2011-2012 John R. Wooden Award Final Ballot Announced

RIVERS (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The 15 Finalists for the John R. Wooden Award were announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on ESPN.com at 11am EST this morning. The National Ballot, consisting of these top players, will be mailed to Wooden Award voters this week.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the ballot is made up of 15 student-athletes who are the front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. Voting begins March 12th.

All 15 players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA, an important component of the Award insisted upon by Coach Wooden.  The John R. Wooden Award All American Teams will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament, making the Wooden Award unique among college postseason awards.

Voters have until Monday, March 19 at Noon PDT to return their ballots, allowing them to take into consideration performance during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Freshly minted ACC Player Of The Year Tyler Zeller of North Carolina and Austin Rivers of Duke represent the ACC on the final ballot. Rivers is one of three freshmen to make the cut. 

The 36th annual Wooden Award Gala, will take place on Friday, April 6, 2012 after the winner is announced on ESPN the weekend of the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana.

To see all the finalists, click here.