University of Connecticut Athletics
Four Huskies Among Wooden Candidates
8/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, CA (August 13) – Four University of Connecticut basketball players, Ben Gordon (Mount Vernon, NY), Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX), Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) and Ann Strother (Castle Rock, CO) have highlighted the 2004 John R. Wooden Award ballot, as announced by the National Advisory Board. The Wooden Award is widely known as the most coveted individual honor in men’s college basketball, and will be the first year that the award will be given to a female collegiate basketball recipient.
Okafor leads the Wooden Ballot, as the only Preseason candidate who was honored last year as a member of the 2003 Wooden Award All-American Team. He had an impressive season in which he averaged 15.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. Gordon led the team in points (19.5), assists (4.7) and steals (1.2) per game, while also taking down 4.7 rebounds.
Taurasi and Strother back a strong list of female candidates on the Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team composed of the top 30 players, based on last year’s individual performance and team record. Taurasi led the Huskies to their second straight national Championship in 2003, averaging 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. In her rookie year, Strother played in all 38 games en route to the national championship. She put up 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
On the men’s side, a team of returning players make the Preseason All-American Team composed of 50 players, and then transfers and freshmen as well as other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot.
Ten NCAA conferences are represented, including the Big East (11 players), Big 12 (10 players), Pac 10 (7 players), Big 10, (5 players), ACC (5 players), SEC (4 players), Conference USA (3 players), Atlantic 10 (2 players), West Coast Conference (2 players) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (1 player).
The 2004 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American team and the presentation of the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday, April 10, 2004 and will be broadcast live on a CBS telecast.
The top five finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award scholarship fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator. The scholarship fund distributed a total of $75,000 to five universities last year, enabling 23 deserving students to pursue their educational goals. Anyone interested may contribute directly to the scholarship fund through the CCF (www.calfund.org).
Eight NCAA conferences are represented on the women’s ballot, including the SEC (7 players), Big 12 (6 players), BIG EAST (5 players), Pac 10 (4 players, Big 10 (4 players), ACC (2 players), Conference USA (1 player) and Big West (1 player). In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 list, followed in March by the official voting ballot, consisting of the top 10-15 players who have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Over 250 voters, comprised of sports media members and women’s college basketball experts across the nation, will then cast their votes for the five-member All-American team and Wooden Award honor as the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player in the United States.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan (’84), Larry Bird (’79), Tim Duncan (’97) and last year’s recipient, T.J. Ford (’03). Tabulation for all voting is calculated by Deloitte & Touche.
Women’s Wooden Award Top 30 Preseason All-American Team
Seimone Augustus LSU
Jacqueline Batteast Notre Dame
Alana Beard Duke
Jenni Benningfield Vanderbilt
Tera Bjorklund Colorado
Rebekkah Brunson Georgetown
Shameka Christon Arkansas
Shyra Ely Tennessee
Ebony Hoffman USC
Chandi Jones Houston
Kelly Mazzante Penn State
Giuliana Mediola Washington
Loree Moore Tennessee
Nicole Ohlde Kansas State
Jia Perkins Texas Tech
Shawntinice Polk Arizona
Cappie Pondexter Rutgers
Nicole Powell Stanford
Heather Schreiber Texas
Stacy Stephens Texas
Ann Strother Connecticut
Diana Taurasi Connecticut
Lindsay Taylor UC, Santa Barbara
Christi Thomas Georgia
Iciss Tillis Duke
Kendra Wecker Kansas State
Lindsay Whalen Minnesota
Tan White Mississippi State
Shereka Wright Purdue
Tanisha Wright Penn State
Men’s Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason All-American Team
Andre Barrett Seton Hall
Kevin Bookout Oklahoma
Dee Brown Illinois
Josh Childress Stanford
Paul Davis Michigan State
Travis Diener Marquette
Ike Diogu Arizona State
Chris Duhon Duke
Andre Emmett Texas Tech
Raymond Felton North Carolina
Gerald Fitch Kentucky
Luis Flores Manhattan
Torin Francis Notre Dame
Matt Freije Vanderbilt
Channing Frye Arizona
Francisco Garcia Louisville
Ryan Gomes Providence
Ben Gordon Connecticut
David Harrison Colorado
Chris Hill Michigan State
Julius Hodge North Carolina State
Daniel Horton Michigan
Luke Jackson Oregon
Arthur Johnson Missouri
Keith Langford Kansas
David Lee Florida
Jason Maxiell Cincinnati
Rashad McCants North Carolina
Gerry McNamara Syracuse
Marcus Moore Washington State
Brandon Mouton Texas
Jameer Nelson St. Joseph’s
Emeka Okafor Connecticut
Julius Page Pittsburgh
Rickey Paulding Missouri
J.J. Redick Duke
Darius Rice Miami
Lawrence Roberts Baylor
Romain Sato Xavier
Wayne Simien Kansas
Craig Smith Boston College
Blake Stepp Gonzaga
Salim Stoudamire Arizona
Amit Tamir California
James Thomas Texas
Chris Thomas Notre Dame
Cory Violette Gonzaga
Matt Walsh Florida
Hakim Warrick Syracuse
Bracey Wright Indiana
