University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA's Jaquez Jr. Selected to Wooden Award National Ballot
March 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been chosen as one of 15 men's college basketball players to the national ballot for this season's John R. Wooden Award, as announced Saturday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Jaquez Jr. currently leads the Bruins (26-4, 17-2 Pac-12) in scoring and rebounding. He has averaged 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in all 30 games. He's one of just five players in the Pac-12 to rank among the top five in both scoring and rebounding.
A 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Camarillo, Calif., Jaquez Jr. has shot 48.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 15 of UCLA's last 16 contests as the Bruins have won their last nine consecutive games.
Jaquez Jr. has led the Bruins to a 26-4 overall record, marking the program's best regular-season mark since going 28-3 during the 2016-17 campaign. He has scored at least 10 points in 27 of UCLA's 30 games. Jaquez Jr. has tallied at least 20 points in five of the team's last six contests.
Through 127 career games (and 119 starts), Jaquez Jr. has averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.94 assists per game.
All balloted student-athletes have been certified by their respective universities to have met or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the award was established. Voting for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award will take place from March 13-20, 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 this season's Wooden Award presented by Wendy's will be announced on March 29.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award has been presented to two UCLA standout players in the past – Marques Johnson in 1976-77 (the first-ever year of the award) and Ed O'Bannon following the 1994-95 season.
