Doron, Langhorne Among Preseason Candidates for Wooden Award
8/12/2005 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 12, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Maryland's Shay Doron and Crystal Langhorne were among 30 of the nation's top preseason candidates for the 2005-06 Women's Wooden Award, college basketball's most prestigious honor. Maryland is one of just six schools to have two candidates.
Other teams with two preseason candidates are Connecticut, LSU, UCLA, Duke and North Carolina. Seven ACC players are also on the watch list, the most for any conference.
The list is composed of 30 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. The candidates are composed of returning players, although transfers, freshmen and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason top 20 list and the national ballot.
Entering her junior year, Doron (Great Neck, N.Y./Christ the King) is making her second appearance on the preseason watch list. Last season, she led the Terps in scoring with 17.6 points per game, which was also among the top three in the ACC. She was named Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and first team all-conference. This summer, she was named Most Valuable Player of the Division B European Championship after leading her native Israel to a gold medal and the country's first-ever women's international tournament title. She went on to earn MVP honors at the Maccabiah Games in Isreal, after leading the USA to gold.
A sophomore this fall, Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) is also coming off of a spectacular summer where she was also named Most Valuable Player after the USA U-19 team won gold at the FIBA U-19 World Championship in Tunis, Tunisia. A tri-captain of the USA squad, she was voted the ACC's Freshman of the Year after averaging 17.2 ppg, as well as leading the conference with 10.6 rebounds per game and 18 double-doubles.
In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason top 20 list, followed in March by the official voting ballot, consisting of approximately 15 top players. The 2006 award ceremony, which 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 8, 2006, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast.
2005-06 Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team - Top 30 Candidates (Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
Seimone Augustus* 6'1" Sr. G LSU Nikki Blue 5'8" Sr. G UCLA Lindsay Bowen 5'7" Sr. G Michigan State Jazz Covington 6'3" Jr. C Louisville Monique Currie* 6'0" Sr. G Duke Jessica Davenport* 6'5" Jr. C Ohio State Shay Doron 5'9" Jr. G Maryland Megan Duffy 5'7" Sr. G Notre Dame Candice Dupree 6'2" Sr. F Temple Emily Faurholt 5'11" Sr. F Idaho Sylvia Fowles 6'5" So. C LSU Katie Gearlds 6'1" Jr. G Purdue Erin Grant 5'8" Sr. G Texas Tech Tasha Humphrey 6'3" So. F Georgia Tiffany Jackson 6'3" Jr. F Texas Tamara James 5'10" Sr. G/F Miami Crystal Langhorne 6'3" So. C/F Maryland Erlana Larkins 6'2" So. F North Carolina Ivory Latta 5'6" Jr. G North Carolina Shawntinice Polk 6'5" Sr. C Arizona Cappie Pondexter 5'9" Sr. G Rutgers Armintie Price 5'9" Jr. G Mississippi Noelle Quinn 6'0" Jr. G UCLA Khara Smith 6'2" Sr. F DePaul Kim Smith 6'1" Sr. F Utah Ann Strother 6'3" Sr. G Connecticut Barbara Turner 6'0" Sr. G/F Connecticut Candice Wiggins 5'11" So. G Stanford Mistie Williams 6'3" Sr. F Duke Sophia Young 6'1" Sr. F Baylor* Indicates player was a 2004-2005 John R. Wooden Award All-American.
