On Women's Basketball

Finally, some love for Jenna Smith

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Friday, December 19, 2008 9:50 PM

I've expressed many times in this space my belief that Jenna Smith's play hasn't been fully appreciated on a national scale. Her play in 2007-08 showed that she was as good as anyone in the Big Ten, having outplayed Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, eventually named the conference's Player of the Year, in their head-to-head matchups and posting season-long numbers that were as good or better than Lavender's. It wasn't rewarded, primarily because Illinois was an after-thought on the national scene.

Maybe that's changing, albeit slowly. On Friday, Smith was one of 50 players named to the Naismith Trophy early season watch list.

From a press release:

The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The watch list does not include incoming freshmen, although those student-athletes will be considered in the first vote in February, 2009. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, Mo.

Looking at the list, it's clear there was an emphasis placed on "player performances from the previous year" because there are some outstanding players not on the list, most notably North Carolina's Jessica Breland, whom Illinois will face on Saturday. Breland has played as well as anyone in college basketball this season and is stamping herself as a legit first-team All-America candidate.

Here's the full list:

Rachel Allison, Baylor
Jayne Appel, Stanford
Ashley Barlow, Notre Dame
Chante Black, Duke

DeWanna Bonner, Auburn

Heather Bowman, Gonzaga
Arnika Brown, Western Kentucky
Jernisha Cann, IUPUI
Carlee Cassidy, Maryland-Baltimore County
Tina Charles, Connecticut
Kristi Cirone, Illinois State
Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee
Marissa Coleman, Maryland
Dellena Criner, Nevada
Allyssa DeHaan, Michigan State
Tiera DeLaHoussaye, Western Michigan
Erin Dixon, Texas-Arlington
Krustal Ellis , Marquette
Dawn Evans, James Madison
Rachele Fitz, Marist
Amber Guffey, Murray State
Amber Harris, Xavier
Britni Houghton, Central Michigan
Ashley Houts, Georgia
Ify Ibekwe, Arizona
Amber Jackson, North Texas
Amy Jaeschke, Northwestern
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State
Judie Lomax, Columbia
Gabriela Marginean, Drexel
Rashanda McCants, North Carolina
Angel McCoughtry, Louisville
Phyllisha Mitchell, Tennessee-Martin
Renee Montgomery, Connecticut
Maya Moore, Connecticut
Courtney Paris, Oklahoma
Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier
Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State
Jenna Smith, Illinois
Takia Starks, Texas A&M
Kristi Toliver, Maryland
Kia Vaughn, Rutgers
Ashley Walker, California
Abby Waner, Duke
Morgan Warburton, Utah
Christina Wirth, Vanderbilt
Noteisha Womack, Steon Hall
Monica Wright, Virginia
Shavonte Zellous, Pittsburgh

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