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Vanderbilt’s Freije Listed Among John Wooden Award’s Midseason Top 30 College Basketball Players 1/26/2004
Vanderbilt’s Freije Listed Among John Wooden Award’s Midseason Top 30 College Basketball Players Vanderbilt senior forward Matt Freije was among 30 college basketball players recently announced to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 list. Freije, the 2004 Preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, leads the Commodores and ranks third in the league with 18.0 points a game. He also ranks fourth in the SEC in free throw shooting at 83.7 percent (77-of-92). He has led Vanderbilt to a 13-3 overall record and 2-3 SEC mark entering the week. The Commodores won 12 consecutive games to begin the season — their best start in school history — and maintained a top 25 ranking in the Associated Press Poll the past five weeks. Freije grabbed his 500th career rebound Saturday at Arkansas to become only the sixth player in school history to achieve 1,500 points and 500 rebounds. He currently ranks eighth on Vanderbilt’s career scoring list with 1,572 points. He also ranks among the top 10 players in school history in six other categories. The native of Overland Park, Kan., has scored in all of his 104 games played as a Commodore and has recorded double-figure point totals in 79 contests. The John R. Wooden Award Committee bases the Midseason Top 30 on individual player performance and team records through the early part of the season. Players who do not make the list are still eligible for consideration for the Wooden Award. After each school accredits their respective athlete(s) and ensures they meet the academic requirements, the Committee will pare the list down to a ballot consisting of approximately 20 players. The official ballot will be released in early March. The 2004 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Team, the inaugural Women’s Wooden Award and the presentation of the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday, April 10, 2004 and will be broadcast live on a CBS telecast. The All-American Team will be announced on March 30, 2003 and the top five candidates will be invited to Los Angeles for the Awards ceremony. Each finalist will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university’s general scholarship fund. A complete listing of the John R. Wooden Award Top 30 candidates is available at www.woodenaward.com. -VU- |
