Gonzaga striker Corey Kispert and Baylor guard Jared Butler, who will try to lead their teams to the Elite Eight this weekend, were one of five finalists announced Friday for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award .
Kispert and Butler are the only two active players in the NCAA tournament to compete for the Wood, awarded annually to the best college basketball player. Kispert and Gonzaga will face Creighton on Sunday in the Sweet 16’s West region, and Butler and Baylor will face Villanova on Saturday in the southern region.
The other three 2021 wooden finalists announced Saturday: Oklahoma State Guard Cade Cunningham, Illinois Guard Ayo Dosunmu, and Iowa Striker Luka Garza all saw their teams fall to the second round.
Kispert, the WCC player of the year, leads the undefeated Zags with 19.2 points per game, with 4.9 rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-7 senior shot 54.5% from the field, 90.1% from the free throw line and 45.8% from 3.
Butler, who has established himself as the country’s top junior, leads Baylor 24-2 with 16.9 points per game and 2.1 steals per game and is second on the team with 4.8 assists per outing.
Also Friday, 10 players were nominated for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s All American Team. The five Wood finalists mentioned above are joined by Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Evan Mobley (USC), Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) and Drew Timme (Gonzaga), all of whom appeared on Wood’s 15-player ballot. announced on March 6th.
Five players in the final vote were not named Wood finalists nor were they selected for the Wooden All American team: Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky, Collin Gillespie of Villanova and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana and EJ Liddell of Ohio State