LOS ANGELES – Arizona State men's basketball remains in the national conversation Thursday as senior standout guard Tra Holder was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 on ESPN.com.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the first half of the 2017-18 season, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor. Holder made his debut on the list after not being named on the Preseason Top 50.
The number of potential candidates for the 2018 Wooden Award will be reduced to 20 players in early February before 15 top players are submitted to voters on the Final Ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. The ten-man Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight while the winner of the 2018 Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 6, 2018.
Holder has been exceptional all season long, leading the Sun Devils in scoring averaging 21.4 points per game. His senior campaign began turning heads with a 40-point performance at the Las Vegas Invitational against then-No. 15 Xavier. Holder's scoring ability has led Arizona State to six of the program's top-10 scoring halves in program history, all of which have occurred this season.
Holder has recorded 28 20+ point games in his career as a Sun Devil, moving him into the top-10 of the Sun Devil record book for career points. He currently holds 1,536 points to his name at No. 10 on the list, and could very well move up to No. 5 by the end of the season.
The John R. Wooden Award was created in 1976 and is considered the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best basketball player at an NCAA Division I university who also demonstrates progress towards graduation by maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the first half of the 2017-18 season, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor. Holder made his debut on the list after not being named on the Preseason Top 50.
Tra Holder named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. #GoDevils pic.twitter.com/RiP2qhIgHW
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 11, 2018
The number of potential candidates for the 2018 Wooden Award will be reduced to 20 players in early February before 15 top players are submitted to voters on the Final Ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. The ten-man Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight while the winner of the 2018 Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 6, 2018.
Holder has been exceptional all season long, leading the Sun Devils in scoring averaging 21.4 points per game. His senior campaign began turning heads with a 40-point performance at the Las Vegas Invitational against then-No. 15 Xavier. Holder's scoring ability has led Arizona State to six of the program's top-10 scoring halves in program history, all of which have occurred this season.
Holder has recorded 28 20+ point games in his career as a Sun Devil, moving him into the top-10 of the Sun Devil record book for career points. He currently holds 1,536 points to his name at No. 10 on the list, and could very well move up to No. 5 by the end of the season.
The John R. Wooden Award was created in 1976 and is considered the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best basketball player at an NCAA Division I university who also demonstrates progress towards graduation by maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.