K-State’s Lee Selected for 2022 Wooden Award Watch List
Nov 09, 2021 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – For the second straight season, K-State junior center Ayoka Lee has been selected as a member of the Women's Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the 2022 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's.
Earlier this season, Lee was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and was named to the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List.
Lee, a 2022 All-America candidate, enters her junior season as the top returning shot blocker in the Big 12, as well as the number four returning rebounder and the number five returning scorer. She needs 66 points to achieve 1,000 points in her career. When she reaches the 1,000-point mark, Lee will become the fifth player in program history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career rebounds and 100 or more career blocks.
At the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, Lee was a 2021 WBCA All-America honorable mention recipient as she reached a career-high 19.1 points per game (478 points). Her scoring average last season was the highest by a Wildcat since Brittany Chambers set the school record at 21.0 points per game in 2012-13.
Lee became the first player in the history of K-State women's basketball to register 450 or more points, 200 or more rebounds and 45 or more blocks in her first two seasons.
The product of Byron, Minnesota, also recorded a career-best field goal percentage of .621 and a career-best free throw percentage of .812. She led the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage. She was the only player in NCAA Division I with a field goal percentage of .600 or better and a free throw percentage of .800 or better.
Lee recorded 10 double-doubles, including four straight to conclude the season. Among her 10 double-doubles, Lee registered a 37-point, 18-rebound effort against Oklahoma on January 31. Her 37 points set the school record for points in a Big 12 Conference game, were the fifth-most points scored in any game in school history and the most since Chambers set the school-record of 42 against Texas Southern on March 21, 2013.
In Big 12 play, Lee was even better as she ranked fifth for scoring average with 19.8 points per game and led the league in field goal percentage at .629. She was the only player in Big 12 play to card a field goal percentage of 60.0 percent or better.
On the boards in Big 12 action, Lee pulled in 8.56 per game and ranked sixth in the league. She ranked fourth in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds with 3.11 per game.
The 2022 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's will be trimmed to a National Ballot which consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's following the NCAA Tournament in April.
K-State begins a four-game home stand tonight, as the Wildcats host Central Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for tonight's game are available by calling (800) 221-CATS, online at kstatesports.com/tickets or by visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
Tonight's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), Breanna Stewart ('15 and '16) and last year's recipients, Paige Bueckers of Connecticut and Luka Garza of Iowa.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
Earlier this season, Lee was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and was named to the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List.
Lee, a 2022 All-America candidate, enters her junior season as the top returning shot blocker in the Big 12, as well as the number four returning rebounder and the number five returning scorer. She needs 66 points to achieve 1,000 points in her career. When she reaches the 1,000-point mark, Lee will become the fifth player in program history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career rebounds and 100 or more career blocks.
At the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, Lee was a 2021 WBCA All-America honorable mention recipient as she reached a career-high 19.1 points per game (478 points). Her scoring average last season was the highest by a Wildcat since Brittany Chambers set the school record at 21.0 points per game in 2012-13.
Lee became the first player in the history of K-State women's basketball to register 450 or more points, 200 or more rebounds and 45 or more blocks in her first two seasons.
The product of Byron, Minnesota, also recorded a career-best field goal percentage of .621 and a career-best free throw percentage of .812. She led the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage. She was the only player in NCAA Division I with a field goal percentage of .600 or better and a free throw percentage of .800 or better.
Lee recorded 10 double-doubles, including four straight to conclude the season. Among her 10 double-doubles, Lee registered a 37-point, 18-rebound effort against Oklahoma on January 31. Her 37 points set the school record for points in a Big 12 Conference game, were the fifth-most points scored in any game in school history and the most since Chambers set the school-record of 42 against Texas Southern on March 21, 2013.
In Big 12 play, Lee was even better as she ranked fifth for scoring average with 19.8 points per game and led the league in field goal percentage at .629. She was the only player in Big 12 play to card a field goal percentage of 60.0 percent or better.
On the boards in Big 12 action, Lee pulled in 8.56 per game and ranked sixth in the league. She ranked fourth in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds with 3.11 per game.
The 2022 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's will be trimmed to a National Ballot which consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's following the NCAA Tournament in April.
K-State begins a four-game home stand tonight, as the Wildcats host Central Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for tonight's game are available by calling (800) 221-CATS, online at kstatesports.com/tickets or by visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
Tonight's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Kevin Durant ('07), Candace Parker ('07; '08), Maya Moore ('09; '11), Chiney Ogwumike ('14), Breanna Stewart ('15 and '16) and last year's recipients, Paige Bueckers of Connecticut and Luka Garza of Iowa.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
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