Two Gators Named Wooden Award Preseason All-American
Thursday, August 5, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Florida senior forward David Lee and junior guard Anthony Roberson are among 50 student-athletes on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American team, announced on Thursday.
For Lee it marks the second consecutive year the forward has earned a spot on the preseason squd. Lee was also a member of the 30-member Midseason Wooden Award Watch List last season when he averaged a career-high 13.3 points per game and a team-high 6.8 rebounds.
It marks the first Wooden Award Preseason All-American award for Roberson who earned Honorable Mention All-American honors a year ago when he led the Gators in scoring with 17.8 points per game.
Florida was the only SEC school with two Wooden Award Preseason All-Americans, as Lee and Roberson were among five SEC players on the squad. It marks the fourth consecutive year the Gators have had two nominees. In 2001-02 Brett Nelson and Udonis Haslem each earned spots on the squad, while Nelson and Matt Bonner were on the team in 2002-03. Lee and Matt Walsh were on the squad last year.
Each of the past three years the Gators have had a Midseason Wooden Award Watch List member, as Bonner made the final 30 in both 2002 and 2003 before Lee did last season.
In mid January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 on CBS Sports, and on Tuesday, March 29th, the ten player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2005 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is among the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, Jameer Nelson ('04).
John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team
SeanBanks, Memphis
Andrew Bogut, Utah
Kevin Bookout, Oklahoma
Daniel Brown, Illinois
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont
Paul Davis, Michigan State
Travis Diener, Marquette
Ike Diogu, Arizona State
B.J. Elder, Georgia Tech
Raymond Felton, North Carolina
Torin Francis, Notre Dame
Channing Frye, Arizona
Francisco Garcia, Louisville
John Gilchrist, Maryland
Ryan Gomes *, Providence
Joey Graham, Oklahoma State
Justin Gray, Wake Forest
Chuck Hayes, Kentucky
Chris Hernandez, Stanford
Julius Hodge, North Carolina State
Daniel Horton, Michigan
Jarrett Jack, Georgia Tech
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh
Keith Langford, Kansas
David Lee, Florida
John Lucas Jr., Oklahoma State
Sean May, North Carolina
Jason Maxiell, Cincinnati
Rashad McCants, North Carolina
Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
Chris Paul, Wake Forest
Leon Powe, California
J.J. Redick, Duke
Anthony Roberson, Florida
Lawrence Roberts *, Mississippi State
Nate Robinson, Washington
Luke Schenscher, Georgia Tech
Wayne Simien, Kansas
Craig Smith, Boston College
Salim Stoudamire, Arizona
Chris Thomas, Notre Dame
P.J. Tucker, Texas
Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga
Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut
Hakim Warrick, Syracuse
Deron Williams, Illinois
Shelden Williams, Duke
Kennedy Winston, Alabama
Curtis Withers, Charlotte
Bracey Wright, Indiana
- Indicates player was a 2003-2004 John R. Wooden Award All-American.
Schools with multiple selections – Georgia Tech (3), North Carolina (3), Florida (2), Arizona (2), Duke (2), Illinois (2), Kansas (2), Notre Dame (2), Oklahoma State (2), Syracuse (2), Wake Forest (2)
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