Aug. 20, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State senior Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) is one of 31 student-athletes named to the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, which has been given out annually since 2004 to the nation's most outstanding women's college basketball player. Morris, who is a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award All-America team, was also selected to the watch list for the State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year award last month.
"This year has been a blessing and to be named to both the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy Watch Lists in the same season is truly an honor," Morris said. "It's an honor not only for myself, but for my teammates, the coaching staff and our entire Aztec Basketball program. I look forward to representing San Diego State, both on and off the court, in my senior season."
Morris is just the second player in Mountain West Conference history to be named to either watch list, joining Utah's Kim Smith, who was nominated for the Wade Trophy three times and the Wooden Award on two occasions.
The John R. Wooden Award is a national award program consisting of a women's player of the year award, as well as an All-America team. The preseason watch list is composed of 31 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
Last season, Morris, a 2008-09 honorable mention State Farm Coaches' All-American, led San Diego State to the program's first NCAA tournament bid in 12 years and the team's first NCAA victory in 15 seasons. The senior guard averaged a team-best 16.1 points per game, scoring 20 or more points eight times and eclipsing the 30-point barrier on three occasions, including a 35-point performance vs. DePaul in the Aztecs' first round NCAA tournament game.
Morris led the league in steals in both overall (3.33/g) and conference-only (2.94/g) outings, ranking seventh nationally and becoming the first Aztec to record 100 steals in a season since Falisha Wright in 1993-94. Morris had three or more steals in 20 of her 30 games, including a league-high eight on two occasions, which are the most by an Aztec since 2002.
Her other honors last season included being named the 2009 MWC Defensive Player of the Year, first-team all-conference, MWC all-defensive team, MWC Championship all-tournament team and four-time MWC player of the week.
In late December, the Wooden Award Committee will release the midseason top-20 list, followed in March by the national ballot, consisting of approximately 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The women's Wooden Award All-America team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round during the NCAA Tournament.
The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-America teams and Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April 2010.
San Diego State ended its 2008-09 campaign with a 24-8 overall record and a 13-3 mark in conference play, capturing a share of its first-ever Mountain West Conference regular season title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
2009 John R. Wooden Award Women's Preseason List/Preseason Candidates For Wooden All-America Team
Name Height Class Position University Conference Jayne Appel 6-4 Sr. F/C Stanford Pac-10 Erica Beverly 6-0 Sr. F Hartford America East Angie Bjorklund 6-0 Jr. G/F Tennessee SEC Heather Bowman 6-2 Sr. F Gonzaga West Coast Jessica Breland* 6-3 Sr. F North Carolina ACC Tina Charles 6-4 Sr. C Connecticut Big East Alysha Clark 5-10 Sr. F Middle Tennessee Sun Belt Allyssa DeHaan 6-9 Sr. C Michigan State Big Ten Tyra Grant 5-11 Sr. G Penn State Big Ten Alexis Gray-Lawson 5-8 Sr. G California Pac-10 Allison Hightower 5-10 Sr. G Louisiana State SEC Ashley Houts 5-6 Sr. G Georgia SEC Ify Ibekwe 6-1 Jr. F Arizona Pac-10 Jantel Lavender 6-4 Jr. C Ohio State Big Ten Gabriela Marginean 6-1 Sr. F Drexel CAA Danielle McCray 5-11 Sr. G/F Kansas Big 12 Nicole Michael 6-2 Sr. F Syracuse Big East Jacinta Monroe 6-4 Sr. F/C Florida State ACC Maya Moore #$ 6-0 Jr. F Connecticut Big East Jené Morris5-9 Sr. G San Diego State Mountain West Dierdre Naughton 5-10 Sr. G DePaul Big East Ta`Shia Phillips 6-6 Jr. C Xavier Atlantic 10 Jeanette Pohlen 6-0 Jr. G Stanford Pac-10 Samantha Prahalis 5-7 So. G Ohio State Big Ten Andrea Riley 5-5 Sr. G Oklahoma State Big 12 Danielle Robinson 5-9 Jr. G Oklahoma Big 12 Jenna Smith 6-3 Sr. C Illinois Big Ten Ashley Sweat 6-2 Sr. F Kansas State Big 12 Carolyn Swords 6-6 Jr. C Boston College ACC Courtney Vandersloot 5-8 Jr. G Gonzaga West Coast Monica Wright 5-11 Sr. G Virginia ACC *Possible 2010 medical redshirt # 2009 Wooden Award winner $ 2008 Wooden Award All-American