Wake Forest Athletics
Johnson & Teague Named Mid-Season Candidates for Naismith Trophy
2/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest sophomores James Johnson and Jeff Teague have been named as mid-season candidates for the 2009 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson and Teague are among 30 players in the country who are up for the most prestigious national basketball award, given annually to the men's college basketball player of the year.
Johnson, a 6-9 forward out of Cheyenne, Wyo., is averaging 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. A third team All-ACC pick in 2007-08, Johnson is among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and field goal percentage. He has posted eight double-doubles on the season, which is tied for the third-most total in the ACC.
Teague, a 6-2 guard out of Indianapolis, Ind., leads the Deacons with 20.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. A two-time ACC Player of the Week this season, Teague has an ACC-best three 30-point performances. He leads the ACC in steals, ranks third in scoring and is fifth in assists. Teague has scored in double figures in 29 straight games dating back to last season.
Wake Forest is one of just six schools with two players on the mid-season Naismith list, along with Connecticut, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Nine players from the ACC are included on the list.
On March 22, CBS will announce the four Naismith Trophy finalists during its first round coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Mid-Season Candidates for 2009 Naismith Trophy:
A.J. Abrams, Texas
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Jon Brockman, Washington
Nick Calathes, Florida
Dionte Christmas, Temple
Earl Clark, Louisville
Sherron Collins, Kansas
Stephen Curry, Davidson
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
James Harden, Arizona State
Gerald Henderson, Duke
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
James Johnson, Wake Forest
Ty Lawson, North Carolina
Eric Maynor, VCU
Jack McClinton, Miami
Jerel McNeal, Marquette
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Patrick Mills, St. Mary's
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Kyle Singler, Duke
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut
Terrence Williams, Louisville
Sam Young, Pittsburgh
