Jackson named midseason candidate for Wooden Award
LOS ANGELES -- The John R. Wooden Award Committee on Thursday announced the Midseason Top 20 candidates for the 2007 Wooden Award, and University of Texas 6-3 senior forward Tiffany Jackson is one of the top 20 players in consideration for the National Player of the Year award. This marks the third consecutive year that Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Duncanville HS) has been a Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 candidate. She was one of the Wooden Award finalists as a sophomore in 2004-05. Jackson currently leads the 16-8 Longhorns in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg), blocks (29, 1.2 bpg), steals (63, 2.6 spg), minutes played (34.7 mpg), double-doubles (9) and double-figure scoring games (19). Jackson has 966 career rebounds, ranking fifth in UT career rebounds, and has the chance to become just the fourth players in UT basketball history to pull down 1,000-plus rebounds. Additionally, the 6-3 Jackson, a preseason All-American, is one of the most versatile players in the Big 12 Conference. She is first in league steals (2.5 spg), tied for fourth in Big 12 rebounding (9.0), seventh in scoring (15.8 ppg), tied for eighth in assists (2.9 apg) and tied for 10th in blocked shots (1.30 bpg). In March, the Wooden Award Committee will cut the list down to an official voting ballot consisting of approximately 15 players who are making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Over 200 voters, comprised of sports media members and women's college basketball experts across the nation, will then cast their votes for the five-member All-American team and Wooden Award honor as the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player in the nation. The 2007 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to recipient Gene Keady of Purdue University, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday, April 7, 2007. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund. "With such an exciting year filled with outstanding performances it's a tough chore to narrow the list to 20 players," said Mike Solum, director of the John R. Wooden Award. "The level of play has gone to new heights and we're excited to watch what the second half has in store. We're looking forward to seeing which of these players continue to elevate their games as we determine the nation's elite candidates." Seven NCAA conferences are represented on the list, including the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, SEC, and Sun Belt. The best represented conferences include the ACC with six candidates and the SEC with four candidates. Five newcomers have been selected to the midseason list that were not included on the preseason top 30. This group includes Katie Gearlds (Purdue), Chrissy Givens (Middle Tennessee), Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), Bernice Mosby (Baylor) and Waner (Duke).
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