After compiling his second double-double in as many games last night against Long Beach State with 14 points and 10 rebounds, freshman forward Aaron Gordon has lived up to the high expectations surrounding him. On Tuesday, a release by the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced that Gordon was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50.
Gordon was one of just nine freshmen named to the list and represents one of six Pac-12 players to be selected. Over the past two weeks, Gordon has additionally been named to watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy and the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award.
Over his first two starts as a Wildcat, Gordon has compiled 27 points and 20 rebounds. His average of 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game lead the team. The San Jose, Calif., native has shot 11-for-19 (.579) from the field and 2-for-3 (.667) from the three-point range in his first 58 minutes of play.
The Wooden Award is given annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in college hoops. Sean Elliot is the only Wildcat who has won the Wooden Player of the Year Award, doing so in the Wildcats’ 1988-1989 Final Four season.
The preseason list will be cut down to 20 finalist halfway through the season and a 10-man Wooden Award All-American team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Tournament’s regional rounds. The last Arizona player to play in the Wooden Award All-American team was Derrick Williams in 2011.