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Pili Named as Wooden Award Finalist
3/4/2023 9:55 AM | Women's Basketball
Utah junior forward Alissa Pili was named as a finalist on the national ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, which recognizes the outstanding player in college basketball. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on performance during the 2022-23 season thus far, the list was revealed live on ESPN on Saturday afternoon.
Pili is one of three players from Pac-12 schools on the list, joined by Stanford's Cameron Brink and Haley Jones. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2023 Wooden Award presented by Wendy's will be announced on March 29th.
Pili is the Pac-12 Player of the Year and is the leading scorer for the Utes, who are ranked No. 3 in this week's AP poll, Utah's highest ranking in program history. The Utes have a 25-4 overall record on the season and sit at No. 10 in the nation in winning percentage. Pili leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.3 points per game and ranks 18th nationally. Her shooting percentage of 59.9-percent is second in the Pac-12 and ranks 18th nationally.
The junior from Anchorage, Alaska (Dimond High School) has a streak of scoring 20 or more points in six consecutive games starting with her 27-point performance against Arizona on January 15 and ending with her season high of 30 points against Oregon on February 5. She is the first Ute to do so since 2009-10. Her back-to-back 28-point games in early December were the first consecutive games of 28 or more points by a Utah player since 2014, and she was the first Ute to do so in two road games since at least 1999-2000.
Pili recently topped the 1,000-career-point mark, bringing 795 points from USC (2019-22) before her transfer to Utah prior to the 2022-23 season.
Pili is one of three players from Pac-12 schools on the list, joined by Stanford's Cameron Brink and Haley Jones. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2023 Wooden Award presented by Wendy's will be announced on March 29th.
Pili is the Pac-12 Player of the Year and is the leading scorer for the Utes, who are ranked No. 3 in this week's AP poll, Utah's highest ranking in program history. The Utes have a 25-4 overall record on the season and sit at No. 10 in the nation in winning percentage. Pili leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.3 points per game and ranks 18th nationally. Her shooting percentage of 59.9-percent is second in the Pac-12 and ranks 18th nationally.
The junior from Anchorage, Alaska (Dimond High School) has a streak of scoring 20 or more points in six consecutive games starting with her 27-point performance against Arizona on January 15 and ending with her season high of 30 points against Oregon on February 5. She is the first Ute to do so since 2009-10. Her back-to-back 28-point games in early December were the first consecutive games of 28 or more points by a Utah player since 2014, and she was the first Ute to do so in two road games since at least 1999-2000.
Pili recently topped the 1,000-career-point mark, bringing 795 points from USC (2019-22) before her transfer to Utah prior to the 2022-23 season.
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