Nov. 7, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern senior forward John Shurna continues to rake in the preseason honors as he was named Monday to the watch list for the Naismith Award which honors the nation's top collegiate player.
It is the second straight year that Shurna has earned the recognition. He is also on the watch list for the Wooden Award for the second consecutive season, which is a similar honor.
Shurna has been named a preseason second-team All-America selection of Sporting News and a third-team choice of Athlon Sports. He enters his senior season with 1,377 career points, 523 points shy of Billy McKinney's school record of 1,900.
The Glen Ellyn, Ill., native earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition after being named to the second team as a sophomore. A year ago, he averaged a team-best 16.6 points per game to go along with 4.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 43.4 percent from 3-point range.
Shurna is joined on the list by fellow Big Ten players Tim Hardaway Jr. of Michigan, Draymond Green of Michigan State, William Buford, Aaron Craft and Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, Robbie Hummel of Purdue and Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor.
Northwestern opens its 2011-12 regular season at 6 p.m. Sunday as it hosts Texas-Pan American at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
2011-12 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List:
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, GS, F
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, So., F
Will Barton, Memphis, So., G
Bradley Beal, Florida, Fr., G
William Buford, Ohio State, Sr., G
Aaron Craft, Ohio State, So., G
Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Fr., F
Marcus Denmon, Missouri, Sr., G
Andre Drummond, Connecticut, Fr., C
Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt, Sr., C
Ashton Gibbs, Pitt, Sr., G
Michael Glover, Iona, Sr., F
Drew Gordon, New Mexico, Sr., F
Draymond Green, Michigan State, Sr., F
JaMychal Green, Alabama, Sr., F
Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan, So., G
Elias Harris, Gonzaga, Jr., F
John Henson, North Carolina, Jr., F
Tu Holloway, Xavier, Sr., G
Robbie Hummel, Purdue, Sr., F
Joe Jackson, Memphis, Jr., G
John Jenkins, Vanderbilt, So., G
Orlando Johnson, UC Santa Barbara, Sr., G
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette, Sr., G
Perry Jones III, Baylor, So., F
Terrence Jones, Kentucky, So., F
Kevin Jones, West Virginia, Sr., F
Kris Joseph, Syracuse, Sr., F
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky, Fr., F
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut, So., G
Kendall Marshall, North Carolina, So., G
Ray McCallum, Detroit, So., G
Doug McDermott, Creighton, So., F
Khris Middleton, Texas A&M, Jr., F
Quincy Miller, Baylor, Fr., F
Reeves Nelson, UCLA, Jr., F
Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure, Sr., F
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, Jr., C
Austin Rivers, Duke, Fr., G
Thomas Robinson, Kansas, Jr., F
Terrence Ross, Washington, So., G
John Shurna, Northwestern, Sr., F
Peyton Siva, Louisville, Jr., G
Joshua Smith, UCLA, So., C
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, So., C
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin, Sr., G
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt, Sr., G/F
Marquis Teague, Kentucky, Fr., G
Patric Young, Florida, So., F/C
Tyler Zeller, North Carolina, Sr., F
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!