University of North Carolina Athletics
The Women's Basketball Journal
October 9, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 9, 2000
RALEIGH (N.C.) - Three teams clearly dominated the preseason honors announced by The Women's Basketball Journal on Oct. 10. Connecticut, Tennessee and Georgia were listed one, two and three in WBJ's preseason Top 25, and each of those programs placed three players on WBJ's Preseason All-America squad.
Defending national champion Connecticut received the top prize from WBJ's editors and contributors. The Huskies were rated at No. 1, and UConn had one player on each of the first three units of the All-America team. Senior forward Shea Ralph earned first team notice, junior point guard Sue Bird was on the second team, and senior forward Svetlana Abrosimova was on the third team.
Tennessee, which lost to Connecticut in the 2000 title game, was ranked second. The Lady Vols put Tamika Catchings (first team), Semeka Randall (third team) and Kara Lawson (fourth team) on the All-America list.
Georgia stumbled in the Elite Eight last year, but WBJ believes the Bulldogs will be in St. Louis for the 2001 Final Four. All-Americans Kelly Miller (first team), Coco Miller (fifth team) and Tawana McDonald (fifth team) will be leading Coach Andy Landers' squad.
For more information about these predictions, please call WBJ editor Doug Herakovich at 800.313.7005.
WBJ's 2000-01
Preseason Rankings
1. Connecticut
2. Tennessee
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Duke
6. Purdue
7. LSU
8. Rutgers
9. Louisiana Tech
10. Old Dominion
11. SW Missouri State
12. Iowa State
13. Virginia
14. Wisconsin
15. Mississippi State
16. Penn State
17. Texas Tech
18. Stanford
19. Oregon
20. N.C. State
21. Vanderbilt
22. Boston College
23. Xavier
24. Southern California
25. DePaul
2000-01 WBJ Preseason All-Americans
| First Team | Cl. | Ht. | College | 1999-2000 Regular Season | ||
| F | Tamika Catchings | Sr. | 6-1 | Tennessee | 15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg | |
| F | Shea Ralph | Sr. | 6-0 | Connecticut | 14.4 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.6 rpg | |
| C | Ruth Riley | Sr. | 6-5 | Notre Dame | 16.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg | |
| G | Kelly Miller | Sr. | 5-10 | Georgia | 15.4 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.5 rpg | |
| G | Marie Ferdinand | Sr. | 5-9 | LSU | 17.4 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.3 rpg | |
| Second Team | ||||||
| F | LaToya Thomas | So. | 6-2 | Mississippi State | 20.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg | |
| F | Katie Douglas | Sr. | 6-1 | Purdue | 21.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.7 apg | |
| C | Janell Burse | Sr. | 6-5 | Tulane | 19.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg | |
| G | Sue Bird | Jr. | 5-9 | Connecticut | 10.6 ppg, 4.3 apg | |
| G | Jackie Stiles | Sr. | 5-8 | SW Missouri State | 27.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg | |
| Third Team | ||||||
| F | Lucienne Berthieu | Sr. | 6-2 | Old Dominion | 17.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg | |
| F | Svetlana Abrosimova | Sr. | 6-2 | Connecticut | 11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.1 apg | |
| C | Camille Cooper | Sr. | 6-4 | Purdue | 14.4 ppg, 7.6 rgp | |
| G | Semeka Randall | Sr. | 5-10 | Tennessee | 14.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg | |
| G | Georgia Schweitzer | Sr. | 6-0 | Duke | 15.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg | |
| Fourth Team | ||||||
| F | Linda Frohlich | Jr. | 6-2 | UNLV | 21.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 3.2 spg | |
| F | ShaRae Mansfield | Sr. | 6-2 | Western Kentucky | 18.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 3.5 apg | |
| C | Angie Welle | Jr. | 6-4 | Iowa State | 15.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg | |
| G | Tasha Pointer | Sr. | 5-6 | Rutgers | 9.5 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.6 rpg | |
| G | Kara Lawson | So. | 5-9 | Tennessee | 14.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg | |
| Fifth Team | ||||||
| F | Schuye LaRue | So. | 6-3 | Virginia | 14.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg | |
| F | Deanna Jackson | Jr. | 6-2 | UAB | 18.2 ppg, 12.0 rpg | |
| C | Tawana McDonald | Jr. | 6-4 | Georgia | 12.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg | |
| G | Coco Miller | Sr. | 5-10 | Georgia | 15.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg | |
| G | Megan Taylor | Sr. | 5-10 | Iowa State | 13.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.9 apg | |
| Sixth Team | ||||||
| F | LaQuanda Barksdale | Sr. | 5-11 | North Carolina | 17.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg | |
| F | Ayana Walker | Jr. | 6-2 | Louisiana Tech | 9.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg | |
| C | Kate Smith | So. | 6-2 | Nevada | 19.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg | |
| G | Tasha Hamilton | Sr. | 5-10 | Auburn | 12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg | |
| G | Alicia Ratay | So. | 5-11 | Notre Dame | 14.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg |
