wooden award

SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Wooden Prep Awards: Ceremony &
Dinner Tomorrow Night--(Apr. 6, 2000)

We just got word late last night that Errick Craven (6'-2" Jr. SG) and brother Derrick Craven (6'-2" Jr. SG) won't be playing on Friday night with the Pump N Run team in the team's first game of the tournament. . . . rest assured, they'll be there Saturday for team's second game, and for each succeeding game thereafter. But they won't be playing Friday night.

Why not?

Seems they have to be at an awards banquet.

"Another award?"

Well, not just any award. . . this one is for the Annual John R. Wooden Prep Award.

Yes, that one is probably excuse enough to miss a spring tourney game. . . . The Wooden Prep Award is given out annually to six of the top high school players chosen by a consensus of local area sports writers, and the award is given to one player from each division of the CIF Southern Section and to one player from the CIF LA City Section at a black-tie ceremony and dinner which is timed to coincide with the release of the college Wooden Award and the naming of the college All-American team. That dinner and awards ceremony just happens to be this Friday night, April 7, at the Biltmore Hotel downtown. And while Errick Craven, one of the honorees, is quick, we don't think even he is quick enough to eat dinner, get the award and change out of his tux in time to make a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Cal State Dominguez Hills. If ever there was a time when a being twin would come in handy, this is it, but we're sure that brother Derrick also wants to be with his brother at the ceremony, along with the rest of the Craven family, so don't look for them at Dominguez Hills Friday night.

Seriously, this is a great event, and a very prestigious honor and Errick, along with the other five players listed below, are receiving what might be the most coveted award in all of prep sports, certainly one of the top honors that anyone in high school basketball can receive. . . and but for the fact that we're already committed to being at the Pump tournament Friday night, we'd like nothing better than to cover the Wooden Award Gala to see the winners chosen from this year's talented group of players.

This is a terrific list of honorees and there's no doubt that they each deserve this prestigious award. Here are the 1999-2000 High School Wooden Award Winners:

CIF Southern Section Division I
Travon Bryant (6'-8" Sr. PF) Long Beach Jordan

CIF Southern Section II
Tyson Chandler (7'-0" Jr. C) Compton Dominguez

CIF Southern Section III
Errick Craven (6'-2" Jr. SG) Torrance Bishop Montgomery

CIF Southern Section IV
Felipe Williams (6'-3" Sr. SG) Santa Monica Crossroads

CIF Southern Section V
Othell Johnson (6'-5" Sr. F) Los Angeles Price High School

CIF LA City Section
Jason Morrissette Los Angeles Fairfax

For those of you interested in attending the ceremonies, yes, it's open to the public, but it isn't cheap: Tickets for the black tie 24th annual John R. Wooden Award Presentation Gala, to be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Biltmore Hotel following the nationally-televised announcement of the Wooden Award winner, are $150 and may be obtained by calling The Los Angeles Athletic Club at (213) 630-5255.

Congratulations to the players chosen for this very prestigious honor. You all deserve it.