Kalkbrenner & Scheierman Named To Preseason Wooden Award Watch List
11/15/2022 11:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Creighton duo of Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner have been named to the Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's®. 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 the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The 2022 Wooden Award Winner Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) headlines the Preseason Top 50 along with two-time Wooden Award All American Drew Timme (Gonzaga) and 2021 Wooden Award All American Hunter Dickinson (Michigan). Three schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Duke (Dereck Lively II, Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead), Kentucky (Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler), and North Carolina (Armando Bacot, RJ Davis and Caleb Love). Several other schools boast multiple players on the list: Baylor (Adam Flagler and Keyonte George), Creighton (Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman), Gonzaga (Julian Strawther and Timme), Kansas (Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jalen Wilson), Miami (FL) (Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong), Texas (Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter), and UCLA (Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.).
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 38 are upperclassmen, including 24 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with seven named to the Preseason Top 50: George (Baylor), Lively II (Duke), Brandon Miller (Alabama), Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas), Wallace (Kentucky), Whitehead (Duke), and Cam Whitmore (Villanova).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 14 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the Big 12 and SEC with seven each, the Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 with five each, the American, Mountain West and WCC with two each, and the ASUN, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Horizon and Summit League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the 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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April.
A junior from Florissant, Mo., Kalkbrenner averaged 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game while starting CU's first 34 contests last season. He was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-BIG EAST Tournament Team while ranking fourth nationally in both field goal percentage (.646) and offensive rebounds per game (3.9). He was the lone Bluejay named Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST last month for ninth-ranked team in the nation, who are predicted to win the BIG EAST.
Earlier this fall Kalkbrenner was named one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the nation's best center. He's also on the watch list for the Naismith Award. Through three double-digit Bluejay wins this month, Kalkbrenner is averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has made his last 19 field goal attempts from the floor. He ranks 10th nationally with 24 field goals made and 15th in field goal percentage (.800).
A senior from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman enters his first season at Creighton as an Honorable Mention choice on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. He was a two-time All-Summit League choice and earned Player of the Year honors in 2021-22. Scheierman was the only player in the country to lead his league in both assists and rebounding last season, and also contributed 16.2 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from three-point range.
This season Scheierman is averaging 8.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He leads the Bluejays with seven three-pointers made through three contests.
Scheierman and Kalkbrenner give Creighton nine Preseason John R. Wooden Award Watch List recognitions in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott. Marcus Zegarowski made the list in 2020-21, one year after Ty-Shon Alexander was listed prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Others to make the list include Marcus Foster (2017-18), Maurice Watson Jr. (2016-17), Doug McDermott (2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12). Creighton's lone recipient of the John R. Wooden Award® is Doug McDermott, who was recognized following the completion of the 2013-14 campaign.
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 America Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend 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), and last year's recipients, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.
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.
The Legends of Coaching Award will be presented along with the Wooden Award Men's and Women's Players of the Year on April 7, 2023. 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.
John R. Wooden Award
Presented by Wendy's
Preseason Top 50
Name School Conference Height Class Position
Max Abmas Oral Roberts Summit League 6-0 Sr. G
Posh Alexander St. John's Big East 6-0 Jr. G
Timmy Allen Texas Big 12 6-6 Sr. F
Armando Bacot North Carolina ACC 6-11 Sr. F/C
Matt Bradley San Diego State Mountain West 6-4 Sr. G
Tyger Campbell UCLAÂ Pac-12 5-11 Sr. G
Colin Castleton Florida SEC 6-11 Sr. F
Antoine Davis Detroit Mercy Horizon 6-1 Sr. G
