UVA basketball stars Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter have made the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Tuesday.
Players were chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the first half of the 2018-19 season. Virginia is one of four schools to have two players on the Top 20.
Guy made a return to the Wooden Watch List. Guy is second on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and leads the team in 3-point shooting (43.8 percent), free throw accuracy (85.4 percent) and 3-pointers (60). He has a 15-game double figure scoring streak and set a UVA school record with 11 consecutive 3-pointers made over a two-game span earlier this season.
Hunter, who has been on the list since the beginning of the season, currently leads Virginia with 14.7 points per game and has led in scoring in 11 contests. He is shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 43.2 percent from 3-point range and 77.5 percent from the free throw line. Hunter has four, 20-point games in 2018-19 (Coppin State, Dayton, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech), matching a career-high with 23 points against Dayton.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not appearing on this list are still eligible for the National Ballot, which will be announced in early March. 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 2019 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 12, 2019.
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