CHAPEL HILL—North Carolina senior forward Brice Johnson is among 20 candidates nationally for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the national player of the year. The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the Top 20 list this week.
Johnson leads Carolina this season with career highs in both scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.2 rebounds per game). He leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding and field goal percentage (60.7).
Other ACC players on the top 20 list include Duke's Grayson Allen, Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon and Louisville's Damion Lee.
Voting begins at the end of the season, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, will take into account the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.