UA Places Trio on Wooden Award Preseason Top 50

TUCSON, Ariz. – Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson all represent the University of Arizona men’s basketball program on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, released Monday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list denotes 50 early frontrunners for one of college basketball’s most prestigious awards. The award will be bestowed at the 39th annual Wooden Award ceremony, set for early April in Los Angeles.

Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky are the only schools to place three or more representatives on the list, while the Wildcats had three of the Pac-12’s seven honorees. Ashley, Hollis-Jefferson and Johnson were each McDonald’s All-Americans prior to arriving at UA.

A junior from San Francisco, Ashley averaged 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 81.3 percent from the floor, last weekend in Arizona’s first two regular-season contests. He owns career averages of 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and has posted four-career double-doubles.

Hollis-Jefferson earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors last season after averaging 9.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.1 blocks per game. The Chester, Pa., native averaged 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Wildcats’ first two games of the regular season and has scored in double figures in six-consecutive games dating to the 2013-14 season.

One of seven freshmen named to the list, Johnson owns three gold medals with USA Basketball and was named MVP of the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. The Fullerton, Calif., native averaged 12.5 points per game and shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the Wildcats’ opening weekend.

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