Nov. 7, 2008
TUCSON, Ariz. - University of Arizona men's basketball player Chase Budinger was named to the 2008-09 John R. Wooden Award preseason All-America team, it was announced Friday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club's Wooden Award Committee.
The Wildcat junior is included among a list of 50 student-athletes who are under consideration for the 2009 John R. Wooden Award, which has been given to college basketball's player of the year annually since 1969. Budinger is one of five Pac-10 players on the list, which ranks third nationally.
Budinger, a 6-foot-7, 218-pound forward from Encinitas, Calif., averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 2007-08 as a sophomore, while leading the team with 73 three-point field goals. He scored in double figures 29 times last year, and shot .446 percent from the field and .380 percent from three-point range. Budinger averaged 34.3 minutes per game last season.
A starter in each of his 65 games during his two year career, Budinger is just the sixth player in Arizona history to score 1,000 career points in two seasons. He is averaging 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists for his career.
In January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed by the distribution of the National Ballot to more than 1,000 voters in early March. The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2009 ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's John R. Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-America teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to recipient Rick Barnes of the University of Texas, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April 2009. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the Award's ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.
The Arizona men's basketball team will next be in action on Wed., Nov. 12, in an exhibition game against Sonoma State. Tip-off in McKale Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.
2008-2009 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List
Player Height Position Class University
A.J. Abrams 5-11 G Sr. Texas
Wink Adams 6-0 G Sr. UNLV
DeJuan Blair 6-7 F So. Pittsburgh
Jon Brockman 6-7 F Sr. Washington
Derrick Brown 6-8 F Jr. Xavier
Chase Budinger 6-7 F Jr. Arizona
Nick Calathes 6-6 G/F So. Florida
Dionte Christmas 6-5 G Sr. Temple
Earl Clark 6-9 G/F Jr. Louisville
Sherron Collins 5-11 G Jr. Kansas
Darren Collison 6-0 G Sr. UCLA
Lee Cummard 6-7 G Sr. BYU
Stephen Curry * 6-3 G Jr. Davidson
Devan Downey 5-9 G Jr. South Carolina
Robert Dozier 6-9 F Sr. Memphis
Wayne Ellington 6-4 G Jr. North Carolina
Jonny Flynn 6-0 G So. Syracuse
Taj Gibson 6-9 F Jr. USC
Blake Griffin 6-10 F So. Oklahoma
Tyler Hansbrough ! *^ 6-9 F Sr. North Carolina
Luke Harangody * 6-8 F Jr. Notre Dame
James Harden 6-4 G So. Arizona State
Gerald Henderson 6-4 G/F Jr. Duke
Lester Hudson 6-2 G Sr. Tennessee Martin
Robbie Hummel 6-8 F So. Purdue
Stefon Jackson 6-5 G Sr. UTEP
Dominic James 5-11 G Sr. Marquette
Damion James 6-7 G/F Jr. Texas
Curtis Jerrells 6-1 G Sr. Baylor
James Johnson 6-8 F So. Wake Forest
Marcus Landry 6-7 F Sr. Wisconsin
Ty Lawson 5-11 G Jr. North Carolina
Eric Maynor 6-2 G Sr. VCU
Jack McClinton 6-1 G Sr. University of Miami
Jerel McNeal 6-3 G Sr. Marquette
Patrick Mills 6-0 G So. Saint Mary's
Raymar Morgan 6-7 F Jr. Michigan State
A.J. Ogilvy 6-11 C So. Vanderbilt
Jeremy Pargo 6-2 G Sr. Gonzaga
Patrick Patterson 6-8 F So. Kentucky
A.J. Price 6-2 G Sr. Connecticut
Scottie Reynolds 6-2 G Jr. Villanova
Tyrese Rice 6-1 G Sr. Boston College
Kyle Singler 6-8 F So. Duke
Tyler Smith 6-7 F Jr. Tennessee
DaJuan Summers 6-8 F Jr. Georgetown
Hasheem Thabeet 7-3 C Jr. Connecticut
Robert Vaden 6-5 G/F Sr. UAB
Terrence Williams 6-6 F Sr. Louisville
Sam Young 6-6 F Jr. Pittsburgh
! 2008 John R. Wooden Award Winner
* 2007-08 Wooden Award All-American
^2006-07 Wooden Award All-American
