Wong Selected as a Lute Olson National Player of the Year Finalist
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Isaiah Wong of the University of Miami men’s basketball team is a finalist for the elite Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award, as announced Thursday afternoon.
The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I player. The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and the 1997 NCAA title.
The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced later this month in Houston the site of the Final Four.
This is the second national player of year award to name Wong a finalist, as he previously made the cut for the Wooden Award National Ballot. The fourth-year junior guard is also a finalist for the Jerry West Award and also took home ACC Player of the Year honors.
A 6-foot-4, 184-pounder, Wong is averaging 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 44.9 percent overall, 38.0 percent beyond the arc and 83.1 percent from the line for No. 14/13 Miami (25-6, 15-5 ACC).
The Piscataway, N.J., native owns the top single-game point total in the league this year (36 vs. Cornell on 12/7/22) and is a two-time ACC Player of the Week. He also has one USBWA National Player of the Week plaudit to his name.
Wong and top-seeded Miami continue ACC Tournament action Friday at 7 p.m. with a semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded and No. 21-ranked Duke, live on ESPN or ESPN2 from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
2022-23 LUTE OLSON AWARD FINALISTS
Max Abmas, 6-0, Oral Roberts
Armando Bacot, 6-11, North Carolina
Marcus Carr, 6-2, Texas
Kendric Davis, 6-0, Memphis
RayJ Dennis, 6-2, Toledo
Zach Edey, 7-4, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, 7-0, Duke
Adam Flagler, 6-3, Baylor
Trayce Jackson-Davis, 6-9, Indiana
Jaime Jaquez Jr., 6-7, UCLA
Keyontae Johnson, 6-6, Kansas State
Tyler Kolek, 6-3, Marquette
Darius McGhee, 5-9, Liberty
Brandon Miller, 6-9, Alabama
Omari Moore, 6-6, San Jose State
Kris Murray, 6-8, Iowa
Markquis Nowell, 5-8, Kansas State
Drew Pember, 6-11, UNC Asheville
Marcus Sasser, 6-2, Houston
Terquavion Smith, 6-4, NC State
Drew Timme, 6-10, Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe, 6-9, Kentucky
Azuolas Tubelis, 6-11, Arizona
Jalen Wilson, 6-8, Kansas
Isaiah Wong, 6-4, Miami
