Nick KrugKansas University junior forward Marcus Morris has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday.
Morris, 6-foot-9 from Philadelphia, earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season after averaging 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
“It’s always nice to hear your name on a list with a lot of great players, but this list is based on what we have done in the past,” Morris said Monday. “We’re getting ready for the season and have a lot of great players on our team that are just as worthy as I am to be on a list like this.”
Other Big 12 players on the Wooden list: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor; Alec Burks, Cory Higgins, Colorado; Jacob Pullen, Kansas State; Kim English, Missouri; and Jordan Hamilton, Texas.
Also: Ty Abbott, Arizona State; Lavoy Allen, Temple; Kevin Anderson, Richmond; Talor Battle, Penn State; Kenny Boynton, Florida; William Buford, Ohio State; Randy Culpepper, UTEP; Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech; Corey Fisher, Villanova; Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Austin Freeman, Georgetown; Ashton Gibbs, Pitt; Steven Gray, Gonzaga; Elias Harris, Gonzaga; Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall; John Henson, North Carolina; Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA; Robbie Hummel, Purdue; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Kris Joseph, Syracuse; Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State; Jon Leuer, Wisconsin; Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Shelvin Mack, Butler; Demetri McCarney, Illinois State; E’Twaun Moore, Purdue; John Shurna, Northwestern; Kyle Singler, Duke; Chris Singleton, Florida State; Nolan Smith, Duke; Tracy Smith, North Carolina State; Durrell Summers, Michigan State; Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt; Isaiah Thomas, Washington; Trey Thompkins, Georgia; Klay Thompson, Washington State; Joe Trapani, Boston College; Brandon Triche, Syracuse; Nikola Vucevic, USC; Kemba Walker, UConn; Derrick Williams, Arizona; Jordan Williams, Maryland; Chris Wright, Dayton.
Kansas’ Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins made the Wooden preseason top 50 list last fall. Collins was one of five finalists and named Wooden All-American. There will be a midseason list in December and the official voting ballot of 20 players in March.
Twins to visit: Twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison, the No. 1- and 10-ranked players in the Class of 2013, will attend KU’s Oct. 15 Late Night in the Phog as part of an unofficial recruiting visit, Rivals.com reports.
The 6-5 guards are sophomores at Fort Bend (Texas) High. The two, who will attend the same college, have made unofficial visits to Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor.
Seniors to attend Late Night: No. 4-rated LeBryan Nash, 6-7 forward, Dallas Lincoln High; No. 17 Ben McLemore, 6-5 combo guard, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va.; No. 76 Angelo Chol, 6-8 center, San Diego’s Hoover High.
Juniors to attend: No. 84 Zach Peters, 6-9 center, Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, Texas, who has committed to KU; No. 27 Shaquille Cleare, 6-9 center, The Woodlands High, Houston; No. 29 Marcus Paige, 6-0, point guard, Linn Marr Community School, Marion, Iowa; No. 38-Nino Jackson, 6-2 shooting guard, Ardmore (Okla.) High.
Sophomores to attend: No. 3-ranked Julius Randle, 6-8, Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano Texas; Travis Jorgenson, 5-10 point guard, Rock Bridge High, Columbia, Mo., Ishmael Wainright, 6-5 forward, Raytown (Mo.) South.
