Duke's Cooper Flagg and Auburn's Johni Broome headlined the Wooden Award's list of five finalists as well as the All-America team, both of which were announced on Tuesday night.
The award is given annually to the best college basketball player in the country. Flagg and Broome have been the perceived favorites for the Wooden Award since early in the season, with Broome starting the campaign with a dominant nonconference performance before Flagg made up ground with incredible performances in ACC play.
Flagg, the clear-cut leader to be the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, won both ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He's averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the program's first Final Four since Mike Krzyzewski retired. Flagg's signature performance came back in January, when he went for 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a win over Notre Dame, setting the ACC freshman record for points in a game.
After shaking off a late-season ankle injury that kept him out of the ACC tournament semifinal and title games, Flagg has been great in the NCAA tournament — highlighted by a 30-point, 6-rebound, 7-assist performance against Arizona in the Sweet 16.
Broome was dominant to start the season, lifting Auburn to the No. 1 spot in the rankings with huge stat line after huge stat line. He had 23 points and 19 rebounds against North Carolina; 21 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa State; 21 points and 16 rebounds against Memphis; 20 points and 12 boards against Duke; 21 points and 20 rebounds against Ohio State; and 23 points and 11 rebounds against Purdue. All of those games happened in a one-month span.
He's averaging 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds and just totaled 47 points and 30
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