Since his arrival in Tucson, Andre Iguodala has become a fan favorite among the Old Pueblo faithful. Now, the sophomore forward is being recognized for his hard work on the court by the highest authority in college basketball.
Iguodala was among the nation's elite players selected by the NCAA on Monday to the annual John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top-30 list. He is the only Wildcat to be recognized by the committee that is expected to announce the award April 10.
The Springfield, Ill., native, who has started all 16 games this season for the Wildcats, is averaging 12.6 points per game with 8.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in those contests.
Though Iguodala appreciates the accolades, he said the praise won't get in the way of Arizona's goals.
"It's a great honor to be among the top 30 in the nation," he said. "It's also something I'm not too excited about. As far as our team, we have an agenda to win a national title this year, which you can't do individually."
Iguodala is one of four players selected from the Pacific 10 Conference. Joining the sophomore is Stanford's Matt Lottich, Oregon's Luke Jackson and Ike Diogu of Arizona State.
Despite leading Arizona in scoring this season, Hassan Adams was left off the list named after Wooden, the
legendary UCLA coach. Adams, who is averaging 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this season, said the snub won't affect him.
"I'm happy for him. That's my teammate," Adams said of Iguodala. "I'm patient. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing."
Iguodala isn't the first Wildcat to be recognized by the NCAA this season. Juniors Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire were among the 50 players named to the Wooden Preseason Award team.
Stoudamire on the rise
Salim Stoudamire's ascension among the all-time Arizona greats continued with the Wildcats' win over Oregon Sunday.
Although the junior was held scoreless in the first half and registered only four points on the afternoon, Stoudamire moved into 31st on the Arizona career points list. With 1,065 points, Stoudamire could pass Joseph Blair for 30th all-time when Arizona plays Washington and Washington State this week. Blair, who played for Lute Olson between 1992-1996, tallied 1,086 during his tenure in Tucson.
Midway through his third season with the Wildcats, Stoudamire has a long way to go before he eclipses his cousin Damon Stoudamire, who ranks fifth in career scoring for Arizona with 1,849. Sean Elliot holds the Wildcats' all-time mark with 2,555 points between 1985-1989.
Wildcats up in the polls
UA men's basketball continues its rollercoaster year through the rankings, moving back into The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls' top 10 this week. The Wildcats (13-3, 5-2 Pacific 10 Conference) find themselves at No. 9 in both polls after dropping to a season-low No. 14 in the AP and No. 12 in the coaches' poll after back-to-back losses to Stanford and Southern California.
The recent surge comes courtesy of a three-game winning streak that saw head coach Lute Olson's squad defeat Pac-10 rivals UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon. In those three wins, the Wildcats have won by an average margin of 27 points, scoring at least 90 in each of those contests.
Being ranked in the regular season is nothing new for Arizona, which stretches its consecutive ranked streak to 280 polls.