College basketball awards: Jalen Brunson, A’ja Wilson take home John R. Wooden Award

Villanova brought home two monumental postseason awards just days after winning the national title

By Kyle Boone

Apr 6, 2018 at 9:57 pm ET • 1 min read

Villanova hardly broke a sweat en route to its second national title in three seasons, defeating each NCAA Tournament foe by no fewer than 12 points. Loaded with talent at every position, the Wildcats were represented as well as any program in Friday night's announcement of the 2017-18 awards.

Villanova took home two national awards, led by its point guard, Jalen Brunson, who won the John R. Wooden Award for men's Player of the Year. Teammate Mikal Bridges also took home hardware after earning the Julius Erving Award for small forward of the year.

South Carolina's A'ja Wilson took home the women's John R. Wooden Award. Wilson finished the season as the SEC leader in scoring at 22.9 points per game.

John R. Wooden Award - Villanova's Jalen Brunson

Brunson made a clean sweep of the player of the year awards this season. The Villanova star averaged 18.9 points and 4.6 assists per game for the title-winning Wildcats.

John R. Wooden Award - South Carolina's A'ja Wilson

Wilson also swept the player of the year awards.

Jerry West Award - Purdue's Carsen Edwards

Edwards earned the Jerry West Award for shooting guard of the year. Edwards averaged 18.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Boilermakers, who finished with a 30-7 overall record.

Julius Erving Award - Villanova's Mikal Bridges

Bridges, a junior who averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, earned the Julius Erving Award for small forward of the year.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award - Seton Hall's Angel Delgado

The big man earned the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for center of the year. Delgado averaged a double-double -- 13.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game -- for the 22-12 Pirates.

John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award - Villanova's Jay Wright

When you win a national title and win 36 games, the coach of the year award is no more than a formality. Wright is the recipient for his work in leading the Wildcats to a remarkable 36-4 record and national title.

Bob Cousy Award - Villanova's Jalen Brunson

As if Brunson didn't have enough awards, he went ahead and took home both the player of the year award and the Bob Cousy Award for point guard of the year.