Men's Basketball's Smith Named to Wooden Award Ballot
March 08, 2014 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2014
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville's Russ Smith is one of 15 student-athletes on the John R. Wooden Award ballot, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Saturday. Smith highlights one of three American Athletic Conference players on the list, tying the ACC for most athletes on the ballot.
Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, student-athletes eligible for the prestigious honor must demonstrate progress toward graduation while maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative grade-point average.
A senior, Smith was part of the original preseason top 50 for the award. This season, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 18.0 points - 18.9 in league play - and has team highs in 3-pointers made (61), free throws made (112), assists (135), and steals (59). He ranks second in the league in steals per game (2.0) and fifth in assists.
The preseason AP All-America selection, who has scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games this season, is the only player in the AAC to rank in the top three in league-only stats in scoring (No. 3), steals (No. 2, 2.2 per game), and 3-point percentage (No. 1, .481).
During the course of the 2013-14 campaign, Smith became just the fourth player in school history with 1,700 career points, 300 assists, and 200 steals. He needs 30 points to move into seventh on the school's career scoring list (currently has 1,776 points) and 13 steals to surpass former teammate Peyton Siva (254 steals, 2009-13) for the school's steals record.
The Wooden Award All-American Team, consisting of the nation's top 10 players, will be announced the
week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament after voting by nearly 1,000 media members
from March 12-24 and through the fan voting site sponsored by Wendy's.
The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year, presented by Wendy's, will be announced on ESPN during the Final Four Weekend in Dallas, Texas. The 38th annual Wooden Award Gala, presented by Wendy's, honors the male and female Wooden Award winners and includes the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award. The Gala will take place the weekend of April 11-12 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
| 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award Ballot | |||||
| Presented by Wendy's® | |||||
| Name | Ht. | Yr. | Pos. | School | Conference |
| Kyle Anderson | 6-9 | So. | G/F | UCLA | Pac-12 |
| Cleanthony Early | 6-8 | Sr. | F | Wichita State | Missouri Valley |
| Tyler Ennis | 6-2 | Fr. | G | Syracuse | ACC |
| C.J. Fair | 6-8 | Sr. | F | Syracuse | ACC |
| Gary Harris | 6-4 | So. | G | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| Nick Johnson | 6-3 | Jr. | G | Arizona | Pac-12 |
| Sean Kilpatrick | 6-4 | Sr. | G | Cincinnati | The American |
| Doug McDermott*# | 6-8 | Sr. | F | Creighton | Big East |
| Shabazz Napier | 6-1 | Sr. | G | Connecticut | The American |
| Jabari Parker | 6-8 | Fr. | F | Duke | ACC |
| Casey Prather | 6-6 | Sr. | F | Florida | SEC |
| Julius Randle | 6-9 | Fr. | F | Kentucky | SEC |
| Russ Smith | 6-0 | Sr. | G | Louisville | The American |
| Nik Stauskas | 6-6 | So. | G | Michigan | Big Ten |
| Andrew Wiggins | 6-8 | Fr. | G | Kansas | Big 12 |
| Players listed alphabetically | |||||
| * indicates player chosen to the 2013 Wooden All American Team | |||||
| # indicates player chosen to the 2012 Wooden All American Team | |||||
