Women's Preseason Naismith Trophy Watch List Announced
Dec 21 | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA, GA. -Senior guard Matee Ajavon (Newark, N.J.), senior guard/forward Essence Carson (Paterson, N.J.), and junior center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) were all named to the 2007-08 preseason watch list for the women's Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced this week.
The BIG EAST Conference is represented by 10 players, including three each from Rutgers and Connecticut. Maryland led the way with four players on the list.
The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball's players of the year. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 campaign. There are 27 seniors, 18 juniors and five sophomores on the list, which does not include incoming freshmen, who will be considered in the first ballot in January 2008.
Ajavon ranks second on this years squad in scoring with 10.2 points per game and in steals with 1.5 per contest. The point guard also ranks first on the team with 4.0 assists per game. While battling injuries, Carson has managed 9.0 points a game, 4.8 rebounds per game and has continued her stellar defensive play. Vaughn, the team's leader in rebounding with 8.4 boards per game, ranks fourth on the squad in scoring (8.6 ppg) and is third on the team, shooting 43.8 percent from the field.
AT&T will continue to set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining this year's winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging, fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25% of the final results - more than any other national college basketball award.
In January, the Naismith Trophy voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its preseason list to the top 30 players in the nation. Those players will be eligible for the final ballot in March. In April, the Naismith Trophy winner will be recognized at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa, Fla.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
