Wink Adams is on Wooden Award list

By Rob Miech

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008 | 9:33 a.m.

UNLV senior guard Wink Adams is on the list of 50 John Wooden Award candidates.

Adams, who was selected as the Mountain West Conference's preseason co-player of the year, was a first-team All-MWC selection last season and was the 2008 MWC Tournament's MVP.

Adams helped the Rebels (27-8) win at least one game in a second consecutive NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

Adams led UNLV in scoring last season and was third in the MWC with a career-high 16.9 points per game average. He scored in double figures in 32 of UNLV's 35 games. He tallied at least 20 points in 12 games.

Adams, who has appeared in 102 games in his UNLV career, has scored 1,432 career points, which ranks 14th all-time at UNLV and seventh in MWC history.

He also ranks fourth all-time at UNLV with 169 career 3-pointers made and fifth in steals with 170.

Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, last year's Wooden Award winner, returns to Chapel Hill for his final collegiate season and has a chance to become only the second repeat men's Wooden Award winner. Ralph Sampson of Virginia won the Award twice, in 1982 and 1983. Other returning Wooden All-Americans include Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody and Davidson guard Stephen Curry.

Returning players from last year's Wooden Award ballot, in addition to the three All-Americans above, include UCLA's Darren Collison, Connecticut's A.J. Price, Tennessee's Tyler Smith and Robbie Hummel of Purdue.

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason list.

The Midseason Top 30 list will be released in mid-January, followed by the National Ballot in March, which will consist of approximately 20 names. The Wooden Award All-American team will be announced during the NCAA Tournament's second weekend, with the individual honors to be given at the 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in April.

The only previous Rebel to win the award was Larry Johnson in 1991.

The Rebels take on Washburn in an exhibition contest Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center at 7:30 p.m. The season officially opens next Saturday, Nov. 15, against San Diego at 2:30 p.m. at the Mack.

Here is a full list of the 2008-09 Wooden Award preseason candidates (listed alphabetically)

A.J. Abrams 5-11 G Sr. Texas

Wink Adams 6-0 G Sr. UNLV

DeJuan Blair 6-7 F So. Pittsburgh

Jon Brockman 6-7 F Sr. Washington

Derrick Brown 6-8 F Jr. Xavier

Chase Budinger 6-7 F Jr. Arizona

Nick Calathes 6-6 G/F So. Florida

Dionte Christmas 6-5 G Sr. Temple

Earl Clark 6-9 G/F Jr. Louisville

Sherron Collins 5-11 G Jr. Kansas

Darren Collison 6-0 G Sr. UCLA

Lee Cummard 6-7 G Sr. BYU

Stephen Curry * 6-3 G Jr. Davidson

Devan Downey 5-9 G Jr. South Carolina

Robert Dozier 6-9 F Sr. Memphis

Wayne Ellington 6-4 G Jr. North Carolina

Jonny Flynn 6-0 G So. Syracuse

Taj Gibson 6-9 F Jr. USC

Blake Griffin 6-10 F So. Oklahoma

Tyler Hansbrough ! *^ 6-9 F Sr. North Carolina

Luke Harangody * 6-8 F Jr. Notre Dame

James Harden 6-4 G So. Arizona State

Gerald Henderson 6-4 G/F Jr. Duke

Lester Hudson 6-2 G Sr. Tennessee Martin

Robbie Hummel 6-8 F So. Purdue

Stefon Jackson 6-5 G Sr. UTEP

Dominic James 5-11 G Sr. Marquette

Damion James 6-7 G/F Jr. Texas

Curtis Jerrells 6-1 G Sr. Baylor

James Johnson 6-8 F So. Wake Forest

Marcus Landry 6-7 F Sr. Wisconsin

Ty Lawson 5-11 G Jr. North Carolina

Eric Maynor 6-2 G Sr. VCU

Jack McClinton 6-1 G Sr. University of Miami

Jerel McNeal 6-3 G Sr. Marquette

Patrick Mills 6-0 G So. Saint Mary's

Raymar Morgan 6-7 F Jr. Michigan State

A.J. Ogilvy 6-11 C So. Vanderbilt

Jeremy Pargo 6-2 G Sr. Gonzaga

Patrick Patterson 6-8 F So. Kentucky

A.J. Price 6-2 G Sr. Connecticut

Scottie Reynolds 6-2 G Jr. Villanova

Tyrese Rice 6-1 G Sr. Boston College

Kyle Singler 6-8 F So. Duke

Tyler Smith 6-7 F Jr. Tennessee

DaJuan Summers 6-8 F Jr. Georgetown

Hasheem Thabeet 7-3 C Jr. Connecticut

Robert Vaden 6-5 G/F Sr. UAB

Terrence Williams 6-6 F Sr. Louisville

Sam Young 6-6 F Jr. Pittsburgh