ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – Kentucky guard John Wall has been selected National Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for the 2009-10 season.

Wall

The 6-4, 195-pound Wall, from Raleigh, N.C., has averaged 16.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. He is a first-team USBWA All-American as well as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and the USBWA District IV Player of the Year. He has led Kentucky into the East Regional with a 34-2 record that includes both the SEC Eastern Division championship and the SEC Tournament championship.

Wall was a unanimous choice in voting by USBWA members in all nine of the association's geographical districts for Freshman of the Year and was among 16 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, given to the USBWA's National Player of the Year. He is the just the second SEC player to win the USBWA's National Freshman of the Year award joining LSU's Chris Jackson, who was the first winner of the award in 1989.

"He's a deserving player by how he has led this team – an inexperienced team – and his ability to make plays when the game is in the balance," said Kentucky coach John Calipari. "I'm happy for him because he's as hard-working a player as any I've been around – on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom. This is a great honor for John to be recognized by the USBWA and another reflection of how our team success leads to individual accolades."

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-421-0339.