Budinger Named to Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 List

The Arizona forward is among 30 players nationwide being considered for the 2008 John R. Wooden Award.

University of Arizona men’s basketball player Chase Budinger this week was named to the 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award Midseason top 30.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Wooden Award Committee announced Monday that the Wildcat sophomore is included among 30 student-athletes who are under consideration for the 2008 John R. Wooden Award, which is given annually to "the outstanding college basketball player in the United States," according to the award's Web site.

Budinger, a 6-foot-7-inch, 203-pound sophomore forward from Encinitas, Calif., is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 20 games this season. He is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and has 19 steals. He’s scored in double figures 18 times this season, including seven 20-point games and one 30-point effort.

The Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee will choose approximately 20 players to fill the national ballot in March, and the award winner and 10-player All-American Team will be announced later that month. In addition to proving themselves on the court, Wooden Award winners must also prove themselves in the classroom by maintaining a cumulative 2.0 grade point average.

While several Wildcats have been selected to Wooden All-American teams over the years, Budinger would be the first Arizona player to win the award since forward Sean Elliot in 1989.

The 2008 Wooden Award ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-12.

Chase Budinger
1 of 1

Previous Next