Aug. 6, 2003

Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri senior men's basketball players Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding were recognized among the 50 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, the Wooden Preseason Selection Committee announced today.

Johnson, who earned third-team All-American honors from Basketball Digest, averaged 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He recorded a Big 12 leading 19 double-doubles and became Mizzou's all-time blocked shots leader with 198 career blocks. He was named to the second team All-Big 12 team and also earned All-Big 12 Tournament honors for his efforts in Mizzou's runner-up push in the tourney.

Paulding, who was also an All-Big 12 Second Team selection and was on the Preseason John R. Wooden watch list heading into 2002-03, led the Tigers in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per contest. He was particularly amazing in the post-season averaging 27.5 points per contest in the Tigers' two NCAA Tournament contests. Both Tigers represented the United States this past week at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic.

Johnson and Paulding join eight other Big 12 players on the list including Kevin Bookout (Oklahoma), Andre Emmett (Texas Tech), David Harrison (Colorado), Keith Langford and Wayne Simien (Kansas), Brandon Mouton and James Harrison (Texas) and Lawrence Roberts (Baylor). Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, T.J. Ford ('03).

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