Marcus Zegarowski
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Marcus Zegarowski Named to Wooden Award Midseason 25 List
1/6/2021 5:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Zegarowski marks the sixth time in 10 seasons the Bluejays are represented on the Wooden Award Midseason 25 list.
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton junior guard Marcus Zegarowski has landed a spot on the Midseason Top 25 today for the John R. Wooden® Award presented by Wendy's®. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor.
The list was unveiled earlier tonight on ESPNU and ESPN.com.
A junior guard from Hamilton, Mass., Zegarowski leads Creighton with 14.4 points and 4.9 assists per game this season and tops the BIG EAST with 29 three-pointers made. He was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year in November following a brilliant sophomore season that saw him earn All-America honors by NBC Sports, Stadium and the Associated Press. Creighton owns an 8-2 record overall and is 4-1 in BIG EAST action and has climbed into the top-10 of the Ferris Mowers Coaches poll (No. 5) and Associated Press poll (No. 7).
This year marks the sixth time in the past 10 seasons that Creighton is represented on the Wooden Award Midseason 25 list. Creighton's Doug McDermott won the Wooden Award following the 2013-14 season after also being a finalist in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. Maurice Watson Jr. was on the list of 25 in 2016-17 and Marcus Foster was among those listed a year later, but neither man advanced to the final cut.
On the 2021 Wooden Award™ Midseason Top 25, three players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: Derek Culver (West Virginia), Carlik Jones (Louisville), and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga). Three schools have multiple players on the list, led by Gonzaga (Corey Kispert, Suggs, and Drew Timme), and followed by Illinois (Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu) and Villanova (Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl).
The Big Ten leads all conferences with six selections on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, followed by the ACC with five, the BIG EAST with four, the Big 12 and West Coast with three selections each, the Pac-12 with two , and Conference USA and the Southeastern with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ 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 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's following the NCAA Tournament in April.
Creighton returns to action tonight at 8 p.m. Central when it hosts Seton Hall in a game that will be nationally televised by FS1.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), Doug McDermott ('14), Breanna Stewart ('15; '16) and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
* indicates player selected as 2020 Wooden Award All American
The list was unveiled earlier tonight on ESPNU and ESPN.com.
A junior guard from Hamilton, Mass., Zegarowski leads Creighton with 14.4 points and 4.9 assists per game this season and tops the BIG EAST with 29 three-pointers made. He was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year in November following a brilliant sophomore season that saw him earn All-America honors by NBC Sports, Stadium and the Associated Press. Creighton owns an 8-2 record overall and is 4-1 in BIG EAST action and has climbed into the top-10 of the Ferris Mowers Coaches poll (No. 5) and Associated Press poll (No. 7).
This year marks the sixth time in the past 10 seasons that Creighton is represented on the Wooden Award Midseason 25 list. Creighton's Doug McDermott won the Wooden Award following the 2013-14 season after also being a finalist in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. Maurice Watson Jr. was on the list of 25 in 2016-17 and Marcus Foster was among those listed a year later, but neither man advanced to the final cut.
On the 2021 Wooden Award™ Midseason Top 25, three players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: Derek Culver (West Virginia), Carlik Jones (Louisville), and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga). Three schools have multiple players on the list, led by Gonzaga (Corey Kispert, Suggs, and Drew Timme), and followed by Illinois (Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu) and Villanova (Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl).
The Big Ten leads all conferences with six selections on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, followed by the ACC with five, the BIG EAST with four, the Big 12 and West Coast with three selections each, the Pac-12 with two , and Conference USA and the Southeastern with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ 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 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's following the NCAA Tournament in April.
Creighton returns to action tonight at 8 p.m. Central when it hosts Seton Hall in a game that will be nationally televised by FS1.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), Doug McDermott ('14), Breanna Stewart ('15; '16) and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
| Name | School | Class | Position |
| Scottie Barnes | Florida State | Fr. | Guard |
| Charles Bassey | Western Kentucky | Jr. | Center |
| James Bouknight | Connecticut | So. | Guard |
| Garrison Brooks | North Carolina | Sr. | Forward |
| Jared Butler | Baylor | Jr. | Guard |
| Marcus Carr | Minnesota | Jr. | Guard |
| Kofi Cockburn | Illinois | So. | Center |
| Derek Culver | West Virginia | Jr. | Forward |
| Cade Cunningham | Oklahoma State | Fr. | Guard |
| Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois | Jr. | Guard |
| John Fulkerson | Tennessee | Sr. | Forward |
| Luka Garza* | Iowa | Sr. | Center |
| Collin Gillespie | Villanova | Sr. | Guard |
| Ron Harper Jr. | Rutgers | Jr. | Guard/Forward |
| Sam Hauser | Virginia | Sr. | Forward |
| Matthew Hurt | Duke | So. | Forward |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana | So. | Forward |
| Carlik Jones | Louisville | Sr. | Guard |
| Corey Kispert | Gonzaga | Sr. | Forward |
| Remy Martin | Arizona State | Sr. | Guard |
| Evan Mobley | Southern California | Fr. | Forward |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | Villanova | So. | Forward |
| Jalen Suggs | Gonzaga | Fr. | Guard |
| Drew Timme | Gonzaga | So. | Forward |
| Marcus Zegarowski | Creighton | Jr. | Guard |
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballMeet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Ty Davis
Friday, August 15
