Oct. 16, 2001
ATLANTA, GA, -- Old Dominion senior Lucienne Berthieu (Rennes, France) is one of 30 top female basketball student-athletes to head a list of pre-season candidates for the 2001-2002 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award, it was announced by Jackie Bradford, President of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
The Naismith Awards program, now in its 34th year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball.
The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts. Members of the board were asked to name top male and female players who are most likely to be in contention for the award.
Last year's Naismith Award recipients were Shane Battier (Duke University) and Ruth Riley (University of Notre Dame). The first recipient of the male Naismith Award was Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of UCLA in 1969. Other college player of the year recipients include many NBA standouts such as Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Christian Laettner. The women's Naismith Award, first presented in 1983 to Anne Donovan of Old Dominion, includes recipients such as three-time winner Cheryl Miller of USC, two-time honorees Clarissa Davis of Texas, Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee and Dawn Staley of Virginia.
Berthieu, a Kodak District III and Women's Basketball Journal Third Team All-American, returns to the court following a year of rehabilitation on a torn ACL. During her junior campaign in 1999-2000, the CAA Player of the Year averaged 17.8 points and 8.9 rebound for the Lady Monarchs, who reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Leading the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in scoring and rebound, Berthieu finished sixth in the nation shooting an outstanding 60.7 percent from the floor.
2001-02 Pre-Season Naismith Candidates
Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt Brandi McCain, FloridaAlana Beard, Duke Tawana McDonald, GeorgiaLucienne Berthieu, Old Dominion Plenette Pierson, TexasTechSue Bird, Connecticut Nicole Powell, StanfordSwin Cash, Connecticut Alicia Ratay, Notre DameLaNeishea Caufield, Oklahoma Michelle Snow, TennesseeDanielle Crockrom, Baylor Diana Taurasi, ConnecticutStacey Dales, Oklahoma Nikki Teasley, North CarolinaChrissy Floyd, Clemson LaToya Thomas, Mississippi StateCatrina Frierson, LouisianaTech Ayana Walker, LouisianaTechDeanna Jackson, UAB Angie Welle, Iowa StateGwen Jackson, Tennessee Tamika Williams, ConnecticutSheila Lambert, Baylor Shaquala Williams, OregonKara Lawson, Tennessee Shereka Wright, PurdueTakeisha Lewis, Louisiana Tech DeTrina White, LSU