Kaminsky, Okafor, Russell highlight finalists for Wooden Award

The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the finalists for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award on Monday evening.

The five finalists who are invited to Los Angeles for the new college basketball awards show April 10 are Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein, Notre Dame's Jerian Grant, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky, Duke's Jahlil Okafor, and Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell.

Kaminsky and Okafor are considered the favorites to win the award, with most college basketball fans holding a strong opinion on one player or the other.

Three of those players - Kaminsky, Okafor and Cauley-Stein - will participate in the Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend.

Kaminsky had 29 points in Wisconsin's win over Arizona in the Elite Eight, Cauley-Stein anchored Kentucky's defense in a narrow victory over Notre Dame, and Okafor had nine points and eight rebounds in the Blue Devils' win over Gonzaga.

Voting for the award, which will be handed out at the college basketball awards show April 10, closed March 23.

Joining the finalists on the Wooden All-American team are Wichita State's Ron Baker, Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon, Northern Iowa's Seth Tuttle, Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer and Utah's Delon Wright.