Hill Named To Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team
8/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 2, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore Chris Hill (Indianapolis, Ind.) has been named to the Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team. The 6-foot-3 guard for the men's basketball team is one of 50 candidates selected based on last year's individual performance and team records. In being chosen, Hill is one of the early frontrunners for one of college basketball's most coveted trophies, the John R. Wooden Award.
"I'm completely surprised by this honor, but I take a lot of pride in it," said Hill. "It's a preseason honor, so it gives me something to work for during the season. If I can be on the list at the end of the year, that would mean that not only myself but my team had a great year."
"I am very excited for Chris," said MSU head coach Tom Izzo. "He came in last season as a freshman without many accolades. But he put in a lot of hard work and he did a very good job. It's good to see that he is getting some recognition. It's a start, but now he has to live up to the honor. Opponents will prepare for Chris more this season than they did in the past. It will be a new challenge for him, but I think he's ready for it."
Hill is one of five Big Ten student-athletes on the list and one of just four sophomores. Joining Hill from the conference are Illinois' Brian Cook, Indiana's Tom Coverdale, Purdue's Willie Deane and Wisconsin's Kirk Penney. Texas's T.J. Ford, Cincinnati's Jason Maxiel and Notre Dame's Chris Thomas are the other three sophomores.
Hill is the leading returning scorer for the 2002-03 Spartans, having averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman. He appeared in all 31 games, starting 12. A deadly long-range shooter, he led the Spartans in three-point field goals made and three-point field-goal percentage, shooting .446 (66-of-148) from behind the arc. He also established MSU freshman records for three-point field goals made and three-point field-goal attempts. His best game of the season was a 25-point effort vs. Minnesota on Jan. 5, when he started at point guard in place of an injured Marcus Taylor. On Aug. 8, Hill will travel to Germany with the Big Ten Foreign Tour Team.
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 university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan and last year's recipient, Jason Williams.
The 2003 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American team and the presentation of the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Sunday, April 13, 2003 and will be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net for the sixth-straight year.
Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team - Top 50 CandidatesMario Austin 6'9" Jr. F/C Mississippi StateMarcus Bailey 6'5" Sr. G/F WyomingTroy Bell 6'1" Sr. G Boston CollegeSteve Blake 6'3" Sr. G MarylandKeith Bogans 6'5" Sr. G KentuckyMatt Bonner 6'10" Sr. F FloridaNick Collison 6'9" Sr. F KansasBrian Cook 6'10" Sr. F IllinoisTom Coverdale 6'2" Sr. G IndianaWillie Deane 6'1" Sr. G PurdueErwin Dudley 6'8" Sr. F AlabamaChris Duhon 6'1" Jr. G DukeCarl English 6'5" Jr. G/F HawaiiEbi Ere 6'5" Sr. G OklahomaT.J. Ford 5'10" So. G TexasReece Gaines 6'6" Sr. G LouisvilleJason Gardner 5'11" Sr. G ArizonaMarcus Hatten 6'1" Sr. G St. John'sJarvis Hayes 6'6" Jr. G/F GeorgiaChris Hill 6'3" So. G Michigan StateKirk Hinrich 6'3" Sr. G KansasJosh Howard 6'6" Sr. F Wake ForestBrandon Hunter 6'7" Sr. F OhioLuke Jackson 6'7" Jr. G OregonBritton Johnsen 6'9" Sr. G UtahDahntay Jones 6'6" Sr. F DukeJason Kapono 6'7" Sr. F UCLABrandin Knight 6'0" Sr. G PittsburghChris Marcus 7'1" Sr. C/F Western KentuckyJason Maxiel 6'7" So. F CincinnatiBrett Nelson 6'3" Sr. G FloridaJameer Nelson 6'1" Jr. G St. Joseph'sEmeka Okafor 6'9" Jr. F/C ConnecticutUgonna Onyekwe 6'8" Sr. F PennsylvaniaRickey Paulding 6'5" Jr. G MissouriKirk Penney 6'5" Sr. G WisconsinHollis Price 6'1" Sr. G OklahomaJustin Reed 6'8" Jr. F MississippiDarius Rice 6'10" Jr. F MiamiLuke Ridnour 6'2" Jr. G OregonRomain Sato 6'5" Jr. G/F XavierTheron Smith 6'8" Sr. F Ball StateMike Sweetney 6'8" Jr. F GeorgetownChris Thomas 6'1" So. G Notre DameJames Thomas 6'8" Jr. C TexasCory Violette 6'8" Jr. F/C GonzagaDwyane Wade 6'4" Jr. G MarquetteLuke Walton * 6'8" Sr. F ArizonaTravis Watson 6'8" Sr. F/C VirginiaDavid West 6'8" Sr. F/C Xavier
* = Indicates player was a 2001-2002 John R. Wooden Award All-American.
