John R. Wooden Award

The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The award is given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and is named in honor of legendary UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden. The award consists of the Player of the Year award as well as All-American Team honors.

Selection process

Men's award

Each year, the Award's National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects approximately twenty candidates for Player of the Year and All-American Team honors. The candidates must be full-time students and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout their college career. Players who are nominated must have made oustanding contributions to team play, both offensively and defensively, and be model citizens, exhibiting strength of character both on and off the court. The selection ballot is announced prior to the NCAA basketball tournament. The voters consist of 1,000 sportswriters and sportscasters, representing the 50 states.

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The top ten vote getters are selected to the All-American Team, and the results are announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The person who receives the most votes is named the Player of the Year, and the winner is announced following the NCAA championship game.

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The Player of the Year is awarded a trophy consisting of five bronze figures. The player's school receives a duplicate trophy as well as a scholarship grant. The other top four members of the All-American Team receive an All-American Team trophy, a jacket, and a scholarship grant which goes to their school. Each coach of the top five All-American Team members also receives a jacket. The All-American Team members ranked six through ten receive an All-American Team trophy and a jacket, but their schools do not receive a scholarship.

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Women's award

The criteria for the women's Player of the Year award and All-American Team honors are similar to that for the men. For the women's award, the National Advisory Board consists of 12 members, and approximately 15 candidates are selected for the ballot. The voters are 250 sportswriters and sportscasters. In contrast to the men's All-American Team, only five members are selected for the women's team. The Player of the Year receives a trophy, and her school receives a duplicate trophy and a scholarship grant.

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