|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Men’s Basketball: Payton Named To Wooden Award Watch ListBrian McCann, Sports Information Director, November 13, 2013 Contact: Brian McCann LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Elfrid Payton, who earned a gold medal playing with the USA Basketball U19 team at the FIBA World Championships and is a preseason first team All-Sun Belt Choice this year, has been named to the 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Payton, the only Sun Belt player on the list, joins Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early as the only mid-major student-athletes honored. "I am excited that Elfrid has been included among the 50 players nominated for the John Wooden Award, representing the top collegiate basketball player in the country," Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said. "Elfrid has worked hard and made great strides each year. Playing for the USA Basketball U19 team and winning the World Championship this summer was a great confidence builder for him." Payton, a 6-3, 190-pound point guard from Gretna, La., has started his senior season out strong, averaging 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.5 steals to help the Cajuns open the season with consecutive wins for the first time since 2000-01. He is shooting .593 from the field (16-27). Payton recorded his fourth career double-double in the season opener against Louisiana College, scoring 21 points with a career-high matching 10 assists. He came back on Tuesday night to tally 22 points with five steals against McNeese State. The 2012-13 seaon proved to be a breakout year for Payton. He averaged a team-best 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He finished the year leading the Sun Belt in both steals and assists, ranking 12th nationally in steals and 38th in assists. He was also fourth in the league in scoring. A starter in all 33 games, Payton ranked third in school history with 80 steals last year while his 181 assists were fourth-best. Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ’11). Michigan’s Trey Burke won the 2013 Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s. Joining Payton on the list are five of his USA Basketball teammates from this summer, Aaron Gordon (Arizona), Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), Jarnell Stokes (Tennessee) and Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke). The Complete list of honorees follows: Jordan Adams, UCLA
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
