KU, Kentucky each place four players on Wooden Award preseason top 50 list

Kansas and Kentucky, meeting Tuesday in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis, led the Wooden Award preseason top 50 list announced Monday. The Jayhawks and Wildcats each placed four players on the list.

The Jayhawks’ Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, Jr., Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre Jr., were chosen. From Kentucky: Willie Cauley-Stein, who played at Olathe Northwest, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Also on the list are Kansas State’s Marcus Foster and Wichita State’s Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.

Alexander, Oubre and Towns are among seven freshmen on the list.

Also from the Big 12: Texas’ Isaiah Taylor and freshmen Myles Turner, Iowa State’s Georges Niang and West Virginia’s Juwan Staten.

The SEC had seven. In addition to the Kentucky players, Arkansas’ Bobby Portis, LSU’s Jordan Mickey and Florida’s Michael Frazier II made the list.

The list will be reduced to 25 in January and the finalists announced in March. Players not included on the preseason list can be included in later rounds.

This story was originally published November 17, 2014 at 4:01 PM with the headline "KU, Kentucky each place four players on Wooden Award preseason top 50 list."