Early last week, the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's announced it's preseason Top 50 Watch List. Four former Montverde Academy student-athletes were featured on this preseason list including Cade Cunningham ('20), Scottie Barnes ('20), Marcus Carr ('17), and MaCio Teague ('16).
"We were really excited to see the Wooden Award announce four of our former guys in their Preseason Top 50 Watch List this week," said Montverde Academy Boys Varsity Head Coach and CBD Director Kevin Boyle.
Cunningham and Barnes represent two of the seven outstanding freshmen recognized on this list.
"Its very unusual to have two college freshmen from the same high school team included on a list like this, but that's what have in Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes," said Boyle. "Both are projected high in the mock drafts for next year, so we're really excited and happy for those guys."
Also representing the Academy are past boys varsity player Marcus Carr, and Center for Basketball Development graduate MaCio Teague.
"We're equally excited and happy for Marcus Carr who has been phenomenal at Minnesota in the past few years, right now he's one of the top 3 scorers so far this season in college basketball," said Boyle. "And then we have MaCio Teague from our CBD program, who was a tough kid, very versatile, and has had a great run at Baylor, a team that is as good as anybody in the country at this point."
All four players are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. The National Ballot will consist of 15 players who have shined over the course of the season and proven their qualifications for the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented following the NCAA Tournament.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), Breanna Stewart ('15 and '16) and last year's recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
