LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Creighton guard Marcus Zegarowski has been named to the Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendys®. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Being named a Wooden Award candidate is the latest accolade for Zegarowski. The Hamilton, Mass., native already has been named the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and a Preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, Basketball Times, Associated Press and CBS Sports. He is also on the Naismith Trophy, NABC. Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch Lists this winter.
Zegarowski looks to build on his 16.1 points, 5.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game in 2019-20 and opened the with 12 points and six assists on Sunday vs. North Dakota State. The rising junior ranked third in the BIG EAST in assists per game (5.1), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.95), sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.42), sixth in points per game (16.1), sixth in minutes per game (34.6) and 11th in field goal percentage (.488).
He was named an All-American by NBC Sports, Stadium and the Associated Press after last season, when he helped Creighton to a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title and a No. 7 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 32 are upperclassmen, including 20 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with seven named to the list: Scottie Barnes (Florida State), Boston Jr. (Kentucky), Greg Brown (Texas), Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State), Johnson (Duke), Evan Mobley (USC), Williams (Stanford). The Preseason Top 50 represents 11 conferences. The Big Ten leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the ACC and SEC with seven apiece, the Big 12 and PAC-12 with 6 each, the Big East with four, the Atlantic 10 and WCC with three apiece, the American with two selections, and the Mountain West and Conference USA with one selection each.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Mens Player of the Year presented by Wendys. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendys following the NCAA Tournament in April.
Zegarowski marks the second straight season that Creighton has had a Preseason Wooden Award candidate, as he follows Ty-Shon Alexander from a year ago. Creightons lone recipient of the John R. Wooden Award® is Doug McDermott, who was recognized following the completion of the 2013-14 campaign.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (79), Michael Jordan (84), Tim Duncan (97), Kevin Durant (07), Candace Parker (07; 08), Maya Moore (09; 11), Chiney Ogwumike (14), Breanna Stewart (15 and 16) and last years recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendys Preseason Top 50
| Name | School | Conference | Height | Class | Position |
| Scottie Barnes | Florida State | ACC | 6-9 | Fr. | G |
| Charles Bassey | Western Kentucky | Conference USA | 6-11 | Jr. | C |
| Brandon Boston Jr. | Kentucky | SEC | 6-7 | Fr. | G |
| James Bouknight | Connecticut | Big East | 6-5 | So. | G |
| Garrison Brooks | North Carolina | ACC | 6-10 | Sr. | F |
| Greg Brown | Texas | Big 12 | 6-9 | Fr. | F |
| Jared Butler | Baylor | Big 12 | 6-3 | Jr. | G |
| Marcus Carr | Minnesota | Big Ten | 6-2 | Jr. | G |
| Kihei Clark | Virginia | ACC | 5-9 | Jr. | G |
| Kofi Cockburn | Illinois | Big Ten | 7-0 | So. | C |
| Jalen Crutcher | Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Cade Cunningham | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 6-8 | Fr. | G |
| Oscar da Silva | Stanford | PAC-12 | 6-9 | Sr. | F |
| Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois | Big Ten | 6-5 | Jr. | G |
| John Fulkerson | Tennessee | SEC | 6-9 | Sr. | F |
| Marcus Garrett | Kansas | Big 12 | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Luka Garza* | Iowa | Big Ten | 6-11 | Sr. | C |
| Collin Gillespie | Villanova | Big East | 6-3 | Sr. | G |
| Kellan Grady | Davidson | Atlantic 10 | 6-5 | Sr. | G |
| Ron Harper Jr. | Rutgers | Big Ten | 6-6 | Jr. | G/F |
| Sam Hauser | Virginia | ACC | 6-8 | Sr. | F |
| Joey Hauser | Michigan State | Big Ten | 6-9 | Jr. | F |
| Matthew Hurt | Duke | ACC | 6-9 | So. | F |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana | Big Ten | 6-9 | So. | F |
| David Johnson | Louisville | ACC | 6-5 | So. | G |
| Jalen Johnson | Duke | ACC | 6-9 | Fr. | F |
| Keyontae Johnson | Florida | SEC | 6-5 | Jr. | F |
| Corey Kispert | Gonzaga | WCC | 6-7 | Sr. | F |
| Isaiah Livers | Michigan | Big Ten | 6-7 | Sr. | F |
| Remy Martin | Arizona State | PAC-12 | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Caleb Mills | Houston | American | 6-3 | So. | G |
| Evan Mobley | USC | PAC-12 | 7-0 | Fr. | F |
| Landers Nolley II | Memphis | American | 6-7 | So. | G |
| Yves Pons | Tennessee | SEC | 6-6 | Sr. | G/F |
| Neemias Queta | Utah State | Mountain West | 7-0 | Jr. | C |
| Nate Reuvers | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 6-11 | Sr. | F |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | Villanova | Big East | 6-9 | So. | F |
| Colbey Ross | Pepperdine | WCC | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Fatts Russell | Rhode Island | Atlantic 10 | 5-10 | Sr. | G |
| Olivier Sarr | Kentucky | SEC | 7-0 | Sr. | F |
| Javonte Smart | LSU | SEC | 6-4 | Jr. | G |
| Chris Smith | UCLA | PAC-12 | 6-9 | Sr. | G |
| MaCio Teague | Baylor | Big 12 | 6-4 | Sr. | G |
| Drew Timme | Gonzaga | WCC | 6-10 | So. | F |
| Oscar Tshiebwe | West Virginia | Big 12 | 6-9 | So. | F |
| Trendon Watford | LSU | SEC | 6-9 | So. | F |
| Joe Wieskamp | Iowa | Big Ten | 6-6 | Jr. | G/F |
| Ziaire Williams | Stanford | PAC-12 | 6-8 | Fr. | F |
| McKinley Wright IV | Colorado | PAC-12 | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Marcus Zegarowski | Creighton | Big East | 6-2 | Jr. | G |
* indicates player selected as a 2019-20 Wooden Award All American
