2015 Wooden Award Finalists Include Frank Kaminsky, Jahlil Okafor
The Wooden Award, college basketball's most prestigious Player of the Year trophy, has announced the 15 finalists who will compete to win the honor in 2015.
As you would expect, the full list of candidates released on Saturday on the Wooden Award website is headlined by Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky and Duke center Jahlil Okafor.
Here's the full list of contenders:
TOP NEWS
Report: Cadeau Staying at Michigan 🔒
Live Reaction to Blue Jackets' Selection 🔢
Tracking Latest NBA Rumors
| Player | Team |
| Ron Baker | Wichita State |
| Malcolm Brogdon | Virginia |
| Willie Cauley-Stein | Kentucky |
| Rakeem Christmas | Syracuse |
| Jerian Grant | Notre Dame |
| Tyler Haws | BYU |
| Buddy Hield | Oklahoma |
| Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin |
| Georges Niang | Iowa State |
| Jahlil Okafor | Duke |
| Bobby Portis | Arkansas |
| D'Angelo Russell | Ohio State |
| Seth Tuttle | Northern Iowa |
| Kyle Wiltjer | Gonzaga |
| Delon Wright | Utah |
Even though that is a star-laden list, the race for the award is between Kaminsky and Okafor. In most years a player like Kyle Wiltjer would be a strong contender, averaging 16.5 point per game and shooting 53 percent from the floor for a 29-2 Gonzaga team.
It's a testament to how good Okafor and Kaminsky have been that everyone else seems to be fighting for third place. Kaminsky seems to have pulled ahead as the season has gone along, with his penultimate performance of the regular season against Minnesota showcasing everything he does, via ESPN's Jeff Goodman:
After that game, Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino said he had no doubt Kaminsky deserved the Wooden Award, via Wisconsin Basketball:
On a pure statistical level, Kaminsky and Okafor have had nearly-identical seasons. The Wisconsin star is averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Duke's fabulous freshman averages 17.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Kaminsky has the advantage of being a more versatile player, able to play in the paint or shoot from outside. Okafor is a pure center and plays it as well as anyone in the country.
It's going to be an interesting, fascinating race for the Wooden Award. Kaminsky and Okafor have compelling cases and each has a marquee regular-season finale to sway voters in their favor.
