Michigan State University Athletics
Cassius Winston Tabbed to Wooden Award National Ballot
3/7/2020 12:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) was selected to the John R. Wooden Award® National Ballot on Saturday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
Winston returns to the national ballot for the second-straight year and is one of two players who were Wooden Award All-American selections last year, joined by Marquette's Markus Howard.
Winston leads MSU, and ranks third in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. He is also fourth in the league in assists (5.9 apg), first in free throw percentage, connecting on 85.5 percent of his shots (112-of-131), eighth in field goal percentage (43.9%), first in 3-point percentage (42.6%) and tied for sixth in steals (1.2 spg). A consensus second-team All-American and the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year as a junior in 2018-19, Winston became the Michigan State, and the Big Ten Conference, all-time leader in assists last month, breaking the record previously held for 20 years by former Spartan Mateen Cleaves. Winston is one of only eight Division I players averaging at least 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Winston is also one of only five players in Division I history to score at least 1,900 points in his career and hand out at least 850 assists.
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 16th to March 23rd, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players and the finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 1st on ESPNU at 6:30pm ET.
The 44th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men's and women's most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy's on ESPN2 on Friday, April 10, 2020. The men's and women's John R. Wooden Award All American Team will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2020 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to C. Vivian Stringer, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Rutgers.
Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
Winston returns to the national ballot for the second-straight year and is one of two players who were Wooden Award All-American selections last year, joined by Marquette's Markus Howard.
Winston leads MSU, and ranks third in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. He is also fourth in the league in assists (5.9 apg), first in free throw percentage, connecting on 85.5 percent of his shots (112-of-131), eighth in field goal percentage (43.9%), first in 3-point percentage (42.6%) and tied for sixth in steals (1.2 spg). A consensus second-team All-American and the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year as a junior in 2018-19, Winston became the Michigan State, and the Big Ten Conference, all-time leader in assists last month, breaking the record previously held for 20 years by former Spartan Mateen Cleaves. Winston is one of only eight Division I players averaging at least 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Winston is also one of only five players in Division I history to score at least 1,900 points in his career and hand out at least 850 assists.
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 16th to March 23rd, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players and the finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 1st on ESPNU at 6:30pm ET.
The 44th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men's and women's most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy's on ESPN2 on Friday, April 10, 2020. The men's and women's John R. Wooden Award All American Team will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2020 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to C. Vivian Stringer, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Rutgers.
Players Mentioned
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