NCAA News Wire
College basketball roundup: McDermott wins Wooden Award
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Creighton senior forward Doug McDermott won the Wooden Award as the national player of the year on Friday.
McDermott led the nation with an average of 26.7 points per game this season. He shot 52.6 percent, including 44.9 percent from 3-point range, and led the Bluejays to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. He also went over the 3,000 career points mark this season.
The Wooden Award adds to McDermott’s accolades. He was named the Associated Press player of the year Thursday. He became the first player named to AP’s All-American first team three straight seasons since Patrick Ewing and Wayman Tisdale in the 1980s.
McDermott was also awarded the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s player of the year award Friday. He received the honor from Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, whose name is on the award.
McDermott is the first senior to win the Wooden Award since BYU’s Jimmer Fredette in 2011.
— After two seasons as Tulsa’s coach, Danny Manning was hired by Wake Forest to take over its program.
Manning, who starred as a player at Kansas in the 1980s and spent 15 seasons in the NBA, brings name recognition to the Demon Deacons.
The 47-year-old was hired Friday after interviewing for the job earlier this week.
Manning went 38-29 with two postseason berths in his brief tenure at Tulsa.
The Wake Forest job opened up two weeks ago when Jeff Bzdelik resigned after four lackluster seasons. The Demon Deacons went 6-12 in the ACC this season.
—Wichita State sophomore guard Ron Baker is staying in school, according to ESPN.com.
Baker sent in an NBA draft evaluation form last week, but sources told ESPN.com that Baker decided to stay put.
Baker has established himself as one of the top guards in the country and has been a big part of the Shockers’ success the last two seasons, including their 34-0 run that gave them a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
