LOS ANGELES, CA (4/3/04)-
Jameer Nelson is one of the top five finalists for The John R. Wooden Award and will be invited to Los Angeles for the 28th Annual Wooden Award Ceremony. The trophy presentation to the college basketball player of the year will air nationally on Saturday, April 10 during a CBS telecast of the "John R. Wooden Award Show Presented by Allstate" live from The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) at 1 pm EST.
The top five Wooden Award finalists, in alphabetical order, are: Stanford's Josh Childress, Duke's Chris Duhon, Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's, Connecticut's Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State.
The five finalists and their coaches will be traveling to Los Angeles to participate in a variety of Wooden Award weekend activities. Beginning on the evening of April 9, the finalists will serve as honorary coaches at the "After School All-Stars" Basketball Tournament, an event featuring a player Q&A session for youth participants that will be held on the basketball court of the LAAC. Following the youth event, they will be ushered into a private room to autograph basketballs, posters and other items to benefit Wooden Award charities. The finalists and their coaches will have an opportunity throughout the weekend to visit with Coach Wooden to hear his advice regarding life and basketball. The Wooden Award finalists will conclude the weekend in Los Angeles by attending the live telecast and Wooden Award Banquet.
"All of these finalists deserve to be recognized for their extraordinary level of play throughout the season," said Richard "Duke" Llewellyn, founder and chairman of the Wooden Award. "We are looking forward to crowning one of these five players the 2004 Wooden Award Winner."
A panel of over 1,000 voters comprised of media members and college basketball experts from around the nation cast their votes to determine the top candidates on Monday the 29th after the Final Four was determined.
The top five finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. followed by the John R. Wooden Award Banquet.
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 2.00 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, T.J. Ford ('03).
