Nov. 18, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State senior Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) is one of 50 college basketball players to be named to the preseason watch list for the prestigious Naismith Trophy, which has been given out annually since 1983 to the women's player of the year. The 2009 watch list includes three student-athletes out of the Mountain West Conference and is compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
A guard, Morris was an honorable mention All-American a year ago, averaging 16.1 points and 3.3 steals per game in leading the Aztecs to the program's first NCAA tournament bid in 12 years and a share of the regular season conference title. So far this year, Morris has been named a candidate for two other national player-of-the-year awards, the Wade Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award, and was tabbed the Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Morris also garnered third-team preseason All-America honors from Sporting News College Basketball magazine and is one of only 30 up for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for NCAA Division I women's basketball.
The team co-captain is averaging a squad-best 13.5 points with eight steals and is 4-for-6 (67 percent) from beyond the arc in two games this season.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors compiles the watch list based on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2009-10 college basketball season. In February, the board will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation, and in March, that list will be narrowed down to four. The trophy, which is presented by AT&T, will be handed out at the 2010 NCAA Women's Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, and the winner will be partially based on fan voting via text message.
Morris and the Aztecs, who are 2-0 on the year, will play their next contest this Saturday, Nov. 21, against Arizona at 6:30 p.m. PT at Viejas Arena as a part of the 2009 JHG Jam. Utah and UCLA will face-off in the second contest of the day at approximately 8:30 p.m.