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Jimmer Fredette's postseason star is shining as brightly as ever, with BYU's alltime scoring leader and winningest player continuing to haul home the college hoops hardware.
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Fredette today received two more national honors, as he was named to the ten-man John R. Wooden Award All-American Team, and named as recipient of the Adolph Rupp Award, given by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky to college basketball's National Player of the Year.
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Fredette becomes the first BYU player named as a Wooden All-American since Devin Durrant in 1984, while the Rupp Award is the first ever for a BYU hoopster. In 1981, when Danny Ainge was named as an All-American and winner of the Wooden Award and other national honors, Virginia's Ralph Sampson won the Rupp Award.
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The official press releases on both of today's honors are as follows:
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The John R. Wooden Award Men's All American team was announced today by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and the ten-player team includes Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State; Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Marcus Morris, Kansas; Jacob Pullen, Kansas State; Nolan Smith, Duke; Jared Sullinger, Ohio State; Kemba Walker, Connecticut; and Derrick Williams, Arizona. The Mountain West Conference is one of four leagues (Big 12, Big East, Big Ten) with multiple honorees on the list.
Fredette, who is the only player returning from the 2010 Wooden Award men's ballot, led the nation in scoring at 28.9 points per game this season while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point range. The Glens Falls, N.Y., native also led the Cougars in assists with 4.3 per game and shot 89.4 percent from the free-throw line.
The Mountain West Conference Player of the Year shattered Danny Ainge's school career scoring mark, finishing his career with 2,599 points after scoring a school-record 1,068 points this season. He had 15 games in which he scored at least 30 points, including four 40-plus-point games and a 52-point performance in the MWC Tournament semifinals on March 11 vs. New Mexico.
In addition to Wooden Award All American Team, the Oscar Robertson Trophy winner has collected All-America honors this season from the Associated Press, CBSSports.com, FOXSports.com, SI.com, Sporting News, Yahoo! Sports and USBWA.
The top five vote-getters are invited to Los Angeles for the April 8 announcement of the 2011 John R. Wooden Award winner as the men's college basketball player of the year. The presentation of the John R. Wooden Award Trophy will be made as part of the Wooden Award Gala at 6 p.m. PT that day.
Voters include nearly 1,000 members of the media who cover men's and women's college basketball. Men's voters selected and ranked 10 players from the 20 athletes listed on the ballot. All players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason through the Elite Eight, as well as a player's character and academic performance, essential components of an outstanding player.
The winner will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.
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 tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the morning after the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
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BYU Guard, Jimmer Fredette, has been selected as the winner of the 2011 Adolph Rupp Award, annually presented to the National Player of the Year.
The 6-2, 195-pound senior from Glens Falls, N.Y., becomes the first Rupp Award winner from BYU and the first ever from the Mountain West Conference.
Fredette will be presented with the trophy by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky on Thursday, March 31st at 5 p.m. at The Crowne Plaza (Reliant Park) in Houston. The press conference and awards presentation are open to the public.
Fredette, the Mountain West Player of the Year, led BYU to a 32-5 season, including a Mountain West regular-season championship, and into the Southeast Regional in New Orleans, where they were eliminated by Florida in overtime. He leads the nation in scoring with 28.9 points per game and, in three NCAA tournament games, he averaged 32.7 points. He also led the team in assists with 4.3 per game and shot 89.4 percent from the free-throw line. He shattered Danny Ainge's school career scoring mark, finishing his career with 2,599 points after scoring a school-record 1,068 points this season. He had 15 games in which he scored at least 30 points, including four 40-plus-point games and a 52-point game in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals on March 11 vs. New Mexico.
"It's always a joy to watch a player of Fredette's caliber play, and we're pleased this year that his selection marks the first ever winner from both BYU and the Mountain West Conference. Jimmer's obvious dedication and work-ethic are the hallmarks of what Coach Rupp demanded from his players," said Gerry Calvert, Club spokesperson.
The Rupp Awards awarded by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky, a non-profit organization established in 1972 by players and associates of former UK head coach Adolph Rupp. The awards are determined by a select national voting panel consisting of over 90 sportswriters, coaches and athletic directors representing every major Division I conference and all geographic regions of the country.
