College Basketball's Wooden Award: Here Are the Top 10 Candidates

The Wooden Award. Along with the Naismith Award, the college basketball version of the Heisman Trophy. Named for Coach John Wooden who is the most decorated coach in the game's history, the Wooden award is one of sport's most prestigious awards.

Past winners include basketball icons such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and David Robinson. Recent winners include current NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Tim Duncan, Andrew Bogut and Tyler Hansbrough.

This year's crop of contenders is talented. The competition is also wide open. The favorite last week may not be this week. But he might be next week.

Here are what I believe are the top ten right now

Adrian Oliver

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SEATTLE - MARCH 3: Lorenzo Mata #14 (R) of the UCLA Bruins fights for the ball against Adrian Oliver #2 of the Washington Huskies at Edmundson Pavilion March 3, 2007 in Seattle, Washington. The Huskies defeated the Bruins 61-51. (Photo by Otto Greule

Oliver, the former Washington Husky is having a phenomenal year for San Jose State. He is third in the nation in scoring at 24 points per game. He also averages five rebounds and three assists. Unfortunately, the Spartans don't have much to go with him.

Jordan Hamilton

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NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 19: Jordan Hamilton #3 of the Texas Longhorns shoots around Talib Zanna #42 of the Pittsburgh Panthers during the Championship game of the 2k Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 19, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo

Hamilton is Texas' leading scorer at 19 points per game and third with seven rebounds per game. He has led Texas to a 14-3 start.

JaJuan Johnson

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - JANUARY 09: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Mackey Arena on January 9, 2011 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won 75-52. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

Johnson's 20 points and over eight rebounds per game got the Boilers off to a 5-1 start. They have slipped to 15-3 this week. If they can rebound and beat the Buckeyes, Spartans and Badgers, look for him to be a strong contender.

Marcus Morris

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LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 15: Marcus Morris #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks dunks during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on January 15, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Marcus is not only the Jayhawks' leading scorer at 16 points per game, but he has a duplicate who averages another 13.

Twin brother Markeiff is also averaging over eight rebounds per game to go along with his brother's seven. Pretty good production came from mom's delivery room the day they were born—30 points and 16 boards worth.

Kawhi Leonard

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PROVIDENCE, RI - MARCH 18: Kawhi Leonard #15 of the San Diego State Axtecs reacts against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Dunkin' Donuts Center on March 18, 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island.

This year's feel good story is San Diego State.

Coming off the first bowl victory in about a half century, the basketball team is tearing it up out west. The Aztecs are led by Leonard who averages 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. Currently, the Aztecs are 19-0 at sit at No. 6 in the polls.

Kris Joseph

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NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Kris Joseph #32 of Syracuse Orange lays the ball up against the Michigan State Spartans during their game at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The Big East again is the toughest league in the nation.

Syracuse is currently its toughest team. They are 18-0 and ranked fourth. Joseph is their leader in scoring with 15 points and five rebounds per game. The Cuse is talented and spread the wealth around, so Joseph's stats may not be as sexy sounding as the rest of the candidates. But he is a player.

Kyle Singler

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PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 27: Kyle Singler #12 of the Duke Blue Devils walks on the court against the Oregon Ducks on November 27, 2010 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Already with an NCAA Championship ring, this guy is an assassin from the field. Give him a little room and he will hit it from anywhere.

He is averaging 18 points and six rebounds per game and is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. A strong case could also be made for his teammate, Nolan Smith, averaging 20 a game and five boards.

Jared Sullinger

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COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 26: Jared Sullinger #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks to the basket against the Miami RedHawks at Value City Arena on November 26, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won 66-45. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

If he wants this award, he better win it now. Why? This guy is going to be getting paid to play next year.

He is a monster. He is turning Ohio State into a basketball school and a National Title contender. He scores over 17 per game and grabs 10 rebounds.

Kemba Walker

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PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 27: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies drives to the basket against Ashton Gibbs #12 of the Pittsburgh Panthers at Petersen Events Center on December 27, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Gett

Walker turned a rather overlooked UConn squad into a contender when he went off in the Maui Classic.

He has led the nation in scoring most of the year and has kept the Huskies near the top of the rankings. He averages an eye-popping 25 points per game. He also grabs five rebounds per game.

Jimmer Fredette

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 05: Jimmer Fredette #32 of the Brigham Young University Cougars shoots a technical free throw during a game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center January 5, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. BYU won 89-77. (Photo by Ethan

Jimmer Fredette is the No. 1 candidate at this point.

He averages 26 points per game and has Brigham Young ranked 11th with a 17-1 record. He recently scored 32 points against rival Utah—in the first half.

Plus you gotta like a name like Jimmer.