University of North Carolina Athletics
McCants Named To Preseason Wade Watch List
August 19, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 19, 2008
ATLANTA --- The Women's Basketball Coaches Association, on behalf of the Wade Coalition, announced the 2008-09 preseason "Wade Watch" list for the State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year Tuesday, and North Carolina senior Rashanda McCants was among the 25 student-athletes selected. The list is made up of top Division I student-athletes who best embody the spirit of Lily Margaret Wade according to the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.
"Once again our committee has done an amazing job putting together a stellar group of student-athletes that have shown their leadership on the court, in the classroom and in the community," said committee chair Jeanne Lenti Ponsetto. "Each one represents all that this award is about, and I look forward to April when we will name another talented woman to this prestigious list."
McCants, Carolina's leading scorer last season, returns to a squad that finished 33-3 in 2007-08 and completed the first undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference run in school history. The Asheville, N.C., product averaged 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a junior and earned second-team All-ACC honors. McCants had her best season in Chapel Hill in 2007-08, establishing new career highs in every statistical category.
The State Farm Wade Trophy, now in its 32nd year and named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. This highly prestigious award, regarded as the "Heisman of Women's Basketball", is organized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), in conjunction with the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).
The 2009 State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be announced at the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, Mo., April 3-7, 2009.