Kendric Davis Memphis American 6-0 Sr. G
RJ Davis North Carolina ACC 6-0Â Jr. G
Hunter Dickinson# Michigan Big Ten 7-1 Jr. C
Zach Edey Purdue Big Ten 7-4 Jr. C
Adam Flagler Baylor Big 12 6-3 Sr. G
Jayden Gardner Virginia ACC 6-6 Sr. F
Keyonte George Baylor Big 12 6-4 Fr. G
DaRon Holmes II Dayton Atlantic 10 6-10 Soph F
Tyrese Hunter Texas Big 12 6-0 Soph G
Harrison Ingram Stanford Pac-12 6-7Â Soph F
Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana Big Ten 6-9 Sr. F
Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA Pac-12 6-7 Sr. G/F
Ryan Kalkbrenner Creighton Big East 7-1 Jr. C
Dereck Lively II Duke ACC 7-1 Fr. C
Caleb Love North Carolina ACC 6-4 Jr. G
Hunter Maldonado Wyoming Mountain West 6-7 Sr. G
Kevin McCullar Jr. Kansas Big 12 6-6 Sr. G
Darius McGhee Liberty ASUN 5-9 Sr. G
Mike Miles Jr. TCU Big 12Â 6-2 Jr. G
Brandon Miller Alabama SEC 6-9 Fr. F
Kris Murray Iowa Big Ten 6-8 Jr. F
Nijel Pack Miami, FL ACC 6-0 Soph G
Will Richardson Oregon Pac-12 6-5 Sr. G
Jeremy Roach Duke ACC 6-2 Jr. G
Adama Sanogo Connecticut Big East 6-9 Jr. F
Marcus Sasser Houston American 6-2 Sr. G
Baylor Scheierman Creighton Big East 6-7 Sr. G
Terrence Shannon Jr. Illinois Big Ten 6-6 Sr. G
Terquavion Smith N.C. State ACC 6-4 Soph G
Nick Smith Jr. Arkansas SEC 6-5 Fr. G
Julian Strawther Gonzaga WCC 6-7 Jr.G
Drew Timme#* Gonzaga WCC 6-10 Sr. F
Oscar Tshiebwe** Kentucky SEC 6-9 Sr. F
Azuolas Tubelis Arizona Pac-12 6-11 Jr. F
Santiago Vescovi Tennessee SEC 6-3 Sr. G
Jordan Walker UAB Conference USA 5-11 Sr. G
Cason Wallace Kentucky SEC 6-4 Fr. G
Sahvir Wheeler Kentucky SEC 5-9 Sr. G
Dariq Whitehead Duke ACC 6-7 Fr. F
Cam Whitmore Villanova Big East 6-7 Fr. F
Jalen Wilson Kansas Big 12 6-8 Jr. F
Isaiah Wong Miami, FL ACC 6-4 Jr. G
# indicates player selected as a 2020-21 Wooden Award All American
* indicates player selected as a 2021-22 Wooden Award All American
** indicates player selected as the 2021-22 Wooden Award Winner
The 2022 Wooden Award Winner Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) headlines the Preseason Top 50 along with two-time Wooden Award All American Drew Timme (Gonzaga) and 2021 Wooden Award All American Hunter Dickinson (Michigan). Three schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Duke (Dereck Lively II, Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead), Kentucky (Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler), and North Carolina (Armando Bacot, RJ Davis and Caleb Love). Several other schools boast multiple players on the list: Baylor (Adam Flagler and Keyonte George), Creighton (Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman), Gonzaga (Julian Strawther and Timme), Kansas (Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jalen Wilson), Miami (FL) (Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong), Texas (Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter), and UCLA (Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.).
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 38 are upperclassmen, including 24 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with seven named to the Preseason Top 50: George (Baylor), Lively II (Duke), Brandon Miller (Alabama), Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas), Wallace (Kentucky), Whitehead (Duke), and Cam Whitmore (Villanova).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 14 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the Big 12 and SEC with seven each, the Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 with five each, the American, Mountain West and WCC with two each, and the ASUN, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Horizon and Summit League with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the 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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April.
A junior from Florissant, Mo., Kalkbrenner averaged 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game while starting CU's first 34 contests last season. He was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-BIG EAST Tournament Team while ranking fourth nationally in both field goal percentage (.646) and offensive rebounds per game (3.9). He was the lone Bluejay named Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST last month for ninth-ranked team in the nation, who are predicted to win the BIG EAST.
Earlier this fall Kalkbrenner was named one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the nation's best center. He's also on the watch list for the Naismith Award. Through three double-digit Bluejay wins this month, Kalkbrenner is averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has made his last 19 field goal attempts from the floor. He ranks 10th nationally with 24 field goals made and 15th in field goal percentage (.800).
A senior from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman enters his first season at Creighton as an Honorable Mention choice on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. He was a two-time All-Summit League choice and earned Player of the Year honors in 2021-22. Scheierman was the only player in the country to lead his league in both assists and rebounding last season, and also contributed 16.2 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from three-point range.
This season Scheierman is averaging 8.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He leads the Bluejays with seven three-pointers made through three contests.
