UF's Calathes Named To Wooden Award Preseason Watch List
Friday, November 7, 2008 | Men's Basketball
University of Florida sophomore point guard Nick Calathes earned a spot among the nation's elite company, as he was selected to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Watch List.
The list is composed of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
Calathes led UF in scoring as a freshman, averaging 15.3 points and setting a school record with 221 assists. He led the Southeastern Conference in assists per game at 6.1 per contest.
The Casselberry, Fla., native was on a short list of sophomores that was selected to the watch list, and was one of only five players from the Southeastern Conference selected, joining Tyler Smith of Tennessee, Patrick Patterson of Kentucky, Devan Downey of South Carolina and A.J. Ogilvy of Vanderbilt.
In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by 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 during the NCAA Tournament.
The 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April, 2009.
2008-2009 John R. Wooden Award
Preseason Top 50 List
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
| Player Last | Player Last | Height | Position | Class | University |
| A.J. | Abrams | 5-11 | G | Sr. | Texas |
| Wink | Adams | 6-0 | G | Sr. | UNLV |
| DeJuan | Blair | 6-7 | F | So. | Pittsburgh |
| Jon | Brockman | 6-7 | F | Sr. | Washington |
| Derrick | Brown | 6-8 | F | Jr. | Xavier |
| Chase | Budinger | 6-7 | F | Jr. | Arizona |
| Nick | Calathes | 6-6 | G/F | So. | Florida |
| Dionte | Christmas | 6-5 | G | Sr. | Temple |
| Earl | Clark | 6-9 | G/F | Jr. | Louisville |
| Sherron | Collins | 5-11 | G | Jr. | Kansas |
| Darren | Collison | 6-0 | G | Sr. | UCLA |
| Lee | Cummard | 6-7 | G | Sr. | BYU |
| Stephen | Curry * | 6-3 | G | Jr. | Davidson |
| Devan | Downey | 5-9 | G | Jr. | South Carolina |
| Robert | Dozier | 6-9 | F | Sr. | Memphis |
| Wayne | Ellington | 6-4 | G | Jr. | North Carolina |
| Jonny | Flynn | 6-0 | G | So. | Syracuse |
| Taj | Gibson | 6-9 | F | Jr. | USC |
| Blake | Griffin | 6-10 | F | So. | Oklahoma |
| Tyler | Hansbrough ! *^ | 6-9 | F | Sr. | North Carolina |
| Luke | Harangody * | 6-8 | F | Jr. | Notre Dame |
| James | Harden | 6-4 | G | So. | Arizona State |
| Gerald | Henderson | 6-4 | G/F | Jr. | Duke |
| Lester | Hudson | 6-2 | G | Sr. | Tennessee Martin |
| Robbie | Hummel | 6-8 | F | So. | Purdue |
| Stefon | Jackson | 6-5 | G | Sr. | UTEP |
| Dominic | James | 5-11 | G | Sr. | Marquette |
| Damion | James | 6-7 | G/F | Jr. | Texas |
| Curtis | Jerrells | 6-1 | G | Sr. | Baylor |
| James | Johnson | 6-8 | F | So. | Wake Forest |
| Marcus | Landry | 6-7 | F | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| Ty | Lawson | 5-11 | G | Jr. | North Carolina |
| Eric | Maynor | 6-2 | G | Sr. | VCU |
| Jack | McClinton | 6-1 | G | Sr. | University of Miami |
| Jerel | McNeal | 6-3 | G | Sr. | Marquette |
| Patrick | Mills | 6-0 | G | So. | Saint Mary's |
| Raymar | Morgan | 6-7 | F | Jr. | Michigan State |
| A.J. | Ogilvy | 6-11 | C | So. | Vanderbilt |
| Jeremy | Pargo | 6-2 | G | Sr. | Gonzaga |
| Patrick | Patterson | 6-8 | F | So. | Kentucky |
| A.J. | Price | 6-2 | G | Sr. | Connecticut |
| Scottie | Reynolds | 6-2 | G | Jr. | Villanova |
| Tyrese | Rice | 6-1 | G | Sr. | Boston College |
| Kyle | Singler | 6-8 | F | So. | Duke |
| Tyler | Smith | 6-7 | F | Jr. | Tennessee |
| DaJuan | Summers | 6-8 | F | Jr. | Georgetown |
| Hasheem | Thabeet | 7-3 | C | Jr. | Connecticut |
| Robert | Vaden | 6-5 | G/F | Sr. | UAB |
| Terrence | Williams | 6-6 | F | Sr. | Louisville |
| Sam | Young | 6-6 | F | Jr. | Pittsburgh |
| ! 2008 John R. Wooden Award Winner * 2007-08 Wooden Award All-American ^2006-07 Wooden Award All-American | |||||
