Jan. 24, 2014

ST. LOUIS – Kentucky freshmen Julius Randle and James Young are among nine candidates recognized by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on the midseason watch list for the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award.

Randle has also been selected to midseason watch lists for the USBWA’s Oscar Robertson trophy and the Wooden Award for National Player of the Year. The Dallas, Texas, native is currently leading the Wildcats with 16.7 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per outing.

Young is logging 14.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while leading the Blue and White with 39 made 3-pointers on the season. He already ranks seventh in program history for single-season made 3-pointers by a first-year player. He’s notched two double-doubles on the year and been honored as the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Week twice.

The USBWA selected nine freshmen for the Wayman Tisdale Award midseason watch list.The late Wayman Tisdale was a three-time USBWA All-American at the University of Oklahoma. Following a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, he played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1997 to focus on a blossoming jazz music career. In March 2007, he was diagnosed with cancer and, following a courageous and difficult battle that included the amputation of his right leg in 2008, he passed away in May 2009.

Former Wildcats John Wall (2010) and Anthony Davis (2012) are previous winners of the Wayman Tisdale Award.

The Wildcats return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 25 for a 1:30 p.m. ET tip with Georgia. The game will air live on SEC TV.