North Carolina State University Athletics
Hodge Named to Preseason Wooden List
8/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 5, 2004
Raleigh, N.C. - NC State's Julius Hodge has been named to the preseason John R. Wooden Award list announced this afternoon. Hodge, a rising senior, was a finalist for this award last season in helping lead the Pack to a 20-9 record. A year ago, Hodge was named ACC Player of the Year and a first-team All-America selection by ESPN.com. After tallying the ballots of the National Preseason Selection Committee, the John R. Wooden Award today announced the Men's Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team, composed of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These Top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers and freshmen as well as other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot. "With so much player movement in the off season, the Committee had quite a task in nominating these candidates from a wide selection of tremendous players," said Duke Llewellyn, Wooden Award chairman. "This list represents the elite of college basketball, and our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation battle it out in order to prove their case as basketball's player of the year." Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, Jameer Nelson ('04). In mid January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 on CBS Sports, and on Tuesday, March 29th, the ten player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2005 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9, 2005 and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast. The top five male and female finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award scholarship fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. Applied Materials distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a men's and women's Wooden Award All-American Team finalist (for a total of $150,000). Additional donations to Applied Materials' John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund can be made by contacting the scholarship fund through the CCF (www.calfund.org).
