John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 List

LOS ANGELES - Oakland's Kay Felder has been selected to the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Wendy's, Late Season Top 20, announced the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Wednesday. The list was made in an effort to further pare down the list of outstanding candidates for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award, presented by Wendy's.

Felder, a 5-foot-9 junior from Detroit, Mich., was selected to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 earlier this season and is looking to become the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both points and assists per game in the same season as he currently leads the country in assists with 9.1 and ranks fourth in points at 24.7. Felder is the first player since Steph Curry at Davidson (2008-09) to average over 34.0 points-plus-assists per game. He is looking to become just the fifth player in the last 20 years to average 23 points and six assists. Felder has 13 double-doubles this season including 11 games of 20-plus points and 10-plus assists. He set a career-high with 38 points along with nine assists and six rebounds at Washington and then followed that performance with 37 points and nine assists versus No. 1 Michigan State. In four games against Power-5 Conference opponents this season, including two ranked inside the top-5, Felder has averaged 32.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds.

Players not on this most recent list are still eligible for the final ballot, which will consist of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Voting begins at the end of the season, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, will take into account the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The 40th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's. The men's and women's Wooden All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, as well as the 2016 Legends of Coaching Award, which will be presented to Tubby Smith, Head Men's Basketball Coach at Texas Tech. The event will take place the weekend of April 7-9, 2016.

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award program features the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball. The Wooden Award Trophy 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 while maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. The unique Wooden Award trophy is presented to a man and woman each year. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (`79), Michael Jordan (`84), Tim Duncan (`97), Candace Parker (`07 and `08), Kevin Durant (`09), Maya Moore (`09 and `11), Trey Burke (`13) and Doug McDermott (`14). Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky won the 2015 Wooden Award presented by Wendy's and Breanna Stewart of Connecticut won the 2015 Wooden Award.

Fans can follow the candidates en route to the Wooden Award presentation and get the latest news throughout the season by liking the Wooden Award Facebook page or following @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Ernest Baskerville at 213-630-5231 or via email at woodenaward@laac.net.

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