Complete Naismith Trophy Women's 50 Watch List
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Atlanta Tipoff Club Announced Wednesday, December 10th, the 2014-15 Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List which included Central Michigan senior Crystal Bradford. The Naismith Trophy recognizes the NCAA’s National Player of the Year.
Bradford, the reigning Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becomes the first player named to the Watch List from the MAC since the 2012-13 season when Toledo’s Naama Shafir was named for the second consecutive season.
This season Bradford has led the Chippewas to a 3-2 start against one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Returning from a season-ending injury that sidelined her prior the 2014 MAC Tournament, Bradford is leading the Chippewas in points per game (17.3 ppg), rebounds per game (10.3 rpg), assists per game (3.8 apg) and steals per game (2.5 spg).
Bradford joins Britni Houghton as the second student-athlete from Central Michigan to be named to the watch list. Houghton was named to the 2008-09 watch list along with Western Michigan’s Tiera DeLaHoussaye. Other MAC women’s basketball individuals to be named to the watch list include Bowling Green’s Lauren Prochaska in 2010-11, and the aforementioned Naama Shafir in 2011-12 and 12-13 seasons.
The next Naismith announcement will come in February when the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the Midseason 30.
History of the Naismith Trophy
Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, founder of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is awarded annually to the women’s and men’s college basketball players of the year. First awarded in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Naismith Trophy was sculpted by Marty C. Dawe of Atlanta and has become the most prestigious national honors awarded each year to the top women’s and men’s college basketball players in the nation.
Each year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s board of selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, vote on player performance to ultimately select the winners.
Unique among national awards of this caliber, the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, allows fans to contribute an unprecedented 25 percent of the final vote for the women’s and men’s players of the year and the women’s and men’s coaches of the year using the text messaging functions on their cellular telephones.
Established in 1987, the Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award and the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award were originally given to the coaches of the women’s and men’s NCAA Division I Tournament champions. In 1989, the governing board changed the selection criteria to the voting process used today. Each year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s board of selectors first votes to compile a top-25 list of coaches for each award. Then, through additional votes, the list is narrowed down to four and finally the eventual winner.
Also in 1987, to honor the nation’s best girl’s and boy’s high school basketball players, the Naismith Trophy Girl’s High School Player of the Year and the Naismith Trophy Boy’s High School Player of the Year were established. Each honor is selected annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors. The board votes to compile a top-10 list of players from across the country for both awards. The winners are then selected by a board vote.
About Atlanta Tipoff Club
Founded during the 1956-57 season, 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 administers the Naismith Awards, which have become the most prestigious national honors in all of college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T recognizes the top Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Players of the Year. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coaches of the Year, Boy’s and Girl’s high school basketball players and coaches of the year, high school scholar-athletes, basketball officials, student sections and overall contributors to the game. The Naismith Trophy was first presented to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.
