University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (photo by Don Liebig)
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
Jaquez Jr. Honored as Wooden Award All-America Selection
March 30, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has earned Wooden Award All-America honors, as announced on Thursday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Jaquez Jr., a senior 6-foot-7 guard/forward for the Bruins, joins nine other standout student-athletes on the Wooden Award's All-America Team as the top vote-getters in the quest to earn the 2023 John R. Wooden Award.
In addition to Jaquez Jr., this year's All-America selections include Zach Edey (Purdue), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Brandon Miller (Alabama), Jalen Pickett (Penn State), Marcus Sasser (Houston), Drew Timme (Gonzaga), Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona) and Jalen Wilson (Kansas).
The Wooden Award's five finalists this season are Zach Edey, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Marcus Sasser, Drew Timme and Jalen Wilson.
Jaquez Jr. had been named the Pac-12 Player of the Year earlier this month. He was honored as the Lute Olson National Player of the Year earlier on Thursday by CollegeInsider.com. Jaquez Jr. finished his senior season with averages of 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He ranked second in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.8 ppg), fourth in steals per game (1.5) and fifth in rebounding (8.2 rpg).
The Wooden Award has recognized 10 All-America selections each year since 2017. Jaquez Jr. has become the second UCLA player to earn this national honor, joining Lonzo Ball who was selected at the conclusion of his freshman year in 2017.
Jaquez Jr. finished the 2022-23 campaign with a season-high 29 points and had 11 rebounds in the Bruins' final game of the year, a 79-76 loss to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 on March 23. He averaged 23.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in UCLA's three NCAA Tournament contests. He was one of five players named to the NCAA Tournament's All-West Region Team.
Jaquez Jr. was honored as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the second straight year. He earned second-team honors from the Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2021.
Through 37 games this season, Jaquez Jr. shot 48.1 percent from the field. He made 261 of 543 total shot attempts. His 261 made field goals stand as the seventh-highest single-season total in school history. Only Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Richard Washington and Reggie Miller made more shots for the Bruins in a single season.
UCLA went 31-6 this season and won the Pac-12 regular-season championship for the first time since 2013. Jaquez Jr. played an instrumental role in leading UCLA to a third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, as the Bruins advanced to the Final Four in 2021, the Sweet 16 in 2022 and back to the Sweet 16 in 2023.
Jaquez Jr. ranks No. 8 on UCLA's all-time scoring list (1,802 points) and No. 11 on the school's all-time rebounding list (842 rebounds). He's one of nine players in school history to rank among the top 15 leaders on UCLA's career scoring and rebounding lists.
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