A trio of players from the state of Kansas have been named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20.

 

Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell, as well as Kansas junior Jalen Wilson were among the 20 players selected as contenders for the National Player of the Year award.

 

Wilson leads the Big 12 conference in scoring, averaging 21.4 points per game along with 8.6 rebounds per game. He is considered one of the top contenders for the prestigous award.

 

Both Nowell and Johnson have led one of the greatest turnarounds in the sport this season. Originally picked to finish at the bottom of the conference, Kansas State finds themselves 18-3 and currently projected as a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

 

Nowell, an undersized senior who has largely gone unnoticed in his career while at Little Rock, has taken the nation by storm and averaged 17 points and 8 assists per game as the backbone of the KSU offense.

 

Johnson has battled adversity in his own right, recovering from an on-court collapse two seasons ago while at Florida to return to college basketball and play at an extremely high level with 18 points and 8 rebounds per night, including a double-double in a win against his former school.

 

The John Wooden Award, also known as the National College Basketball Player of the Year Award, will be announced on April 7 following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.