Subscribe to Full Court PressMidseason Wooden Watch List: Griner, Diggins, Delle Donne, Ogwumike Highlight List of 20 Candidates
Photo Caption: Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike (left) and Nnemkade (“Nneka”) Ogwumike (right) became the first pair of sisters ever named to the midseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, one of the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball, when the list was announced Thursday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Nneka Ogwumike has twice been named to the Wooden All-American team (2010, 2011). Baylor’s Brittney Griner, who also made the midseason watch list, was named to the Wooden All-American team in 2011.
Photo Credit: Chiney Ogwumike Image Courtesy UT Athletics Media Relations; Nneka Ogwumike Image by Full Court Press/Lee Michaelson©
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
The midseason John R. Wooden Award Watch List was announced today by the sponsoring LA Athletic Club, narrowing the field of candidates for one of the most prestigious awards in women’s basketball.
Baylor junior Brittney Griner and Stanford senior Nnemkade Ogwumike highlighted, both of whom were named Wooden Award All-Americans in 2011 (Ogwumike was also named a Wooden Award All-American in 2010) highlighted the list which narrowed the field of candidates to the 20 frontrunners based on their performances in November, December and January of the 2011-12 season.
Griner is averaging 22.5 points per game (No. 7 nationally in scoring) for undefeated and No. 1-ranked Baylor; she also ranks No. 4 in field-goal percentage (61 percent), No. 24 in rebounding (9.9) and No. 1 in blocked shots (5.4), and, though only a junior, is closing in on the NCAA’s all-time record for blocks. Ogwumike has carried Stanford, which has suffered only one defeat this season, to a No. 4 ranking in both major national polls; individually, Ogwumike leads the Pac-12 and ranks No. 6 in the nation in scoring (22.9 ppg) and No. 7 nationally in rebounding (11.2 rpg).
Also among the frontrunners are Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne and Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins, both of whom return to the field of midseason candidates for a second year after being nominated in 2010-11. Delle Donne has led Delaware to its first-ever Top 25 ranking and is currently the nation’s leading collegiate scorer, averaging 27.9 points per game, and ranks No. 26 in the NCAA in reboundings (9.8) and No. 16 in field-goal percentage (55.2 percent). Skylar Diggins leads No. 2-ranked Notre Dame with 17 points, 5.8 assists (No. 15 in the NCAA) and 2.5 steals per game.
Others returning to the watch list for a second year after making the ballot previously include Georgetown’s Sugar Rodgers, Shekinna Stricklen of Tennessee, and Shenise Johnson of Miami. Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis was on the ballot in 2010, along with Stricklen, Nneka Ogwumike and Delle Donne.
The Wooden Award, created in 1976 in honor of Hall of Fame player and coach John R. Wooden, was first bestowed upon female players in 2004. The award is presented annually to the “Most Outstanding College Basketball Player in the United States,” based on the voting of a media committee, which considers a player’s performance in the regular season, conference tournaments, and the postseason, as well as the player’s character.
Past recipients include Duke’s Alana Beard (2004), LSU’s Seimone Augustus (2005, 2006), Tennessee’s Candace Parker (2007, 2008), and Connecticut’s Maya Moore (2009, 2011) and Tina Charles (2010).
This season’s Wooden Award winner, together with the Wooden All-American team and University of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, whose selection as the Wooden Legends of Coaching Award winner was previously announced, will be honored on Friday, April 6, 2012, following the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four, at the annual Awards Gala.
The BIG EAST led all conferences with five Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 selections, followed by the ACC with four; the SEC with three; and the Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12 and CAA each with two apiece.
Five schools had two players chosen: Notre Dame (Diggins and Natalie Novosel); Tennessee (Stricklen and Glory Johnson); Stanford (Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike—the first pair of sisters ever named to the midseason list); Baylor (Griner and Odyssey Sims) and Connecticut (Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis).
UConn’s Mosqueda-Lewis and Duke’s Elizabeth Williams of Duke were the only freshmen named to the midseason watch list.
