Michigan State University Athletics
Valentine Named to Wooden Award Top 25
1/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2016 
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior guard Denzel Valentine was named to the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's Midseason Top 25, announced on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Valentine made an early statement with his triple-double vs. Kansas in the Champions Classic. Tallying a career-high 29 points, a career-high 12 assists and 12 rebounds, he became just the fourth player in MSU history to record a triple-double. Nine days later, he recorded a second triple-double against Boston College (29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists), and followed the next day with a career-high 32 points vs. Boise State.
He ranks third in the Big Ten in assists (6.8 apg) and scoring (17.8 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg). He is one of just two players to rank in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in all three categories. Valentine also leads the Big Ten in defensive rebounds (7.2 drpg), while ranking tied for third in 3-point field goals made (2.8 pg) and third in free throw percentage (.854). Last season, he was the only Big Ten player to rank in the Top 15 in scoring, rebounding and assists.
Valentine's numbers are arguably the best in recent college basketball history. Since 1995-96, no player has averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for a season.
For his career, Valentine has totaled 11 double-doubles, including the two triple-doubles.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 top players in early February. Fifteen 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 will be submitted to the voters on the ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. The ten-man Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 40th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's. The men's and women's Wooden All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony. The event will take place the weekend of April 7-9, 2016.
For the complete list of the midseason top 25, click here.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior guard Denzel Valentine was named to the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's Midseason Top 25, announced on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Valentine made an early statement with his triple-double vs. Kansas in the Champions Classic. Tallying a career-high 29 points, a career-high 12 assists and 12 rebounds, he became just the fourth player in MSU history to record a triple-double. Nine days later, he recorded a second triple-double against Boston College (29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists), and followed the next day with a career-high 32 points vs. Boise State.
He ranks third in the Big Ten in assists (6.8 apg) and scoring (17.8 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg). He is one of just two players to rank in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in all three categories. Valentine also leads the Big Ten in defensive rebounds (7.2 drpg), while ranking tied for third in 3-point field goals made (2.8 pg) and third in free throw percentage (.854). Last season, he was the only Big Ten player to rank in the Top 15 in scoring, rebounding and assists.
Valentine's numbers are arguably the best in recent college basketball history. Since 1995-96, no player has averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for a season.
For his career, Valentine has totaled 11 double-doubles, including the two triple-doubles.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 top players in early February. Fifteen 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 will be submitted to the voters on the ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. The ten-man Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 40th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's. The men's and women's Wooden All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony. The event will take place the weekend of April 7-9, 2016.
For the complete list of the midseason top 25, click here.
Players Mentioned
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