🏀 Kansas Duo on Wooden Award Late Season Top 20
LOS ANGELES — The Kansas duo of Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday. The KU tandem is one of just two schools with multiple players on the list, along with North Carolina.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2023-24 season thus far, the list comprises of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the John R. Wooden Award. Dickinson and McCullar are vying to become the third Kansas player to win the Wooden Award joining Danny Manning (1988) and Frank Mason III (2017).
On most every midseason All-America team and named to a Jerry West Award Top 10 Candidate earlier in the day, McCullar leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.8 points per game, which is 31st nationally. The San Antonio guard’s two triple-doubles this season are the most amongst the NCAA. McCullar also leads KU with 32 three-point field goals made. His 6.4 rebounds per game are second on the team and he ranks in 11 Big 12 statistical categories in 2023-24.
A two-time national Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist and three time All-Big 12 selection, for his career McCullar has scored 1,436 points with 716 rebounds, 324 assists and 207 steals. He has 102 starts in his 132 games played, including 53 starts in 54 contests in his two seasons at Kansas.
A 2020-21 Wooden All-American while at Michigan, Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in rebounds per game at 11.3 after his 20 points and 15 rebounds at Iowa State on Jan. 27. The Alexandria, Virginia center’s 11 double-doubles lead the Big 12 and are eighth nationally. A five-time Big 12 weekly award honoree this season, Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. He also leads KU with 27 blocked shots and has 24 steals.
On most every midseason All-America team, Dickinson enters Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma State with 1,994 points and 1,012 rebounds and is vying to become just the third active player in NCAA Division I to surpass both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career joining Armando Bacot of North Carolina and Zach Edey of Purdue. Dickinson was a three-time all-conference honoree while at Michigan and a 2021 Consensus All-America Second Team selection.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Principal. Players not chosen to the late season list are still eligible for the Wooden Award National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2024 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Principal following the NCAA Tournament in April.
No. 8 Kansas (16-4, 4-3) will play host to Oklahoma State (9-11, 1-6) on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN.
2023-24 Wooden Award Late Season Top 20
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Johni Broome, Auburn
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Johnell Davis, Florida Atlantic
RJ Davis, North Carolina
HUNTER DICKINSON, KANSAS
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
PJ Hall, Clemson
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
David Jones, Memphis
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
KEVIN MCCULLAR JR., KANSAS
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
KJ Simpson, Colorado
