Oct. 5, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball senior Victoria Dunlap has been named one of the top 30 preseason candidates for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, it was announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Dunlap, a 6-foot-1 forward from Nashville, Tenn., enters her senior season as one of the most decorated players in UK Hoops history. She was named the 2010 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by The Associated Press and the league’s coaches and was one of the 10 State Farm All-Americans named by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association last year, becoming UK’s first All-American since Valerie Still in 1983. She is also on the Wade Trophy watch list awarded to the nation’s top player.
Dunlap averaged a team-high 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game in helping lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Elite Eight and the school’s sixth straight postseason appearance in 2009-10. Along the way, Dunlap set single-season school records for blocks (66) and steals (107) and became the 27th member of UK’s prestigious 1,000-point club, climbing up to No. 14 with 1,284 career points.
Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are not eligible for the preseason Wooden Award list. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December’s midseason list and 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 Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
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, will take place the weekend of April 8-10, 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), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08) 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.
