Paris a Wooden Midseason Candidate

Jan. 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- Oklahoma's Courtney Paris leads the list of the Midseason Top 20 candidates for the Women's John R. Wooden Award, the nation's most coveted college basketball award, were announced Wednesday by The Women's Wooden Award Committee.

Paris was a finalist for the award two last two seasons and, as such, is a two-time Wooden All-American.

"Not surprisingly, many of the nation's top teams also have the most impressive players," said Duke Llewellyn, Wooden Award chairman. "We look forward to continuing to follow these players as we determine the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Player of the Year."

Paris was also named to the Naismith Award mid-season candidate list this week and is also a candidate for the Wade Trophy.

Composed of the top 20 players who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual player performance and team records during the first half of the season. Heading the list are last year's Wooden Award winner, Tennessee's Candace Parker, and 2007 Wooden All-Americans Courtney Paris of Oklahoma and Sylvia Fowles of LSU.

Forty-seven players received votes for the midseason list, indicating the depth of this year's field. Six players have been selected to the Midseason Top 20 who were not on the Preseason Top 30 list. This impressive group includes returning players -- Chante Black of Duke, Natalie Doma of Idaho State, Andrea Riley of Oklahoma State, Ashley Walker of California and Middle Tennessee's Amber Holt -- and one freshman, Maya Moore of Connecticut.

Seven NCAA conferences are represented, including the Big East Conference topping the list with six players, followed by the ACC with four, the SEC with three, the Big 12, Sun Belt and Pac-10 each with two, and the Big Sky with one.

Players who do not make the midseason list are still eligible for consideration for the Wooden Award. In March, the Women's National Advisory Board will release the names of the players selected to the official voting ballot. The ballot consists of approximately 15 players who have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. More than 300 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 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-12. The 32nd Annual Wooden Award Gala, with a reception and dinner program, will take place the evening of Friday, April 11 at the Sheraton Downtown Los Angeles. On Saturday, April 12, the Wooden Award Announcement and trophy presentation will be televised, followed by a press conference and sponsor reception.

The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.

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. Last year's winners were Kevin Durant of Texas and Candace Parker of Tennessee.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All-American recipients and has sent more than 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 Olympic athletes and the All-American players, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday of the John R. Wooden Award weekend.

Wooden Award Midseason All-America Team | Top 20 Candidates

Name	Height	Class	Pos.	College
Matee Ajavon	5-8	Sr.	G	Rutgers
Charel Allen	5-11	Sr.	G	Notre Dame
Chante Black	6-5	Jr.	C	Duke
Tina Charles	6-4	So.	C	Connecticut
Natalie Doma	6-3	Sr.	C	Idaho State
Sylvia Fowles*	6-6	Sr.	C	LSU
Amber Holt	6-1	Sr.	F	Middle Tennessee State
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
Maya Moore	6-1	Fr.	F	Connecticut
Courtney Paris*	6-4	Jr.	C	Oklahoma
Candace Parker*	6-4	Jr.	F/G/C	Tennessee
Andrea Riley	5-5	So.	G	Oklahoma State
Kristi Toliver	5-7	Jr.	G	Maryland
Ashley Walker	6-1	Jr.	F/C	California
Mercedes Walker	6-3	Sr.	C	Pittsburgh
Candice Wiggins	5-11	Sr.	G	Stanford
* Indicates player was a 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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