FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas sophomore guard BJ Young was named one of 50 players on the preseason Wooden Award watch list Monday.
The list was put together by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The award, named for legendary former UCLA coach John Wooden, is awarded to college basketball's top player who is also making progress toward an academic degree.
Young led Arkansas and all Southeastern Conference freshmen with 15.3 points per game last season. He withdrew his name from the NBA Draft in April to return to the Razorbacks and was named to the preseason all-SEC first team last month.
The St. Louis native will play in his first game as a sophomore for Arkansas on Sunday against Longwood at Bud Walton Arena. Young was suspended for the Razorbacks' season-opening win over Sam Houston State last Friday for a violation of team rules.