Jan. 5, 2010
Butler sophomore Gordon Hayward has been named to the Midseason Top 30 list for the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy. Composed of the players who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual excellence and team performance during the first half of the season.
Hayward currently leads the 10-4 Bulldogs and ranks third in the Horizon League in both scoring (16.6) and rebounding (9.1). The 6-9 guard was named to the five-player All-Tournament Team at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., and he was chosen the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the U. S. Basketball Writers Association following Butler's games against #15/13 Georgetown and #13/15 Ohio State. Hayward also has been selected Horizon League Player of the Week twice this season.
Hayward is the fourth consecutive Butler player to be recognized by the Wooden Award Committee. Guard A. J. Graves was named to the Midseason Wooden Award All-America Team and was a finalist for the Wooden Award in 2007, and he was on the Wooden Award Preseason List in 2008. Graves' teammate, Mike Green, was a finalist for the Wooden Award in 2008, while Butler forward Matt Howard, the 2008-09 Horizon League's Player of the Year, was named to the Midseason Top 30 for the Wooden Award last year.
This year's Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 includes Wooden Award All-American Luke Harangody of Notre Dame (the nation's No. 4 scorer at 24.5 ppg) and returning players from last year's Wooden Award ballot, Sherron Collins of Kansas, Kyle Singler of Duke and Kalin Lucas of Michigan State. The list actually contains 31 players, because the playing status of injured Ohio State star Evan Turner remains uncertain.
In March, the Wooden Award Committee will release the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 34th Annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winner, and presentation of the Wooden Award All-America Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 9-11, 2010.
