Georges Niang (Iowa State), Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) and Juwan Staten (West Virginia) represent the Big 12 in the Late Season Top 20 list for consideration for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s.

For the first time, The Los Angeles Athletic Club has added a Late Season Top 20 in an effort to further narrow down the list of outstanding candidates for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award. All Late Season Top 20 players appeared on last month’s Midseason Top 25.  However, players not on this most recent list are still eligible for the ballot, which will consist of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

Niang, Iowa State’s junior forward, has earned a spot on the list after proving himself as one of college basketball’s most difficult matchups. The Methuen, Mass.-native leads the Cyclones and is fourth in the Big 12 with 14.9 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from 3-point range in conference play. He is the only junior in the nation with at least 1,300 points, 400 rebounds and 250 assists.

Oklahoma’s Hield leads the Big 12 in conference games with 19.5 points per game and 3-point field goals made (2.8 pg).  He also ranks fourth in league play in field goal percentage, shooting 48 percent from the field. The Freeport, Bahamas-native has led OU in scoring in seven of the last 11 games and is shooting .532 from 3-point range at home this season.

Staten, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 14.4 points and 4.2 assists.  His 2.37 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the league. Staten has also accounted for 107 points for the Mountaineers this season, a total that ranks him second on the team.

The 39th annual Wooden Award ceremony will honor and reveal the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners and include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-America Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award.  The event will take place the weekend of April 10-12, 2015.