LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Senior forward Cleanthony Early was named to the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team was released by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and announced on the ESPNU show “Katz Korner.”
This is now Early's eighth postseason award. He previously earned a spot on the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) All-First Team, was named a 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist, was one of 15 finalists for the 2014 John R. Wooden Award and was named to the 2013-14 United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District VI All-District team.
Early was later named to the 2013-14 NABC Division 16 All-First Team, a USBWA Second Team All-America and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-America Second Team. He led the Shockers to a 35-1 record, averaging 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 84% from the free throw line.
The ten players selected to the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team were selected by a voting base of nearly 1000 college basketball experts throughout the nation and by fans through the Fan Voting site woodenawardvote.com. Early was a top-five vote getter and will be invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Awards Gala on April 11.
The All American Team is made up of the 10 student-athletes who received the most votes, with voters ranking the balloted players from one to ten. All players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA, an important component of the Award insisted upon by Coach Wooden.
2014 John R. Wooden All-American Team
*Cleanthony Early—Wichita State
*Nick Johnson—Arizona
Sean Kilpatrick—Cincinnati
*Doug McDermott—Creighton
Shabazz Napier—Connecticut
*Jabari Parker—Duke
Casey Prather—Florida
*Russ Smith—Louisville
Nik Stauskas—Michigan
Andrew Wiggins—Kansas
*denotes the top-five vote-getters
About the John R. Wooden Award
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). Michigan's Trey Burke won the 2013 Wooden Award presented by Wendy's.
SNL Skit
Wichita State's men's basketball team was mentioned on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend. To view the clip, follow the link below:
3/29/14 SNL Skit
-WICHITA STATE-
