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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The John Wooden Award announced on Tuesday its Preseason Top 50, which includes University of Iowa senior Peter Jok. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.
Jok (6-foot-6, 205 pounds) ranks first on the team in scoring, averaging 20 points through two games. He is also averaging five rebounds and three assists. Jok was named to the preseason 10-player All-Big Ten first team, while also being named to the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and 2017 Naismith Trophy watch lists.
Jok was a second-team all-conference honoree a year ago as a junior, helping the Hawkeyes to a third place Big Ten finish and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Jok ranked second on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and steals (40), and first in 3-pointers made (80) and free throw accuracy (.852, 92-of-108) as a junior. Jok boosted his scoring average by 9.1 points from his sophomore to junior seasons.
Last March, Iowa senior Jarrod Uthoff advanced to the Wooden Award national ballot.
The Top 50 nominees represent 10 conferences. The ACC leads all conferences with 12 selections, followed by the Big Ten (10), Pac-12 (7), Big 12 (6), Big East (5), SEC (5). The Atlantic 10 Conference has two selections and the Horizon League, The American and WCC each have one selection.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2017 John Wooden Award All-America Team. Players not chosen to the preseason list are eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players, who have been qualified as meeting the standards set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee. Voting will open prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2017 John Wooden Award will be announced during the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy’s on April 7, 2017.
Jok and his Iowa teammates return to action on Thursday, hosting Seton Hall in the second annual Gavitt Games. Tipoff is set for 8:06 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are available for $28 for adults, $15 for UI students and youth, and FREE for UI Faculty and Staff.
