Jackson Named to Preseason Wooden All-America Team

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma senior Dionnah Jackson has been named to the 2004-05 Preseason Wooden Award All-American Team as announced by the John R. Wooden Awards Committee. Jackson is one of 30 women's basketball players named to this team. The Big 12 Conference leads all leagues with six players selected for preseason Wooden Award accolades. Texas boast three players, while OU, Kansas State and Baylor each sport one.

These 30 were selected based on last year's individual performance and team records and all are the early frontrunners for college basketball's coveted Wooden Award National Player of the Year honor.

Jackson, a native of St. Louis, Mo., is the Sooners top returning scorer and rebounder as she averaged 12.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg as a junior. The 5-9 point guard has also led Oklahoma in assists (5.0) and steals (2.3) per game for the past two seasons. The two-time All-Big 12 second teamer currently ranks among OU's all-time top 10 in both categories; No. 3 in assists (433) and No. 10 in steals (200).

She was named the 2004 Big 12 Tournament MVP after guiding the Sooners to four wins in five days for OU's second tournament title in three years. Over that four game span, Jackson produced a team-high 17.0 points per game, followed by 8.3 rebounds. She also shot 79.2 percent from the free throw line and 47.1 percent from the field.

OU concluded last season making its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance with an overall record of 24-9. The Sooners earned final national rankings of No. 11 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

Head Coach Sherri Coale returns 12 letterwinners, including three starters from last year's squad. She also adds two freshmen and welcomes back 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Chelsi Welch, who missed the 2003-04 season due to a knee injury.

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his/her university that he/she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's inaugural women's recipient, Alana Beard ('04).

“The Committee had an incredibly difficult task in narrowing down the nation's top 30 women's players. In fact, 67 players received at least one vote, which truly illustrates the parity of women's college basketball today,” said Mike Solum, Director of the Wooden Award. “This list represents the elite of college basketball, and our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation prove their case as basketball's player of the year.”

These Top 30 candidates (all returning players) were selected by a national poll conducted by the National Advisory Board. Transfers and freshmen as well as other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 List and the final national ballot.

In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 List, followed in March by the official voting ballot, consisting of the top 10-15 players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation. The 2005 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9, 2005 and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast.

The top five male and female finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award scholarship fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. The Scholarship Fund distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a men's and women's Wooden Award All-American Team finalist (for a total of $150,000).

For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please visit www.WoodenAward.com.

2004-05 Wooden Women's Basketball Preseason All-America Team
(the Top 30 Preseason Candidates for the Wooden Award as National Player of the Year)

(Players listed alphabetically.)

Player - Ht., Yr., Pos., School
Seimone Augustus - 6-1, Jr., G, LSU
Jacqueline Batteast - 6-2, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Steffanie Blackmon - 6-2, Sr., F, Baylor
Nikki Blue - 5-8, Jr., G, UCLA
Jamie Carey - 5-6, Sr., G, Texas
Monique Currie - 6-0, Jr., G, Duke
Shyra Ely - 6-2, Sr., F, Tennessee
Emily Faurholt - 5-11, Jr., F, Idaho State
Katie Feenstra - 6-8, Sr., C, Liberty
Katie Gearlds - 6-1, So., G, Purdue
Sandora Irvin - 6-3, Sr., F, TCU
Dionnah Jackson - 5-9, Sr., G, Oklahoma
Tiffany Jackson - 6-3, So., F, Texas
Temeka Johnson - 5-3, Sr., G, LSU
Camille Little - 6-1, So., G/F, North Carolina
Kristen Mann - 6-2, Sr., F, UC Santa Barbara
Janel McCarville - 6-2, Sr., F, Minnesota
Loree Moore - 5-9, Sr., G, Tennessee
Shawntinice Polk - 6-5, Jr., C, Arizona
Cappie Pondexter - 5-9, Sr., G, Rutgers
Noelle Quinn - 6-0, So., G, UCLA
Heather Schreiber - 6-2, Sr., F, Texas
Khara Smith - 6-2, Jr., F, DePaul
Kim Smith - 6-1, So., F, Utah
Ann Strother - 6-2, Jr., G, Connecticut
Kelley Suminski - 5-9, Sr., G, Stanford
Barbara Turner - 6-0, Jr., G/F, Connecticut
Kendra Wecker 5-11 Sr. F Kansas State
Tan White 5-8 Sr. G Mississippi State
Tanisha Wright 5-11 Sr. G Penn State

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Jackson Named to Preseason Wooden All-America Team

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