Race for Wooden Award Is Going Down to Final Buzzer

The race for the 27th John R. Wooden Award could be as down-to-the-wire close as last Monday’s national title game.

“It’s a tough call and I like that,” Wooden Award Chairman Duke Llewellyn said Friday. “Many years it’s almost apparent who it’s going to be, but not this year.”

Waiting anxiously for today’s envelope opening at the L.A. Athletic Club will be Kansas forward Nick Collison, Oklahoma guard Hollis Price, Xavier forward David West, Texas guard T.J. Ford and Marquette guard Dwyane Wade.

The ceremony will be televised at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 2.

West and Ford have won most of the player-of-the-year awards to date, but the Wooden Award balloting continues through the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, allowing for late-season player surges.

Wade, for example, led Marquette to the Final Four with probably the top single-game performance in the tournament -- a triple-double against Kentucky in the Midwest Regional final -- and Collision was rock-steady in guiding Kansas to the national title game.

Conspicuously missing from today’s Final Five is Syracuse freshman forward Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to the national title and is arguably the nation’s best college player.

Syracuse, however, could not certify that Anthony had a 2.0 grade-point average and was making progress toward a degree and thus he could not be considered a Wooden Award candidate.

A subplot of today’s award will be continued speculation regarding Kansas Coach Roy Williams, in town on behalf of Collison and to receive the Legends of Coaching award.

Williams has acknowledged having discussions with North Carolina about its coaching vacancy and the parties have agree to continue talks through the weekend.

Some have jokingly asked Llewellyn whether Williams would receive his award as the Kansas or North Carolina coach.

“Remember, that award was announced last September,” Llewellyn said. “He was with Kansas when he won the award and he’ll be with Kansas when he gets it.”