Harris and Phillips Named to Wooden Award Preseason Top 30

Seniors Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips Both in the Running for the Prestigious Award

Senior Ta'Shia Phillips, along with senior Amber Harris, was named to the 2011 Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 list. This is the third consecutive year Phillips has been named to the list

 
Senior Ta'Shia Phillips, along with senior Amber Harris, was named to the 2011 Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 list. This is the third consecutive year Phillips has been named to the list
  

Oct. 5, 2010

CINCINNATI - For the third consecutive season, senior Ta'Shia Phillips has been named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 list as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Senior Amber Harris also made the preseason list after both she and Phillips made the final Wooden Award ballot last season.

The women's list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.

Xavier was one of six schools that had two players chosen to the Preseason List: Connecticut (Moore, Tiffany Hayes); North Carolina (Jessica Breland, Italee Lucas); Ohio State (Jantel Lavender, Samantha Prahalis-both Wooden Award ballot picks in 2010); Stanford (Ogwumike, Kayla Pedersen); Tennessee (Angie Bjorklund, Shekenna Stricklen); and Xavier (Harris, Phillips-both Wooden Award ballot picks in 2010).

Connecticut's Maya Moore, the 2009 Wooden Award winner and a 2008 and 2010 Wooden All American, returns to lead her team as a senior. She is looking to become only the second four-time Wooden All American pick after averaging 18.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a year ago for the undefeated Huskies. Ogwumike, the 2010 Pac-10 Player of the Year, averaged 18.5 ppg and 9.9 rpg a year ago for Stanford.

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason list. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December's Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players, will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.


 

 

The 35th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, a special tribute to Coach Wooden and Wooden Award founder Duke Llewellyn, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 8-10, 2011.

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 or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Candace Parker ('07 and '08) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

John R. Wooden Award®

2010-11 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 List, Women

Name

Height

Class

Position

University

Conference

 

Danielle Adams

6-1

Sr.

F/C

Texas A&M

Big 12

Kachine Alexander

5-9

Sr.

G

Iowa

Big Ten

Angie Bjorklund

6-0

Sr.

G/F

Tennessee

SEC

Jessica Breland

6-3

Sr.

F

North Carolina

ACC

Elena Delle Donne

6-5

So.

G/F

Delaware

CAA

Skylar Diggins

5-9

So.

G

Notre Dame

Big East

Jasmine Dixon

6-0

Jr.

F

UCLA

Pac 10

Victoria Dunlap

6-1

Sr.

F

Kentucky

SEC

Dawn Evans

5-7

Sr.

G

James Madison

CAA

Brittney Griner

6-8

So.

C

Baylor

Big 12

Amber Harris

6-5

Sr.

F

Xavier

Atlantic 10

Tiffany Hayes

5-10

Jr.

G

Connecticut

Big East

Shenise Johnson

5-11

Jr.

G

Miami

ACC

Jantel Lavender

6-4

Sr.

C

Ohio State

Big Ten

Italee Lucas

5-8

Sr.

G

North Carolina

ACC

Maya Moore*#

6-0

Sr.

F

Connecticut

Big East

Deirdre Naughton

5-10

Sr.

G

DePaul

Big East

Nnemkadi Ogwumike*

6-2

Jr.

F

Stanford

Pac 10

Kayla Pedersen

6-4

Jr.

F

Stanford

Pac 10

Ta'Shia Phillips

6-6

Sr.

C

Xavier

Atlantic 10

Samantha Prahalis

5-7

Jr.

G

Ohio State

Big Ten

Lauren  Prochaska

5-11

Sr.

G/F

Bowling Green

Mid-American

Chastity Reed

6-1

Sr.

F

Arkansas Little-Rock

Sun Belt

Danielle Robinson

5-9

Sr.

G

Oklahoma

Big 12

Sugar Rodgers

5-11

So.

G

Georgetown

Big East

Shekinna Stricklen

6-2

Jr.

G/F

Tennessee

SEC

Helena Sverrisdottir

6-1

Sr.

G/F

TCU

Mountain West

Carolyn Swords

6-6

Sr.

C

Boston College

ACC

Jasmine Thomas

5-9

Sr.

G

Duke

ACC

Courtney Vandersloot

5-8

Sr.

G

Gonzaga

West Coast

(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
*indicates player chosen to the 2010 Wooden All American Team
#indicates player was 2009 Wooden Award winner
% indicates player chosen to the 2008 Wooden All American Team
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