Scheierman and Kalkbrenner give Creighton nine Preseason John R. Wooden Award Watch List recognitions in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott. Marcus Zegarowski made the list in 2020-21, one year after Ty-Shon Alexander was listed prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Others to make the list include Marcus Foster (2017-18), Maurice Watson Jr. (2016-17), Doug McDermott (2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12). Creighton's lone recipient of the John R. Wooden Award® is Doug McDermott, who was recognized following the completion of the 2013-14 campaign.
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 America Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend 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), and last year's recipients, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.
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.
The Legends of Coaching Award will be presented along with the Wooden Award Men's and Women's Players of the Year on April 7, 2023. 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.
John R. Wooden Award
Presented by Wendy's
Preseason Top 50
Name School Conference Height Class Position
Max Abmas Oral Roberts Summit League 6-0 Sr. G
Posh Alexander St. John's Big East 6-0 Jr. G
Timmy Allen Texas Big 12 6-6 Sr. F
Armando Bacot North Carolina ACC 6-11 Sr. F/C
Matt Bradley San Diego State Mountain West 6-4 Sr. G
Tyger Campbell UCLAÂ Pac-12 5-11 Sr. G
Colin Castleton Florida SEC 6-11 Sr. F
Antoine Davis Detroit Mercy Horizon 6-1 Sr. G
Kendric Davis Memphis American 6-0 Sr. G
RJ Davis North Carolina ACC 6-0Â Jr. G
Hunter Dickinson# Michigan Big Ten 7-1 Jr. C
Zach Edey Purdue Big Ten 7-4 Jr. C
Adam Flagler Baylor Big 12 6-3 Sr. G
Jayden Gardner Virginia ACC 6-6 Sr. F
Keyonte George Baylor Big 12 6-4 Fr. G
DaRon Holmes II Dayton Atlantic 10 6-10 Soph F
Tyrese Hunter Texas Big 12 6-0 Soph G
Harrison Ingram Stanford Pac-12 6-7Â Soph F
Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana Big Ten 6-9 Sr. F
Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA Pac-12 6-7 Sr. G/F
Ryan Kalkbrenner Creighton Big East 7-1 Jr. C
Dereck Lively II Duke ACC 7-1 Fr. C
Caleb Love North Carolina ACC 6-4 Jr. G
Hunter Maldonado Wyoming Mountain West 6-7 Sr. G
Kevin McCullar Jr. Kansas Big 12 6-6 Sr. G
Darius McGhee Liberty ASUN 5-9 Sr. G
Mike Miles Jr. TCU Big 12Â 6-2 Jr. G
Brandon Miller Alabama SEC 6-9 Fr. F
Kris Murray Iowa Big Ten 6-8 Jr. F
Nijel Pack Miami, FL ACC 6-0 Soph G
Will Richardson Oregon Pac-12 6-5 Sr. G
Jeremy Roach Duke ACC 6-2 Jr. G
Adama Sanogo Connecticut Big East 6-9 Jr. F
Marcus Sasser Houston American 6-2 Sr. G
Baylor Scheierman Creighton Big East 6-7 Sr. G
Terrence Shannon Jr. Illinois Big Ten 6-6 Sr. G
Terquavion Smith N.C. State ACC 6-4 Soph G
Nick Smith Jr. Arkansas SEC 6-5 Fr. G
Julian Strawther Gonzaga WCC 6-7 Jr.G
Drew Timme#* Gonzaga WCC 6-10 Sr. F
Oscar Tshiebwe** Kentucky SEC 6-9 Sr. F
Azuolas Tubelis Arizona Pac-12 6-11 Jr. F
Santiago Vescovi Tennessee SEC 6-3 Sr. G
Jordan Walker UAB Conference USA 5-11 Sr. G
Cason Wallace Kentucky SEC 6-4 Fr. G
Sahvir Wheeler Kentucky SEC 5-9 Sr. G
Dariq Whitehead Duke ACC 6-7 Fr. F
Cam Whitmore Villanova Big East 6-7 Fr. F
Jalen Wilson Kansas Big 12 6-8 Jr. F
Isaiah Wong Miami, FL ACC 6-4 Jr. G
# indicates player selected as a 2020-21 Wooden Award All American
* indicates player selected as a 2021-22 Wooden Award All American
** indicates player selected as the 2021-22 Wooden Award Winner
Players Mentioned
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