Maryland's Five Starters Named Naismith Player of the Year Candidates
12/11/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's basketball team's starting five were named preseason candidates for the Naismith Award, presented to the national player of the year, the first time in the history of the award that five players from the same team have been named to the list. Among the 50 candidates on the list were senior Shay Doron, sophomores Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver, and juniors Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne.
The list of 50 candidates was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which includes basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances from last season and expectations from the 2006-07 campaign.
In January, the board of selectors will narrow the list to 30. Those players who distinguish themselves throughout the season will be eligible for the final ballot in March. The award, presented by Cingular Wireless, will allow fans to participate in determining this year's winner through text messaging. Fan voting will account for 25 percent of the final results.
Sophomore Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C]) and junior Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) have been selected to three national player of the year candidate lists, including the Naismith's preseason list. Each has been targeted John R. Wooden Award and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Wade Trophy preseason candidates.
Senior Shay Doron (Ramat Hasharon, Israel/Christ the King [D.C.]) and sophomore Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) were named to the Wade Watch, as well, while this marks junior Laura Harper's (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) first selection to a preseason national player of the year honor roll.
All five Terps were integral members of last year's national championship title run. This season, they have helped Maryland run out to a 12-0 record, its best start since the 1991-92 season. It also boasts the nation's longest win streak at 18 games.
Doron has left her mark all over the Maryland record books. She is third all-time in scoring and has broken the school records for career free throws made and attempted. She also ranks among the all-time best three-point shooters, while also ranking in the top 15 in steals and assists. This season, she has started every game and is averaging 13.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Langhorne has earned numerous honors since arriving on campus three season's ago. Last year, she was voted an All-American by the Associated Press and the United State Basketball Writers Association, and was selected to the All-ACC team for the second-straight year, earning a spot on the first team. She is currently the conference's active double-doubles leader with 38, including five this season.
Coleman was the only freshman last season to earn all-conference honors after being named the ACC's Rookie of the Year. On Dec. 2 of this year, she recorded the program's first-ever triple-double vs. UCSB and just the 11th in ACC history.
Toliver assumed the starting point guard position after arriving on campus. At the 2006 NCAA Championship, she hit the game-tying three pointer, which forced overtime in the eventual title-game victory over Duke. She is currently second in the ACC in assists per game (5.83) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.94).
Harper emerged last season as the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, a year after suffering an Achilles' tendon injury, which forced her to sit out the majority of the season. This year, she has started all 12 games for the Terps and is averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She notched her 100th career block at Northern Iowa last this week, which put her fourth all-time in the Maryland record books.
It is the second time this season at least four Terps have been named preseason candidates for a national player of the year honor. Coleman, Doron, Langhorne and Toliver were also named to the Wade Watch, the first time in the history of the Wade Trophy four players from the same team had been named preseason candidates.
The Terps take a break from the action until Thursday, Dec. 21 when they travel to Baltimore to take on Loyola.
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