MADISON, Wis. – Ethan Happ of the No. 7 Wisconsin men’s basketball team has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 list, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Wednesday.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious individual honor, based on their performances during the 2016-17 season.
UW has had six players go on to be named to the Wooden Award final ballot, most recently Frank Kaminsky in 2015, who became the first player in program history to win the award.
After a breakout freshman campaign garnered him Preseason All-Big Ten honors, Happ has been building a case to be an All-American in his sophomore season. The Milan, Illinois, native is a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, while also on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason watch list and the Naismith Player of the Year award preseason list.
Coming off back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors, Happ is the nation’s only player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals during conference play. Over the last 20 years, only three major conference players have led their team in all five categories during conference play (Utah’s Delon Wright, 2014; St. John’s D.J. Kennedy, 2010; Virginia Tech’s Bryant Matthews, 2003).
Happ is the only player in the NCAA averaging at least 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. In fact, over the last 20 seasons, no major conference player has reached those marks for an entire season.
Happ ranks fourth on Ken Pomeroy’s National Player of the Year rankings, which have been a reliable indicator of All-America accolades since debuting in 2011. In fact, of players that finished among Pomeroy’s top five, 86.7 percent earned All-America status that season.
Happ and the rest of the players remaining on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 are considered strong candidates to win the 2017 John R. Wooden Award. A final ballot will be produced in March and the winner will be announced in April.
Wisconsin begins the week on the road to face Nebraska on Thursday at 8 p.m. (CT) on BTN. The Badgers then return home to host Northwestern on Sunday for a 5:30 p.m. tip on BTN.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious individual honor, based on their performances during the 2016-17 season.
UW has had six players go on to be named to the Wooden Award final ballot, most recently Frank Kaminsky in 2015, who became the first player in program history to win the award.
After a breakout freshman campaign garnered him Preseason All-Big Ten honors, Happ has been building a case to be an All-American in his sophomore season. The Milan, Illinois, native is a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, while also on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason watch list and the Naismith Player of the Year award preseason list.
Coming off back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors, Happ is the nation’s only player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals during conference play. Over the last 20 years, only three major conference players have led their team in all five categories during conference play (Utah’s Delon Wright, 2014; St. John’s D.J. Kennedy, 2010; Virginia Tech’s Bryant Matthews, 2003).
Happ is the only player in the NCAA averaging at least 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. In fact, over the last 20 seasons, no major conference player has reached those marks for an entire season.
Happ ranks fourth on Ken Pomeroy’s National Player of the Year rankings, which have been a reliable indicator of All-America accolades since debuting in 2011. In fact, of players that finished among Pomeroy’s top five, 86.7 percent earned All-America status that season.
Happ and the rest of the players remaining on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 are considered strong candidates to win the 2017 John R. Wooden Award. A final ballot will be produced in March and the winner will be announced in April.
Wisconsin begins the week on the road to face Nebraska on Thursday at 8 p.m. (CT) on BTN. The Badgers then return home to host Northwestern on Sunday for a 5:30 p.m. tip on BTN.
