Big East Comes Up Big in 2011-2012 Naismith Women's Early-Season Watch List

The Big East Conference sits atop the 2011-12 Naismith Women’s early-season watch list, with 12 players from six different universities being recognized, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today.

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ATLANTA (Nov. 30, 2011) – The Big East Conference sits atop the 2011-12 Naismith Women’s early-season watch list, with 12 players from six different universities being recognized, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. The watch list includes the top women’s college basketball players from 35 schools around the country, and was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2012 college basketball season. The 2012Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Denver.

Three schools – Notre Dame, Tennessee and Connecticut – have three players apiece on the list, while eight schools have two each. The list represents 13 different athletic conferences and features mostly upperclassmen.

“With 15 players returning from last season’s watch list, including two of last year’s finalists, this year’s Naismith Women’s Player of the Year trophy is all about experience,” said Eric Oberman, Atlanta Tipoff Club executive director. “We’re excited for all of the action to unfold and to see who is left standing at the end of the season.”

In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists. 

Notable Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year winners include Chamique Holdsclaw, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Tina Charles and last year’s winner, Maya Moore. The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year.

For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com. 

2011-12 Naismith Trophy Early-Season Watch List:

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.  Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.

The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.

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