Boston College Athletics
Basketball's Smith, Dudley Named As Wooden Preseason Candidates
August 09, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 9, 2005
Boston College forwards Jared Dudley and Craig Smith have been named as two of 50 candidates for the 2005-06 John R. Wooden Preseason All-American Team. The list is composed of players who are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy.
Only returning players are eligible for the preseason team, although transfers and freshmen as well as other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the Midseason 30 list and the National Ballot.
Eleven NCAA conferences are represented on the 50-player list, including eight ACC players. BC was one of only seven schools to have two players nominated. The other schools with two players are Connecticut, Duke, Michigan State, Stanford, Texas and Wake Forest.
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 university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Smith, who is now competing with Team USA in the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey, averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season. He earned All-America third-team honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Smith also gained All-Big East first-team accolades.
Smith is one of only four players on the 2005-06 preseason list named to last year's official voting ballot.
As a sophomore this past winter, Dudley earned All-Big East first-team honors after averaging 17.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in league contests. He shared the league's Most Improved Player award with Connecticut's Marcus Williams. Dudley also gained Division I All-District 1 honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association; All-Northeast Region accolades from Basketball Times; and All-East second-team honors from Eastern Basketball.
Boston College finished the 2004-05 season with a 25-5 record, including a 13-3 mark in league play. The Eagles made their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last five years.
