Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin, Delon Wright of Utah, D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State and Breanna Stewart of Connecticut are among the student athletes to receive an award during the inaugural College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s on ESPN2 Friday, April 10, at 8 p.m. ET at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams hosted the one-hour program celebrating college basketball’s top players and coach with the live announcement of eight post-season honors.
The College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s – in coordination with the Los Angeles Athletic Club and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – included the exclusive presentation of the prestigious John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s, John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award presented by College of the Holy Cross as well as four new positional honors created and managed by the Basketball Hall of Fame: Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award presented by University of Massachusetts, Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award presented by cConnects and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award presented by Wells Fargo. The show also presented the previously announced 2015 Wooden Legends of Coaching Award to San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher.
- Kaminsky, a senior with the Wisconsin Badgers, is the only athlete to take home two awards, receiving the John R. Wooden Men’s Player of the Year Award and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. He is the first player from the program to win the Wooden Award, joining Devin Harris (2003-04) and Alando Tucker (2006-07) as the only other Badger finalists.
- Stewart, a junior with Connecticut who became the first three-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player in women’s NCAA history this week, claimed the John R. Wooden Women’s Player of the Year Award. She is the fourth Huskies athlete to win the award.
- Two top freshmen each received an award. Ohio State’s Russell, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year who led Division I freshmen in scoring with 19.3 points per game, captured the first Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Johnson, who led Arizona in scoring and rebounding with 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, was named winner of the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
- Wright, a senior out of Utah, was named the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year. He compiled a career 1,022 points, 397 rebounds, 352 assists, 155 steals and 77 blocks with the Utes.
- Harrell – a junior with Louisville who is one of the top five active players in the ACC in career scoring, rebounds and blocked shots – took home the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s Winners
| Award | Nominees (winner in bold) |
| John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s | Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky) |
| Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) | |
| Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) | |
| Jahlil Okafor (Duke) | |
| D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) | |
| John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year | Nina Davis (Baylor) |
| Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame) | |
| Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina) | |
| Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Connecticut) | |
| Breanna Stewart (Connecticut) | |
| John R. Wooden Award Legends of Coaching | Steve Fisher (San Diego State) |
| Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award presented by College of the Holy Cross | Tyus Jones (Duke) |
| T.J. McConnell (Arizona) | |
| Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga) | |
| Fred VanVleet (Wichita State) | |
| Delon Wright (Utah) | |
| Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award | Ron Baker (Wichita State) |
| Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) | |
| Tyler Haws (BYU) | |
| Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) | |
| D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) | |
| Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award presented by University of Massachusetts | Justin Anderson (Virginia) |
| Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) | |
| LaDontae Henton (Providence) | |
| Stanley Johnson (Arizona) | |
| Justise Winslow (Duke) | |
| Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award presented by cConnects | Perry Ellis (Kansas) |
| Montrezl Harrell (Louisville) | |
| David Laury (Iona) | |
| Georges Niang (Iowa State) | |
| Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga) | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award presented by Wells Fargo | Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky) |
| Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse) | |
| Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) | |
| Jahlil Okafor (Duke) | |
| Bobby Portis (Arkansas) |
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