Michigan star freshman Hunter Dickinson was one of three new names added to the updated watch list for the 2021 Wooden Award, which was also reduced from 25 players to 20 on Monday.
Dickinson has been a revelation for a Michigan team that is an impressive 13-1 and finds itself atop the rugged Big Ten as February begins. The 7-foot-1 native of Alexandria, Virginia, leads the Wolverines with 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on the season, while shooting 68.8% from the field.
Also added to Monday’s Wooden revision were Pittsburgh forward Justin Champagnie, who leads the ACC in both points (20.1 per game) and rebounds (12.1 per game), as well as Houston guard Quentin Grimes, the former Kansas transfer who has the Cougars in the top five on the strength of his 16.8 points per game.
The widely acknowledged favorite for Wooden honors remains Iowa forward Luka Garza, the runner-up for last year’s honor who is averaging a nation’s-best 26.4 points to go with 8.6 rebounds per game in 2020-21.
Eight players were trimmed from the watch list since the 25-player midseason announcement: Scottie Barnes, Florida State; Garrison Brooks, North Carolina; Derek Culver, West Virginia; John Fulkerson, Tennessee; Sam Hauser, Virginia: Matthew Hurt, Duke; Remy Martin, Arizona State and Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton.
A complete look at the Wooden Top 20:
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky (6-11, Jr., C)
James Bouknight, Connecticut (6-5, Soph., G)
Jared Butler, Baylor (6-3 , Jr., G)
Marcus Carr, Minnesota (6-2, Jr., G)
Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh (6-6, Soph., F)
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois (7-0, Soph., C)
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (6-8, Fr., G)
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (7-1, Fr., C)
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois (6-5, Jr., G)
Luka Garza, Iowa (6-11, Sr., C)
Collin Gillespie, Villanova (6-3, Sr., G)
Quentin Grimes, Houston (6-5, Jr., G)
Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers (6-6, Jr., G/F)
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (6-9, Soph., F)
Carlik Jones, Louisville (6-1, Sr., G)
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (6-7, Sr., F)
Evan Mobley, USC (7-0, Fr., F)
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova (6-9, Soph., F)
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga (6-4, Fr., G)
Drew Timme, Gonzaga (6-10, Soph., F)