2006-2007 The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Preseason List

[swok34]

The preseason candidates for The State Farm Wade Trophy, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Name Year Pos. Institution
1. Matee Ajavon Junior G Rutgers University
2. Alison Bales Senior C Duke University
3. Marissa Coleman Sophomore G/F University of Maryland
4. Jazz Covington Senior C University of Louisville
5. Jessica Davenport Senior C The Ohio State University
6. Jessica Dickson Senior F University of South Florida
7. Shay Doron Senior G University of Maryland
8. Sylvia Fowles Junior C Louisiana State University
9. Katie Gearlds Senior G/F Purdue University
10. Lindsey Harding Senior G Duke University
11. Tasha Humphrey Junior F University of Georgia
12. Tiffany Jackson Senior F University of Texas
13. Crystal Kelly Junior F Western Kentucky University
14. Crystal Langhorne Junior C/F University of Maryland
15. Erlana Larkins Junior F University of North Carolina
16. Ivory Latta Senior G University of North Carolina
17. Eshaya Murphy Senior G University of Southern California
18. Courtney Paris Sophomore C University of Oklahoma
19. Candace Parker Sophomore F University of Tennessee
20. Armintie Price Senior G University of Mississippi
21. Noelle Quinn Senior G UCLA
22. Jillian Robbins Senior F University of Tulsa
23. Brooke Smith Senior C Stanford University
24. Kristi Toliver Sophomore G University of Maryland
25. Candice Wiggins Junior G Stanford University

[mred]

I thought maybe Medders would get more preseason recognition this season. Maybe not.

[YCN]

Let's see...

8 candidates from the ACC
4 each from the SEC and Pac-10
3 from the Big East
2 each from the Big Ten and Big 12
1 each from Conference USA and the Sun Belt

Might as well chuck this one in the dumpster. Women's basketball is dominated by the big conferences, but to suggest that there are 8 candidates from the Big East, 2 from both the Big Ten and Big 12, and none from 23 other conferences in the country is worse than an insult, it's a refutation of the growth of the game.

Who picks these lists?

(Corrected post for number of conferences absent a player on the preseason Wade list; there were "only" 23. Those conferences and the independents comprise 236 of the 332 teams eligible for the NCAA tournament this year, not deducting schools that may have postseason bans. The 25 candidates play on 19 of the 332 NCAA Division I teams. Four-fifths of Maryland's starters are on the list, presumably appropriately representative of the team that went to overtime to defeat Utah and Duke in the NCAA tournament last year.)

[Bob_Ballew]

Wow! Maryland has 4 players on the list.

[Cyclones Rule]

Medders not being on this list is a joke. A thought the wade trophy went to the top point guard in the country, but maybe that award is called something else?

[sybarite]

I think there will be some very surprised people this year. Some people think that UConn, Tennessee, and the ACC have been accumulating all of the talent. We could easily have a Final Four without any of those teams.

[mred]

Medders not being on this list is a joke. A thought the wade trophy went to the top point guard in the country, but maybe that award is called something else?

The top point guard gets the Nancy Lieberman award. Latta won it last year.

[swok34]

Another national award that could very easily go to a point guard is the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award:

The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award is a college basketball award intended to honor shorter-than-average players who become stars in the game. The women's version is presented to the top senior 5'8" and under. At one point, the women's award went to those 5'6" and under.

[mred]

At 5'6", Latta's got to be a heavy favorite for that one. Medders is 5'9", so she's out. Any prominent Big XII seniors 5'8" and under?

[Matt Coatney]

Kiera Hardy is 5'6" and a senior.:NU:

[FriendofCy]

I wonder if Medders injuries at the end of last year and the fact that they had a short post season run are the cause of her not being on the list. I don't know who comes up with it, but probably someone who pays a lot of attention to performance in the previous years tourneys. Hopefully Medders will be proving that she deserves to be there! :)

[ChipperF1]

The whole list is a joke because we haven't even had a football game yet, and there's an official watch list?

The only recognition that counts is the recognition that comes at the end of the year.

[Skerfan]

The whole list is a joke because we haven't even had a football game yet, and there's an official watch list?

The only recognition that counts is the recognition that comes at the end of the year.

We're in 100% agreement on this one.

[Skerfan]

Kiera Hardy is 5'6" and a senior.:NU:

And twice named to the All Conference squad. My guess is shutting her down is a focus for most opposing coaches.

[ChipperF1]

"My guess is shutting her down is a focus for most opposing coaches.

Hardy often does a good job shutting down herself. Before we start putting her up as an award candidate, lets see some more consistency, resilience, and focus.

[Jennifer]

I didn't previously respond to this thread, but I just saw Courtney's blog and she expressed what I was thinking better than I could. How's that for a college sophomore? :)

I saw that I was on the Wade Trophy preseason list. I am grateful and excited. Every once in while you need something to help mold your goals, but at the same time, I don’t believe in a preseason list. Who is to know what kind of player or team someone will be by the end of the year? It seems so irrelevant. I wasn’t on any preseason lists last year, but I still had an amazing opportunity to be a part of some great stuff towards the end. To all the thousands of you out there left off the list, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean anything, you still have a shot!

She also has kudos for the Maryland bunch making it and comments on how impressed she was with how well that team all played together.

The full blog is here: http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=300&ATCLID=518411