Wooden Award Winner Will Be Named Today

Duke’s Elton Brand and Connecticut’s Richard Hamilton will meet again today when the John R. Wooden Award is presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Brand, already honored as the Associated Press college basketball player of the year, is expected to win this time after losing to Hamilton and the Huskies in the NCAA championship game Monday.

Dean Smith also will be honored, receiving the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s first Legends of Coaching Award. Smith won 879 games and two national championships at North Carolina before retiring in 1997.

Brand, a sophomore, averaged 17.7 points and 9.8 rebounds this season, but has not yet announced if he will return to Duke next season.

Hamilton, a junior who was chosen the outstanding player of the Final Four after scoring 27 points in the title game, is likely to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft.

The other finalists for the Wooden award, won by North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison last year, are Wally Szczerbiak from Miami of Ohio, Mateen Cleaves of Michigan State and Andre Miller of Utah.