2015 Wooden Award: Complete Preseason Top 50 Watch List Announced

North Carolina may be sitting atop every national poll, but the best individual talent in the country belongs to Kentucky and Indiana. The Wildcats and Hoosiers lead all schools with three players apiece on the 2015 Wooden Award watch list, which is comprised of the 50 players most likely to win the nation's top honor.

Freshman forward Skal Labissiere and guards Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis made the cut for Kentucky, which is currently ranked second in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Junior forward Troy Williams and guards Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. are the candidates for Indiana, a team sitting outside the Top 10 in most national polls.   

Eleven teams have two players on the list. The Wooden Award—given each year to the nation's best player—will likely come down to a battle between new and old school.

Many consider LSU forward Ben Simmons, one of seven freshmen on the watch list, the nation's most talented player. Simmons has averaged 16.5 points, 11 rebounds and 5.5 assists in his first two games of the season, mixing elite athleticism with deft passing skills and the occasional mid-range jumper.

Only two freshmen in history, Kevin Durant (2006-07) and Anthony Davis (2011-12), have taken home the Wooden Award. Simmons was just the fourth freshman ever selected to the Associated Press preseason All-America team.

"His talent level is off the charts," an NBA scouting director told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. "It's effortless. He steps on the floor, and within minutes you know he's the best player out there, no matter who he is playing with or against."

Mannix also wrote this: "Scouts love Brandon Ingram, the smooth Duke forward. They are tantalized by Skal Labissiere, the most skilled power prospect in the draft. But if they had No. 1? Simmons. Simmons. Simmons." 

A more traditional favorite might be Gonzaga senior Kyle Wiltjer, who has blossomed since his transfer from Kentucky. The forward averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last season, shooting 54.0 percent overall and 46.6 percent from long range. The Bulldogs have yet to make their season debut—their opener against Pitt in Japan was canceled at halftime because of unsafe playing conditions—but Wiltjer is expected to take on an even larger role this year.

Seniors—Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and Creighton's Doug McDermott—won the last two Wooden Awards. Twenty-four seniors and seven juniors have captured the trophy since its inception in 1976-77. Only eight times has an underclassman won it, though freshmen and sophomores have claimed six of the 13 awards since 2003.

Player	School	Position
Grayson Allen	Duke	G
Zach Auguste	Notre Dame	F
Ron Baker	Wichita State	G
DeAndre' Bembry	St. Joseph's	F
James Blackmon Jr.	Indiana	G
Malcolm Brogdon	Virginia	G
Jaylen Brown	Cal	F
Jalen Brunson	Villanova	G
Kyle Collinsworth	BYU	G
Kellen Dunham	Butler	G
Kris Dunn	Providence	G
Perry Ellis	Kansas	F
Yogi Ferrell	Indiana	G
Rico Gathers	Baylor	F
Anthony Gill	Virginia	F
Daniel Hamilton	UConn	G/F
A.J. Hammons	Purdue	C
Nigel Hayes	Wisconsin	F
Buddy Hield	Oklahoma	G
Danuel House	Texas A&M	G
Brandon Ingram	Duke	G/F
Demetrius Jackson	Notre Dame	G
Brice Johnson	North Carolina	F
Damian Jones	Vanderbilt	C
Bronson Koenig	Wisconsin	G
Skal Labissierie	Kentucky	F
Jake Layman	Maryland	F
Caris LeVert	Michigan	G
Nic Moore	SMU	G
Monte Morris	Iowa State	G
Jamal Murray	Kentucky	G
Malik Newman	Mississippi State	G
Georges Niang	Iowa State	F
Marcus Paige	North Carolina	G
Gary Payton II	Oregon State	G
Jakob Poeltl	Utah	F
Taurean Prince	Baylor	F
Xavier Rathan-Mayes	Florida State	G
Domantas Sabonis	Gonzaga	F
Ben Simmons	LSU	F
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera	Georgetown	G
Kaleb Tarczewski	Arizona	C
Isaiah Taylor	Texas	G
Melo Trimble	Maryland	G
Tyler Ulis	Kentucky	G
Denzel Valentine	Michigan State	G
Fred VanVleet	Wichita State	G
Tyrone Wallace	Cal	G
Troy Williams	Indiana	F
Kyle Wiltjer	Gonzaga	F