Temple University Athletics
DUPREE SELECTED AS PRESEASON CANDIDATE FOR WBCA'S STATE FARM WADE TROPHY
8.18.05 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Temple University senior Candice Dupree has been selected as a preseason candidate for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA's) State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year award. Comprised of 25 Division I student-athletes, the list was compiled by a national awards committee of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball administrators. Athletes were selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. Dupree, a preseason Wooden Award nominee, is currently competing with USA Basketball's World University Games team in Imzir, Turkey.
Dupree, who led Temple to its best season in program history, was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and the Atlantic 10 Conference's Player of the Year after averaging 16.3 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. The 2005 A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Dupree helped the Owls to a #15 National Ranking and the nation's best winning streak, which reached 25 games before ending in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The 6-2 center repeated at Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament and on the All-Tournament Team, becoming just second player in Conference history to earn back-to-back MOP honors. She also received the Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Year title and was selected First Team All-A-10, to the A-10 All-Defensive Team and First Team All-Big Five. Dupree capped off an incredible year by scoring her 1,000th career point, becoming just 14th player in Temple women's basketball history to do so.
The State Farm Wade Trophy, now in its 28th 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 most prestigious award, regarded as the "Heisman of Women's Basketball," is organized by the WBCA in conjunction with the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS).
Last year's The State Farm Wade Trophy recipient was Seimone Augustus from LSU. Other Wade Trophy/NCAA Division I Player of the Year recipients include many WNBA standouts such as Teresa Weatherspoon (1988), Jennifer Azzi (1990), Ticha Penchiero (1998), Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2003) and Cheryl Miller (1995), in addition to, two-time winner Nancy Lieberman (1979 and 1980).
The 2006 State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be announced during the WBCA National Convention held in conjuction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in Boston, Mass., March 31-April 4, 2006.
For a complete list of nominees, please visit www.wbca.org.
