Jan. 11, 2011
LOS ANGELES - Texas A&M women's basketball senior Danielle Adams was one of 20 female student-athletes named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 list as announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday.
Adams, a 6-foot-1 combination forward/center, is the Big 12's leading scorer and the nation's eighth-best leading scorer who averages 22.3 points per game, including a career-high, 33-point effort against TCU last month. She also posts a team-best 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Adams has already registered six double-doubles this season, shoots a team-high 56.7 percent from the floor and is the national leader in points per minute (.845).
From Kansas City, Mo., Adams is a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season. She earned a spot on the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team and was named the San Diego Surf `N Slam Classic MVP. She is also a member of the 2010-11 Wade Trophy Watch List, the Naismith Preseason Watch List, was named a Preseason All-American by the Sporting News' and was a Preseason All-Big 12 selection.
The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round during the NCAA Tournament, making it unique among college postseason awards. Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are eligible for this midseason list but did not appear on the preseason Top 30. All players nationally who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
The 35th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, a special tribute to Coach Wooden and Wooden Award founder Duke Llewellyn, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, given to Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo, will take place April 8, 2011.
About the John R. 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 or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or email at woodenaward@laac.net.