Pair Of Colorado Buffaloes Named To Wooden Preseason List

The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Monday announced the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list. University of Colorado guards Cory Higgins and Alec Burks both made the prestigious list, which is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on strong performances last year, are early leaders for college basketball’s highest individual honor.

Higgins, a senior, has started every game he’s played as a Buffalo (94) and ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,391. He holds a career 14.8 scoring average and has led the team in scoring each of the last two years.

“Anytime you get recognized for your hard work, it’s an honor especially to be named on this list,” Higgins told cubuffs.com.

Burks, a freshman who averaged 17.1 points per game last season, is widely considered to be a lottery pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

Together, Burks and Higgins form a difficult 1-2 punch on the court. The duo ranks third nationally of top returning scoring tandems at 36 points per game.

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. Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.