Connecticut’s Tina Charles Wins John R. Wooden Award

CONNECTICUT’S TINA CHARLES WINS JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD
College Basketball’s Top Honor Goes to a UConn Player for Second Straight Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, April 9, 2010

LOS ANGELES—In the closest race ever, UConn’s Tina Charles has won the 2010 John R. Wooden Award, in the women’s category, as the college basketball player of the year. Because the WNBA draft precluded Charles from making the traditional trip to Los Angeles, Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) President Steve Hathaway will present her with the unique Wooden Award trophy, whose design was inspired by Coach Wooden’s idea of the “total basketball player,” next Thursday on the University of Connecticut campus.

The Wooden Award caps off an unbelievable career for Charles, who led her team to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2009 and 2010 and a 78-game win streak. The 6-4 center from Jamaica, New York, was the 2010 Big East Conference Player of the Year, averaging 18.3 points and 9.4 rebounds on the season. She averaged 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in the ’10 NCAA Tournament and is the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Balloting by several hundred members of the media and women’s college basketball experts was conducted through the games of the Sweet 16. Voters selected five players for the John R. Wooden All American team from the student-athletes listed on the ballot, and ranked them from 1 to 10. The other four finalists were Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin; UConn’s Maya Moore, the 2009 Women’s Wooden Award winner; and Stanford’s duo of Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Jayne Appel. Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason, as well as a player’s character and academic performance. All players on the ballot were certified as maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA at their current school, including the most recent semester.

This year’s voting was the closest ever. Charles (252 points) topped her teammate Moore (251) by only one point in the final voting. Griffin was third with 114 points, followed by Appel (98) and Ogwumike (56).

About the John R. Wooden Award
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 cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’08) and Candace Parker (’07 and’08).

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Women’s John R. Wooden Award All-Time Winners

Year Player School
2010 Tina Charles University of Connecticut
2009 Maya Moore University of Connecticut
2008 Candace Parker University of Tennessee
2007 Candace Parker University of Tennessee
2006 Seimone Augustus Louisiana State University
2005 Seimone Augustus Louisiana State University
2004 Alana Beard Duke University

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Women’s 2010 Wooden Award Ballot

$ 2009 Wooden Award winner
# 2008 Wooden All American Team

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2009-2010 Women’s Midseason List

$ 2009 Wooden Award winner

% 2008 Wooden All-American

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2009-2010 Women’s John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 Candidates

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 13, 2010) – The top 21 candidates for the Women’s John R. Wooden Award, the nation’s most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee. Because of a tie in the voting, 21 players were named rather than the traditional 20. Composed of the players who will compete for this season’s player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half of the season.

“The depth and breadth of talent in the women’s game is really apparent,” said Women’s John R. Wooden Award Chairman Richard “Duke” Llewellyn. “Many, many players received votes this year, and I am sure we will see players on the ballot who are not even on this midseason list, as they will step up as we get into conference play.”

Just as players who are not on the preseason list are eligible for the Midseason Top 20, players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee.  Players selected to the national ballot will have to be certified by their university as making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

Among the Midseason Top 20 candidates are returning Wooden Award winner Maya Moore of No. 1-ranked Connecticut (19.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and her teammate, center Tina Charles (17.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg). No. 2 Stanford also had two players selected, center Jayne Appel and forward Kayla Pedersen. Four 2009 National Ballot honorees were named as 2009-10 midseason candidates: Appel, Alysha Clark (Middle Tennessee), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), and Monica Wright (Virginia).

Other intriguing candidates who were not chosen to the preseason list include James Madison’s Dawn Evans, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.4 points per game; Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot, who averages 9.6 assists per game, tops in the country; Baylor’s 6-8 freshman Brittney Griner; and Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, who made headlines last year when she gave up her basketball career at Connecticut to play volleyball closer to home. In her first collegiate hoops season, she is ranked No. 4 in the country in scoring (24.7), and is averaging 9.6 rebounds as well.

2009-10 Wooden Award Top 20 List

The Big East leads the Midseason Top 20 with 4 players selected. The CAA and ACC each had three players selected, and the Pac-10, Big 10, SEC and Big 12 had two players each. The Sun Belt, Atlantic 10 and West Coast Conferences had one player chosen. Overall, 48 different players from 36 schools received votes.

More than 300 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from across the nation, will then cast their votes to determine both the five-member All American Team and Player of the Year. In late March, the 10-player Wooden Award All American Team will be announced.

MIDSEASON TOP 20

$ 2009 Wooden Award winner

% 2008 Wooden All-American

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2009-2010 Women’s Preseason List

All-American Team – Top 30 Candidates
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)

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2008-2009 Women’s Final Ballot

All-American Team – Top 19 Candidates
(Players listed alphabetically.)

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2008-2009 Women’s Midseason

Midseason Top 20 List – Women’s Category

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2008-2009 Women’s Preseason

All-American Team – Top 30 Candidates
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)

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2007-2008 Women’s Final Ballot

All-American Team – Top 17 Candidates
(Players listed alphabetically.)

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2007-2008 Women’s Midseason

Midseason Top 20
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)

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2007-2008 Women’s Preseason

All-American Team – Top 30 Candidates
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)

* Indicates player was a 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American.

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2006-2007 Women’s Final Ballot

All-American Team – Top 16 Candidates
(Players listed alphabetically.)

* Indicates player was a 2005-2006 John R. Wooden Award All-American.

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2006-2007 Women’s Midseason

All-American Team – Top 20 Candidates
(Players listed alphabetically.)

* Indicates player was a 2005-2006 John R. Wooden Award All-American.

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2006-2007 Women’s Preseason

All-American Team – Top 30 Candidates
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)

* Indicates player was a 2005-2006 John R. Wooden Award All-American.

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