Nov. 14, 2017
Los Angeles, Calif. – Georgia Tech’s Ben Lammers is one of 50 Division I players who have been named to the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Wendy’s. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.
It is the third preseason watch list to which Lammers has been named. The 6-10 senior from San Antonio, Texas, is on the preseason lists for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award and the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award, which is presented to the nation’s top center.
Lammers is coming off a breakout junior year in which he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Lammers averaged 14.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while hitting 51.5 percent of his shots from the floor. He ranked third in the nation in blocked shots (125) and averaged more than 35 minutes per game in helping lead the Yellow Jackets to a 21-16 record (8-10 in the ACC) and make a run to the finals of the NIT.
He posted a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds, both game highs) against No. 21 UCLA in the Yellow Jackets’ season opener last weekend in Shanghai, China.
Georgia Tech has never had a player win the Wooden Award, though Mark Price, John Salley, Tom Hammonds, Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson and Matt Harpring have all been finalists.
The Preseason Top 50 list represents 11 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with 9 selections, followed by the Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC with 7 selections apiece, Big 12 (6), Big East (5), The American (4). The WCC has two selections and the Atlantic 10, Mountain West, and The Summit League each have one selection.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2018 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players, who have been qualified as meeting the standards set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee. Voting will open prior to the start of 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 2018 John R. Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s on Friday, April 6, 2018.
John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s
2017-18 Preseason Top 50
| Name | School | Conference | Height | Class | Position |
Jaylen Adams St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 6-2 Sr. G DengAdel Louisville ACC 6-7 Jr. F Rawle Alkins Arizona Pac-12 6-5 Soph.G Grayson Allen Duke ACC 6-5 Sr. G KeVaughn Allen Florida SEC 6-2Jr. G DeAndre Ayton Arizona Pac-12 7-1 Fr. F Marvin Bagley III DukeACC 6-11 Fr. F Mohamed Bamba Texas Big 12 6-11 Fr. F Joel Berry IINorth Carolina ACC 6-0 Sr. G Trevon Bluiett Xavier Big East 6-6 Sr.G Miles Bridges Michigan St. Big Ten 6-7 Soph. G/F Bruce Brown Jr.Miami ACC 6-5 Soph. G Jalen Brunson Villanova Big East 6-3 Jr. GJeffrey Carroll Oklahoma St. Big 12 6-6 Sr. G/F Jevon Carter WestVirginia Big 12 6-2 Sr. G Bonzie Colson Notre Dame ACC 6-6 Sr. FMike Daum South Dakota St. The Summit League 6-9 Jr. F AngelDelgado Seton Hall Big East 6-10 Sr. C Hamidou Diallo Kentucky SEC6-5 Fr. G Trevon Duval Duke ACC 6-3 Fr. G Vincent Edwards PurdueBig Ten 6-8 Sr. F Jacob Evans Cincinnati The American 6-6 Jr. G/FMatt Farrell Notre Dame ACC 6-1 Sr. G Marcus Foster Creighton BigEast 6-3 Sr. G Devonte’ Graham Kansas Big 12 6-2 Sr. G Rob GrayHouston The American 6-1 Sr. G Ethan Happ Wisconsin Big Ten 6-10Jr. F Aaron Holiday UCLA Pac-12 6-1 Jr. G Chandler Hutchison BoiseState Mountain West 6-7 Sr. G Jaren Jackson Jr. Michigan St. BigTen 6-11 Fr. F Kevin Knox Kentucky SEC 6-9 Fr. F BenLammers Georgia Tech ACC 6-10 Sr. C Jock Landale Saint Mary’sWCC 6-11 Sr.C Kelan Martin Butler Big East 6-7 Sr. F Nate MasonMinnesota Big Ten 6-2 Sr. G Yante Maten Georgia SEC 6-8 Sr. FBryant McIntosh Northwestern Big Ten 6-3 Sr. G Jordan McLaughlinUSC Pac-12 6-1 Sr. G Chimezie MetuUSC Pac-12 6-11 Jr. F ShakeMilton SMU The American 6-6 Jr. G Malik Newman Kansas Big 12 6-3Soph. G Michael Porter Jr. Missouri SEC 6-10 Fr. F Collin SextonAlabama SEC 6-3 Fr. G Landry Shamet Wichita State The American 6-4Soph. G Reid Travis Stanford Pac-12 6-8 Jr. F Allonzo Trier ArizonaPac-12 6-5 Jr. G Moritz Wagner Michigan Big Ten 6-11 Jr. F RobertWilliams Texas A&M SEC 6-10 Soph. F Johnathan Williams GonzagaWCC 6-9 Sr. F Trae Young Oklahoma Big 12 6-2 Fr. G
