Three Bulldogs land on Wooden Award finalist list

LOS ANGELES – Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs and Drew Timme were named to the 2021 Men’s National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday on ESPN’s College GameDay.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student- athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

Kispert, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, is a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award for the second straight season. He currently leads the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.50 points per game. He is shooting a phenomenal 55.6 percent from the field, which is second in the conference. The senior is second in the league making 2.83 three-pointers per game at a WCC-best 46.3 percentage, which is fourth in the nation. He is fourth in the conference shooting 64.9 percent inside-the-arc. Kispert is first in the WCC with an 88.9 free-throw percentage. He has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season, reaching 20 points 11 times. The Edmonds, Wash., native, boasts a 119-10 career record in games he’s appeared in. He has the highest winning percentage in Div. 1 over the last 25 years for at least 100 appearances. He’s scored 1,459 points in career, and is sixth in GU history with 247 three-pointers. Kispert received First Team All-WCC honors for the second straight season.

Suggs is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. He leads the West Coast Conference in steals per game (2.00). The freshman is also fourth in the WCC in assists per game (4.55), fourth in field goal percentage (50.5 percent), and 11th in scoring (13.91). He’s been named the WCC Freshman of the Week 10 times this season. Suggs was named the league’s Player of the Week after scoring a season-high 27 points in a win over then-ranked No. 3 Iowa. The West Saint Paul, Minn., native, has scored in double digits 16 times, dished out at least five assists in 12 games and made three or more steals in seven games.

Timme, a First Team All-Conference selection, is a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. He is second in the conference in scoring at 18.92 points per game, at a league-leading 65.1 percent from the field, which is fourth in the country. He is third in the WCC making 67.1 percent from inside-the-arc. His 7.08 rebounds per game is also third in the conference. He has started all 24 games for GU, scoring in double digits 23 times. Timme also has a team-high 11 20-point games this season, including a career-high 29 versus Virginia. He was WCC All-Freshman Team in 2020-21.

All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

Voting will take place from March 15 to March 22, and voters take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2021 Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s will be announced on March 26.

2020-21 Wooden Award Ballot

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