Dennis Smith, Jr., Named to John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
11/18/2016 11:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Fayetteville, N.C. native averaging 11.5 points and 4.0 assists per game through two games
NC State freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr., is on the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's Preseason Top 50 announced this week on ESPN's SportsCenter and on ESPN.com. The list is chosen by national college basketball experts and is comprised of the 50 student-athletes who are considered to be early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award® program features the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball. The Wooden Award Trophy is bestowed annually upon the nation's best male and female player who have proven to their respective universities that they are making progress toward graduation while maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Smith is one of 12 freshmen on the watch list.
This is the third watch list the Fayetteville, N.C., native has made this season. Smith was previously named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, given annually to the top point guard in college basketball and the Naismith Trophy watch list, which has been awarded annually since 1969 to the nation's best college basketball player.
Smith was named the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year at the league's annual media day in October. Smith is vying to become the only the second Wolfpack player to earn ACC Rookie of the Year honors. Hawkeye Whitney was co-Rookie of the Year with Duke's Mike Gminski in 1977.
Smith was a consensus five-star recruit coming out of Trinity Christian Academy and is the highest-ranked recruit to sign with the Wolfpack since the Recruiting Services Consensus Index began ranking prospects in 1998.Â
The No. 4 overall recruit and No. 1 point guard in the 2016 class according to ESPN.com, Smith elected to graduate high school early in order to enroll at NC State in January of 2016 after injuring his knee in August of 2015.
Smith led Trinity Christian to a state championship as a sophomore and as a junior averaged 22.2 points per game on his way to being named North Carolina's Gatorade Player of the Year.
Through two games this season, Smith is averaging 11.5 points per game and four assists per game. He has only committed two turnovers in 62 minutes of action and has a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The 41st annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men's and women's most outstanding basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's on ESPN2 on Friday, April 7, 2017. The men's and women's John R. Wooden Award All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony.