Feb. 3, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland sophomore Crystal Langhorne is one of 20 mid-season candidates who is expected to contend for the 2005 John. R. Wooden Women's Award, presented to the nation's top women's basketball player, which was announced on Thursday. Langhorne is one of four sophomores on the list and one of three ACC players.
Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) leads the 20-2 Terrapins with 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, ranking in the top three in the ACC in both those categories. She is shooting a conference-high 65.4 percent from the floor and also leads the ACC with 11 double-doubles on the season. The 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year and a second team all-conference selection, she has helped the Terps post a 7-1 conference mark, so far, the team's best ACC start since 1991-92. Earlier this week, she was named ACC Player of the Week for the second time, averaging 26.0 points and 13.3 rebounds in three games, including a 34-point and 14-rebound performance in a win at Wake Forest last Sunday.
Eight NCAA conferences are represented on the list, including the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Mountain West, Pac-10 and SEC. The best-represented conferences include the ACC, Big East and SEC, which each have four candidates.
Players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 15 players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. More than 200 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts across the nation, will then cast their votes to determine both the five-member All-American team and player of the year recipient.
The 2006 Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and Legends of Coaching Award recipient Jim Boeheim of Syracuse University, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 8, 2006, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund for 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/her university that he/she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Alana Beard ('04), and last year's recipient, Seimone Augustus ('05).
Top Candidate Height Year Position School
Seimone Augustus 6'1" Sr. Guard LSU
Tara Boothe 6'1" Sr. Forward Xavier
Monique Currie 6'0" Sr. Guard Duke
Jessica Davenport 6'5" Jr. Center Ohio State
Jessica Dickson 5'11" Jr. Forward South Florida
Candice Dupree 6'2" Sr. Forward Temple
Sylvia Fowles 6'5" So. Center LSU
Tasha Humphrey 6'3" So. Forward Georgia
Tamara James 5'10" Sr. Guard/Forward Miami
Crystal Langhorne 6'3" So. Center/Forward Maryland
Ivory Latta 5'6" Jr. Guard North Carolina
Courtney Paris 6'4" Fr. Center Oklahoma
Candace Parker 6'3" Fr. Forward Tennessee
Cappie Pondexter 5'9" Sr. Guard Rutgers
Liz Shimek 6'1" Sr. Forward Michigan State
Khara Smith 6'2" Sr. Forward Depaul
Kim Smith 6'1" Sr. Forward Utah
Ann Strother 6'3" Sr. Guard Connecticut
Candice Wiggins 5'11" So. Guard Stanford
Sophia Young 6'1" Sr. Forward Baylor
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