Pair of Wildcats Named to Wooden Midseason List

TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona men’s basketball student-athletes Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon were named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 on Wednesday in an announcement by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Chosen by the Wooden Award Advisory Board, the list identifies frontrunners for one of the sport’s most prestigious individual honors. Arizona is one of only four schools to post multiple representatives on the list, joining Duke, Michigan State and Syracuse.

Johnson and Gordon also represent two of the four Pac-12 players included on the midseason list.

Johnson, who recently became the 48th player in Arizona history to reach the 1,000-point mark, leads the Wildcats with an average of 16.3 points per game this season. He is shooting career highs of 49.7 percent from the field and 81.9 percent from the free throw line, and has reached the 20-point mark a team-high six times.

One of the nation’s most versatile players, the Gilbert, Ariz., native also has averages of 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off is a candidate for the NABC Good Works Team.

Johnson was not a member of the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, but earned his way onto the list by virtue of his play this season for the nation’s top-ranked team.

Gordon leads both Arizona and Pac-12 freshmen with an average of 7.8 rebounds per game, while ranking second on the UA roster at 12.4 points per outing. He has posted a team-high five double-doubles on the year and is shooting 50.6 percent from the floor.

The San Jose, Calif., native was recently named USA Basketball 2013 Male Athlete of the Year in recognition of his efforts at the FIBA U19 World Championship that resulted in a gold medal for the U.S. squad and individual tournament Most Valuable Player accolades. Gordon was named to the NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament in November and was a member of the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50.

The 38th annual Wooden Award ceremony will honor the men’s and women’s Wooden Award winners, as well as the Wooden All-American teams, on the weekend of April 11-12, 2014. Log on to WoodenAward.com and follow @WoodenAward on Twitter for further information.

For the latest updates on Arizona men’s basketball and an inside look at the program, follow @APlayersProgram on Twitter.