Paris on Preseason Wooden List

Oct. 31, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- University of Oklahoma junior Courtney Paris was named one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 Women's Wooden Award announced by the John R. Wooden Award committee Wednesday.

Paris, a two-time Wooden All-American, was also a preseason nominee last year and was one of 16 finalists for the 2007 Women's Wooden Award. Tennessee's Candace Parker was the 2007 recipient of the honor.

The award is named for the three-time college basketball All-American, 1932 National Player of the Year and 10-time national championship coach John Wooden.

"The Committee had an incredibly difficult task in narrowing down the nation's top 30 women's players, because over 50 players received at least one vote for the preseason list," said Wooden Award Chairman, Duke Llewellyn. "Our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation vie for basketball's Player of the Year Award."

The preseason list is based on last year's individual performance and team records. Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason list, but will be evaluated and considered for the Wooden Midseason Top 20 and the national ballot.

Candidates have been selected from nine NCAA conferences. Conferences include the ACC (five players), the Big 12 (two players), the Pac-10 (three players), the Big East (eight players), the SEC (five players), the Big Ten (three players), the Atlantic 10 (two players), Big Sky (one player) and the Sun Belt Conference (one player).

In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 list, followed by the official voting ballot in March consisting of approximately 15 players. In order to be considered for the National Ballot each player must be certified by their university as meeting the award's criteria, including making progress toward graduation, and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Over 200 voters, comprised of sports media members and women's college basketball experts from across the nation, will cast their votes for the five-member All-American team and Wooden Award honor as the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player in the nation.

The 2008 Wooden Award Weekend, 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 to Pat Summitt from the University of Tennessee, will take place April 11- 12. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the Award celebration and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club in their name to their university's general scholarship fund.

About the 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 such notables as Larry Bird (1979), Michael Jordan (1984), Tim Duncan (1997), and last year's recipients, Kevin Durant of Texas and Candace Parker of Tennessee.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship funds in the names of the All-American recipients, and has sent over 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympians and the All-American team members, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club during the Wooden Award Weekend.

Women's John R. Wooden Award Candidates (listed alphabetically)

Player		Height	Year	Pos.	Team
Matee	Ajavon	5-8	Sr.	G	Rutgers
Charel	Allen	5-11	Sr.	G	Notre Dame
Jolene	Anderson	5-8	Sr.	G	Wisconsin
Nicky	Anosike	6-4	Sr.	C	Tennessee
Jayne	Appel	6-4	So.	F	Stanford
Kimberly	Beck	5-8	Sr.	G	George Washington
Tina	Charles	6-4	So.	C	Connecticut
Marissa	Coleman	6-1	Jr.	G/F	Maryland
Allyssa	DeHaan	6-9	So.	C	Michigan State
Essence	Carson	6-0	Sr.	F	Rutgers
Sylvia	Fowles*	6-6	Sr.	C	LSU
Devanei	Hampton	6-3	Jr.	F/C	California
Amber	Harris	6-5	So.	F	Xavier
Alexis	Hornbuckle	5-11	Sr.	G	Tennessee
Tasha	Humphrey	6-3	Sr.	F	Georgia
Crystal	Kelly	6-3	Sr.	F	Western Kentucky
Crystal	Langhorne	6-2	Sr.	C/F	Maryland
Erlana	Larkins	6-1	Sr.	F	North Carolina
Angel	McCoughtry	6-1	Jr.	F	Louisville
Renee	Montgomery	5-7	Jr.	G	Connecticut
Mandy	Morales	5-9	Jr.	G	Montana
Marscilla	Packer	5-9	Sr.	G	Ohio State
Courtney	Paris*	6-4	Jr.	C	Oklahoma
Candace	Parker*	6-4	Jr.	F/G/C	Tennessee
Takia	Starks	5-8	So.	G	Texas A&M
Kristi	Toliver	5-7	Jr.	G	Maryland
Kia	Vaughn	6-4	Jr.	C	Rutgers
Mercedes	Walker	6-3	Sr.	C	Pittsburgh
Abby	Waner	5-10	Jr.	G	Duke
Candice	Wiggins	5-11	Sr.	G	Stanford

* - indicates player was a 2007 Wooden All-American

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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