. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2017 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy™ will be presented to Muffet McGraw, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Notre Dame.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award® program features the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball. The Wooden Award Trophy is bestowed annually upon the nation’s best male and female player who have proven to their respective universities that they are making progress toward graduation while maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’07), Maya Moore (’09 and ’11), Trey Burke (’13), Doug McDermott (’14), Frank Kaminsky (’15). Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield won the 2016 men’s Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s and Breanna Stewart of Connecticut won the 2016 women’s Wooden Award.
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