March 30, 2023

HOUSTON, TX -- UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been named the recipient of the 2023 Lute Olson National Player of the Year award.

The Pac-12 player of year averaged 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories and finishing second in the conference in scoring. Jaquez Jr.'s 29-point effort, in the regional semifinals, pushed the senior's career point total to 1,802, moving him into the No. 8 spot on UCLA's all-time scoring list.

He began the season at No. 49 on the list.

“Nobody impacted winning more than Jaime Jaquez Jr.,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of CollegeInsider.com. “He’s a throwback who plays the game the right way. His numbers, across the board, were All-America worthy, but his greatness was doing whatever UCLA needed to win. There were a lot of great players that posted impressive numbers this season, but nobody made more winning plays than Jaime Jaquez.”

The 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Camarillo, Calif., helped the Bruins win the Pac-12 Conference regular-season title, going 18-2 in league play, finishing four games ahead of Arizona (14-6) and USC (14-6).

In leading the Bruins to the Sweet 16, Jaquez Jr. was selected the UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week for a school-record 10th time in his career.

UCLA finished the season with a 31-6 overall record.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the first UCLA player to receive the Lute Olson National Player of the Year award.

The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.

Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times.  Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.

In 2002, Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Olson passed away on August 27, 2020.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

2023 LUTE OLSON ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Note: Some of the content from the press release came directly from UCLA media releases.