Tucker DeVries Named to John R. Wooden Award Watch List

West Virginia senior Tucker DeVries has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List, The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Thursday.

The Wooden Award is presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball Player of the Year. Purdue’s Zach Edey and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark were the men’s and women’s recipients last season, respectively.

DeVries, who is in his first season at WVU after transferring from Drake this offseason, has previously been named to the Julius Erving Award Preseason Watch List and the Naismith Trophy Watch List.

DeVries’s WVU career got off to a blazing hot start on Monday as he scored the first eight points of an explosive 21-0 start for the Mountaineers against Robert Morris.

DeVries dominated the first three possessions of the game. He hit on a long-range three-pointer for the Mountaineers’ first bucket of the season. Then, he poked away a ball on defense and stormed down the court for a fastbreak dunk.

Another three-pointer on the following possession had DeVries solely responsible for the first eight points of the game.

“It’s really good to come out with a hot start, I hope we do that every time,” DeVries said after the game.

DeVries finished with a game-high 18 points as the Mountaineers beat Robert Morris 87-59.

DeVries, the reigning back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year was ninth in the country in scoring last season, averaging 21.6 points per game. He was the only player in the country last season to average at least 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

DeVries was considered one of the top transfers in the offseason and is ranked as one of the best players in college basketball entering the season.

For a related story, Tucker DeVries and the Mountaineers are preparing for a tough challenge against physical UMass on Friday.