Nic Moore Named To Wooden Award Preseason Top 50

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Nic Moore Named To Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
Junior Guard A Candidate For College Basketball's Most Prestigious Honor

Nov. 17, 2014

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. (SMU) - SMU junior Nic Moore was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday. The accolade is college basketball's most prestigious honor for the top player in the country. The list was compiled by a preseason poll of college basketball experts.

Moore, a preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection, averaged team bests in scoring (13.4) and assists (4.9) while shooting 43.6 percent from behind the arc a year ago. SMU went 27-10 last season, reaching the NIT championship game. The Winona Lake, Indiana, native was tabbed All-AAC first team last season along with NABC All-District first team, USBWA All-District and earned All-NIT honors.

Moore will help lead the [22/22] Mustangs against fellow Wooden Award Top 50 Kevin Pangos and the [13/13] Gonzaga Bulldogs Monday night. The game is set for a 10 p.m. CT/8 p.m. PT on ESPN2 as a part of the Tip-Off Marathon.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's. The Wooden Award National Advisory Board will select 25 players for the midseason list in early January. 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 prior to the NCAA Tournament and voting will take into consideration the opening rounds. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 39th annual Wooden Award ceremony will honor the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, and will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, which in 2015 will go to San Diego State Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Fisher. The event will take place the weekend of April 10-12, 2015.

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Candace Parker ('07 and '08), Kevin Durant ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09 and `11).

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

[ponyscott]

Nice press for Nic Moore...good job Nic.

[No Quarter]

This is really pretty neat. Nic, hope you and the Ponies have a great season.