Jamont Gordon Named Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 Candidate
Mississippi State junior guard/forward Jamont Gordon has been selected as a midseason top 30 candidate for this year’s John R. Wooden Award, the nation’s most coveted college basketball award. The announcement was made this weekend by The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee.
The reigning SEC Player of the Week as well as National Player of the Week by The Sporting News and FOX Sports for his pair of 24-point performances a week ago, Gordon currently ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring (17.6 ppg), fifth in assists (4.4 apg) and tied for 13th in rebounding (6.3 rpg) in all games. In conference action, Gordon stands eighth in field-goal percentage (.508), seventh in three-point percentage (.429) and 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.36).
With his 13-point effort in Saturday’s 88-68 home win over Mississippi, Gordon moved into 10th place on MSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,308 career points. A native of Nashville, Gordon also stands fifth on the school’s all-time list with 399 career assists and 18th with 572 career rebounds. During his 84-game MSU playing career (all starts), Gordon is averaging 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per outing. He has now scored in double figures in 75 of 84 career games with 19 efforts of 20 or more points (eight this season) and 11 career double-doubles, including last year’s triple-double against Vanderbilt.
Gordon, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, becomes the third Mississippi State player in the last six years to make the Wooden Midseason Top 30. He joins two-time selection and 2003-04 Wooden Award First Team All-American Lawrence Roberts and 2002-03 midseason recipient Mario Austin. This year, Gordon joins fellow SEC standouts Chris Lofton of Tennessee and Vanderbilt’s Shan Foster on the midseason list.
The Wooden Award national ballot will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee. More than 1,000 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from across the nation, will then cast their votes to determine both the 10-member All-American Team and Player of the Year. The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced in late March.
