Wooden Watch: Feb. 13
The college basketball season is winding down with the regular season wrapping up at the end of February.
With the regular season coming to the end, let’s look at who has been standing out for the Wooden Award.
Kofi Cockburn
The big man out of Illinois is still dominating all of the Big Ten lately. He’s had two really good games last week against No. 3 Purdue and Northwestern.
Kofi Cockburn had 18 points and seven rebounds as well in the matchup with Zach Edey and Trevion Williams from Purdue. Cockburn could not lead the Fighting Illini to the win in their matchup, but he played a great game that kept the Fighting Illini from getting blown out completely.
In his second game last week, Cockburn was able to lead the Fighting Illini to a close 73-66 win. He put up 19 points and 15 rebounds in the close battle.
E.J. Liddell
The Ohio State big man has been carrying the Buckeyes this year.
Liddell is averaging 20.1 points per game this year as well as 7.5 rebounds. However, for Liddell, he is doing more this year on the defensive end for the Buckeyes with his 2.5 blocks per game.
With Liddell being undersized at the center position and averaging 2.5 blocks per game, he has shown how hard he has worked to become a defensive leader for the Buckeyes. Liddell’s defensive leadership has elevated the Buckeyes' play this year to being ranked for most of the season.
Drew Timme
Drew Timme and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are cruising through the WCC with a 10-0 conference record right now. Timme’s stats have regressed slightly compared to last year's, but with more players to support him with this Gonzaga team, they have been able to rely on other players more.
However, Timme has been able to keep a successful season running by doing what the Bulldogs need him to do to win.
In their latest game against WCC premier rival Saint Mary's Gaels, the Bulldogs stuck it to them in a 74-58 victory to cement their top spot in the WCC. Timme led the game in scoring with 25 points as well as eight rebounds and five assists.
David Roddy
A name that has not been talked about as the rest of the Wooden list, but has had an outstanding season so far, is David Roddy.
The Colorado State Rams guard has had a tremendous season averaging 19.3 points per game so far this season as well as 7.7 rebounds per game as well.
Roddy has been on a hot stretch lately, scoring 20 or more points in each of his last-four games. Roddy will need to score more and carry the team to wins if he wants to stay in the Wooden Watch for the rest of the season.
Dale Ostrander is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email dko5097@psu.edu.