The entire list of the Wooden Midseason Top 20 includes the following:
| 2011-2012 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 List | Player | Height | Class | Position | University | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Bentley | 5-7 | Sr. | G | Penn State | Big Ten |
| Elena Delle Donne | 6-5 | Jr. | F/G | Delaware | CAA |
| Skylar Diggins | 5-9 | Jr. | G | Notre Dame | BIG EAST |
| Shante Evans | 6-0 | Jr. | F | Hofstra | CAA |
| Brittney Griner* | 6-8 | Jr. | C | Baylor | Big 12 |
| Bria Hartley | 5-7 | So. | G | Connecticut | BIG EAST |
| Glory Johnson | 6-3 | GS | F | Tennesse | SEC |
| Shenise Johnson | 5-11 | Sr. | G | Miami | ACC |
| A’dia Mathies | 5-9 | Jr. | G | Kentucky | SEC |
| Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | 6-0 | Fr. | F | Connecticut | BIG EAST |
| Natalie Novosel | 5-11 | Sr. | G | Notre Dame | BIG EAST |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 6-3 | So. | F | Stanford | Pac-12 |
| Nneka Ogwumike* | 6-2 | Sr. | F | Stanford | Pac-12 |
| Samantha Prahalis | 5-7 | Sr. | G | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| Sugar Rodgers | 5-11 | Jr. | G | Georgetown | BIG EAST |
| Odyssey Sims | 5-9 | So. | G | Baylor | Big 12 |
| Shekinna Stricklen | 6-2 | Sr. | G/F | Tennessee | SEC |
| Alyssa Thomas | 6-2 | So. | F | Maryland | ACC |
| Elizabeth Williams | 6-3 | Fr. | C | Duke | ACC |
| Riquna Williams | 5-7 | Sr. | G | Miami | ACC |
| * indicates player was previously selected as a 2011 Wooden Award All American. | |||||
| GS indicates player is a graduate student with at least one year of remaining collegiate eligibility. | |||||
To allow our readers to evaluate how the nominees stack up, we compare their statistical performance for the 2011-2012 season to date in the table below. Current NCAA rankings are also shown when a player ranks in the top 50 of NCAA Division I players in a given statistical category:
| 2011-2012 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 Statistical Comparision | Player | Position | Scoring | Rebounds | Field-Goal % | 3-Pt Field-Goal % | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Bentley | G | 15.2 | 3.1 | 46.2 | 34.3 | 5.5 NCAA-#23 | 3.2 NCAA-#20 | 0.3 |
| Elena Delle Donne | F/G | 28.7 NCAA-#1 | 9.8 NCAA-#26 | 55.2 NCAA-#16 | 47.5 1.6/game** | 2.6 | 1.3 | 2.6 NCAA-#22 |
| Skylar Diggins | G | 17.0 | 3.0 | 52.8 NCAA-#38 | 38.3 0.8/game** | 5.8 NCAA-#15 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
| Shante Evans | F | 18.2 NCAA-#43 | 10.2 NCAA-#18 | 51.2 NCAA-#46 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Brittney Griner* | C | 22.7 NCAA-#7 | 9.9 NCAA-#24 | 62.0 NCAA-#4 | 100 0.05/game** | 1.2 | 0.6 | 5.4 NCAA-#1 |
| Bria Hartley | G | 14.5 | 4.0 | 52.2 NCAA-#46 | 38.8 1.8/game** | 4.2 | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| Glory Johnson | F | 14.0 | 9.5 NCAA-#43 | 55.9 NCAA-#11 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| Shenise Johnson | G | 16.2 | 7.6 | 45.5 | 33.3 | 5.0 NCAA-#41 | 3.9 NCAA-#3 | 0.5 |
| A’dia Mathies | G | 15.6 | 5.5 | 45.8 | 38.5 1.75/game** | 2.5 | 3.0 NCAA-#32 | 0.7 |
| Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | F | 14.5 | 5.4 | 42.2 | 37.3 NCAA-#39 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Natalie Novosel | G | 15.4 | 3.6 | 46.7 | 42.0 0.9/game** | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | F | 15.6 | 10.6 NCAA-#20 | 58.8 NCAA-#6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Nneka Ogwumike* | F | 22.3 NCAA-#No. 6 | 11.1 NCAA-#7 | 55.1 NCAA-#10 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Samantha Prahalis | G | 18.7 NCAA-#26 | 4.6 | 43.9 | 33.6 | 7.0 NCAA-#7 | 2.2 | 0.2 |
| Sugar Rodgers | G | 19.9 NCAA-#16 | 5.1 | 36.0 | 31.1 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| Odyssey Sims | G | 15.5 | 3.2 | 44.5 | 42.7 1.8/game** | 5.4 NCAA-#29 | 3.5 NCAA-#8 | 0.0 |
| Shekinna Stricklen | G/F | 14.9 | 6.3 | 43.6 | 34.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Alyssa Thomas | F | 17.2 | 7.7 | 46.9 | 23.5 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| Elizabeth Williams | C | 14.2 | 8.7 | 50.2 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.8 NCAA-#3 |
| Riquna Williams | G | 15.5 | 3.1 | 38.9 | 34.5 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
| Note: **—A minimum of 2.0 made three-pointers per game is required to achieve an NCAA ranking regardless of three-point percentage. | ||||||||
Originally published Sat, January 28, 2012
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