Press release:
Minnesota senior guard Kenisha Bell has been named to the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on the student-athletes' performances during the first half of the 2018-19 season, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the award that is given to the most outstanding collegiate basketball player.
Bell was one of three players named to the list who were not initially named to the Preseason Top 30 along with Kentucky's Rhyne Howard and Arizona's Aari McDonald.
A starter in all 15 games this season, Bell is leading the 18th-ranked Gophers by averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per contest this season. Her 6.5 rebounds per game rank second on the squad.
Nationally, she is one of the best at getting to the free throw line, ranking third in attempts (118) and 10th in makes (73). She also leads the Big Ten in steals (35), steals per game and free throw attempts, is second in field goals attempted (237), and ranks third in the conference in made free throws and scoring average.
Bell has a team-best seven games this year with at least 20 points, including a season-high 28 points against Rhode Island on Dec. 22. She also has two double-doubles this year thanks to a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against Wisconsin on Dec. 28 and a 14-point, 11-rebound effort versus Illinois on Jan. 6.
The players on the midseason watch list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 in early February. From there, 15 players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be submitted to voters on the Final Ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. A player does not need to be on the preseason or midseason watch lists to make it on to the Final Ballot.
The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, while the winner of the 2019 John R. Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 12.
Minnesota senior guard Kenisha Bell has been named to the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on the student-athletes' performances during the first half of the 2018-19 season, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the award that is given to the most outstanding collegiate basketball player.
Bell was one of three players named to the list who were not initially named to the Preseason Top 30 along with Kentucky's Rhyne Howard and Arizona's Aari McDonald.
A starter in all 15 games this season, Bell is leading the 18th-ranked Gophers by averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per contest this season. Her 6.5 rebounds per game rank second on the squad.
Nationally, she is one of the best at getting to the free throw line, ranking third in attempts (118) and 10th in makes (73). She also leads the Big Ten in steals (35), steals per game and free throw attempts, is second in field goals attempted (237), and ranks third in the conference in made free throws and scoring average.
Bell has a team-best seven games this year with at least 20 points, including a season-high 28 points against Rhode Island on Dec. 22. She also has two double-doubles this year thanks to a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against Wisconsin on Dec. 28 and a 14-point, 11-rebound effort versus Illinois on Jan. 6.
The players on the midseason watch list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 in early February. From there, 15 players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be submitted to voters on the Final Ballot prior to the NCAA Tournament. A player does not need to be on the preseason or midseason watch lists to make it on to the Final Ballot.
The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, while the winner of the 2019 John R. Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 12.
