Boulder CU B-BALLER ROBERSON NAMED TO JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD TOP-50 WATCH LIST
Nov 8th
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – University of Colorado junior forward André Roberson was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 watch list by The Los Angeles Athletic Club, Thursday afternoon.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball media members, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
Roberson is one of two CU basketball players in the last three years named to the prestigious Wooden Top-50 watch list. Former Buff standout Alec Burks was named to the Top-50 watch list in 2010-11 and later made the final top-20.
Roberson is one of three Pac-12 players named to the watch list joining Solomon Hill of Arizona and Allen Crabbe California.
Last season, Roberson was a Pac-12 All-Conference first team selection, in addition being named to the conference all-defensive team. He was a key contributor in CU’s successful run winning the Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship in Los Angeles and the NCAA Tournament third round in Albuquerque last March.
Roberson enters his junior year 357 rebounds from breaking the CU career rebounding record held by Stephane Pelle (1,054, 1999-2003). Roberson shattered the single-season last season with 401 rebounds. He also ranked third nationally in rebounds per game at 11.1, and was fifth nationally with 20 double-doubles.
CU opens the 2012-13 season against Wofford, Friday, Nov. 9, 5 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. There are a limited number of tickets available for the season opener, in addition to season tickets for the 15 home games.
Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott was a Wooden Award All American a year ago after an outstanding sophomore campaign in which he ranked first nationally in field goals made, third in scoring, and seventh in field goal percentage. On the season, he averaged 22.9 points and 8.5 rebounds, taking the Blue Jays to a Missouri Valley Conference title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the Preseason Top 50. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the midseason list and the official voting ballot, both of which are open to freshman and transfer students. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 37th annual Wooden Award ceremony will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, and will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, which in 2013 will go to Kansas Head Coach Bill Self. The event will take place the weekend of April 12-13, 2013.
Nine upperclassmen return to the Preseason Top 50 list from a year ago: Allen Crabbe of California; Aaron Craft of Ohio State; Tim Hardaway, Jr. of Michigan; Elias Harris of Gonzaga; Solomon Hill of Arizona; Ray McCallum of Detroit; McDermott; Peyton Siva of Louisville; and Patric Young of Florida.
Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, was the only school with three players on the Preseason Top 50 (Siva, Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan). Seven schools had two players named to the list: Duke (Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee), Florida (Young and Kenny Boynton), Indiana (Christian Watford and Cody Zeller), Kansas (Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey), Michigan (Hardaway, Jr. and Trey Burke), North Carolina State (Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie) and Ohio State (Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas).
Two 2012-13 preseason honorees are younger brothers of previous John R. Wooden All Americans. Duke’s Seth Curry is the younger brother of 2009 Wooden Award All American Stephen Curry of Davidson. Cody Zeller of Indiana is the younger brother of 2012 Wooden Award All American Tyler Zeller of North Carolina.
The Big 10 leads all conferences with nine selections to the Preseason Top 50, followed by the Big East with seven and the ACC and SEC each with six. The Big 12 has five selections, the Pac-12 boasts four, the West Coast Conference has three, and the Mountain West has two picks. Conference USA, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Mid-American, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Summit and Sun Belt each have one honoree.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ‘11). Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis won the men’s Award in 2012.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email atwoodenaward@laac.net.
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Former CU basketball standout Chris Copeland makes New York Knicks
Nov 6th
BOULDER – Former University of Colorado men’s basketball standout Chris Copeland, who played for the Buffaloes from 2002-06, has earned one of the 15 spots on the New York Knicks NBA roster. Copeland is one of two rookies on the team.
For the first time ever, four former CU basketball players are on 2012 opening day NBA rosters. Copeland joins Chauncey Billups (L.A. Clippers), Alec Burks (Utah Jazz) and Cory Higgins (Charlotte Bobcats). Last year, Billups, Burks and Higgins were the first CU trio since the 1992-93 season when Matt Bullard, Jay Humphries, Alex Stivrins were on NBA rosters.
“I think everywhere I have played at has been a major learning experience,” Copeland said. “I am blessed to have had the opportunities I have had. It’s very exciting to play in New York and a blessing to have made it this far. It’s an unbelievable feeling and hard to put into words, but yes a dream come true.”
Copeland (6’8, 225 pounds) was a four-year letterwinner from 2002-2006 helped CU to a pair of NIT Appearances (2003-04, 2005-06) and a NCAA Tournament berth (2002-03).
Copeland’s best season was his senior year finishing second in scoring at 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He also led CU with 32 blocked shots. Over his four-year career, he netted six games over 20 points and tallied three double-doubles, all during his junior year.
The Richmond, Va. and Hermitage High School native, also had a productive junior campaign finishing second in scoring (11.7 rpg.) while leading the Buffs on the glass (5.6 rpg.) and in blocks (36).
His best collegiate game was Jan. 4, 2005 returning to his hometown leading CU to a 75-69 win over the Richmond Spiders. Copeland scored a career-best 25 points (10 field goals made) with four three-pointers.
When he left CU, Copeland was eighth in career blocks (88), 30th in rebounding (425), and 33rd in scoring (848). He earned his psychology degree in the summer of 2009.
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Boulder police warn parents about two incidents involving suspicious males
Nov 6th
Boulder police are warning parents about a suspicious male or males who may be attempting to approach school-age children. Two separate incidents have been reported. No one was injured in either incident.
In the first incident, a 7-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister were walking home from Whittier Elementary on Monday, November 5, when they say they were startled by a man in the area of 24th and Spruce. The boy said the man did not attempt to contact them or follow them, but he reported that he believed the man might have been carrying a gun and/or a knife. The children ran away and told their (mother) about the incident, which occurred at approximately 3:20 p.m.
The children describe the man as:
- Dark-skinned white male
- About 30 years old
- Average build
- Dark-colored baseball hat with a smiley face emblem
A second incident allegedly occurred at 3:45 p.m. in a shopping center located in the 600 block of S. Broadway. A 12-year-old boy said that a man seemed to be following him and attempting to make eye contact with him. The boy was frightened and went to a nearby store to call his mother to come pick him up. The mother reported the incident to police at 8:12 p.m. Investigators were not able to interview the 12-year-old boy last night because he was asleep by the time the incident was reported.
Police are at Southern Hills Middle School this morning to talk to the young man and gather more information about what happened.
He described the suspect to his mother, who shared the description with police:
- Dark-skinned white male
- Dirty blue jeans
- Olive-green colored hoodie
- In his 20’s
- Approximately 190 pounds
- Short dark hair
- Dark blue baseball hat
Boulder police officers are looking for the males, and ask anyone who sees a male matching the descriptions to call 911 immediately to report his location.
Extra patrol and traffic officers are in currently in place around Southern Hills Middle School, the Table Mesa Shopping Center, Whittier Elementary School and the area of the park on Folsom between Spruce and Pearl, where the first incident occurred. Detectives are contacting businesses in the shopping center on S. Broadway to try to obtain possible video of the suspect.
If video is available or if any of the children can provide enough information to complete a composite sketch, that information will immediately be made available to the public.
Police advise anyone who sees anything suspicious to report the activity immediately to police. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call Detective Kristin Weisbach at 303-441-4474. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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