C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis are among the 25 players that have been named to the John R. Wooden Award’s midseason watch list.

Syracuse is one of just four teams with two players on the watch list, joining Arizona, Michigan State and Duke.

Fair, who was the Orange’s only player on the 50-man preseason watch list, leads SU with 16.8 points per game and ranks second with 5.8 rebounds.

Ennis wasn’t one of the nine freshmen on the preseason watch list, but is now one of five rookies on the midseason list. He leads Syracuse with 5.5 assists per game and is averaging 11.9 points.

Four forwards — the Blue Devils’ Jabari Parker, the Wildcats’ Aaron Gordon, Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins and Kentucky’s Julius Randle — are the other four freshmen on the watch list.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has a total of five candidates — the most of any conference. Forward Rodney Hood is Duke’s other selection and North Carolina State forward T.J. Warren rounds out the ACC’s list.

The midseason watch list is made up of the 25 players who are considered the frontrunners for the award, but aren’t the only players eligible. The official ballot will be made up of about 20 players, many of who may not be featured on the midseason watch list.

Published on January 22, 2014 at 1:49 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2