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Simmons, Hield headline Wooden Award Top 20 list

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A shortlist of 20 players headlined by LSU’s Ben Simmons and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield was released for this season’s John R. Wooden Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Wednesday.

John R. Wooden Award is considered the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball for the nation’s best player. Last year’s award was won by Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin.

The list will later be cut to 15 players. Voters can take the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament into consideration while casting their ballot.

A 10-man Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight.

The full list of finalists is below.

Grayson Allen (Duke)
Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia)
Kris Dunn (Providence)
Perry Ellis (Kansas)
Kay Felder (Oakland)
Yogi Ferrell (Indiana)
Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
Brice Johnson (North Carolina)
Damion Lee (Louisville)
Nic Moore (SMU)
Georges Niang (Iowa State)
Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
Jakob Poeltl (Utah)
Ben Simmons (LSU)
Melo Trimble (Maryland)
Tyler Ulis (Kentucky)
Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa)
Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
Fred Van Vleet (Wichita State)
Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga)

The award will be presented during a ceremony April 8.