Duke’s Beard Is Choice for the Wooden Award

Alana Beard capped her season and college basketball career by being named the inaugural winner of the women’s John R. Wooden Award on Friday.

The Duke senior guard, who averaged 19.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists and led the 30-4 Blue Devils to a fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship, was selected over Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante, Stanford’s Nicole Powell, Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi and Purdue’s Shereka Wright. Voting was completed March 29.

Taurasi, whose team won a third consecutive national championship on Tuesday, was in Denver working out with the U.S. Olympic team and was the only one of the five players not at Friday’s award ceremony at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey.

This was the third major postseason award for Beard, who received the Wade Trophy during the Women’s Final Four in New Orleans on Monday and was also selected the Associated Press player of the year.

“It wasn’t about winning an award,” Beard said. “It was about coming out here and being a part of the first women’s Wooden Award, and definitely meeting Coach Wooden. That was the biggest privilege of all.”

Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said it would take a while for the award to sink in with her player.

“I think right now she’s in awe because of who John Wooden is and what he stands for,” Goestenkors said. “I know she’s just so honored to be the first.”

Wooden, who attended the ceremony and who will be at the Los Angeles Athletic Club today when the men’s award bearing his name is presented, said he is a fan of the women’s game.

“I’ve said for some time now, the women’s collegiate game plays the purest game -- I really believe they do,” Wooden said. “I’m also [a believer] in the academic end of it, and they’re all good students.”

-- Mike Terry

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Jameer Nelson’s dizzying awards tour comes to Los Angeles today for the presentation of the Wooden Award.

Nelson, a 5-foot-11 guard, is the favorite for the honor after leading Saint Joseph’s to an undefeated regular season, a No. 1 ranking and the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight.

He was in Atlanta on Friday night to pick up the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Award and was to catch a late flight for Los Angeles in order to be here for the 10 a.m. presentation.

The other finalists are Emeka Okafor -- whose performance in the Final Four as Connecticut won the NCAA title came after voting was completed March 29 -- as well as Stanford’s Josh Childress, Duke’s Chris Duhon and Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts.

The Wooden Award is chosen by a panel of more than 1,000 media members and college basketball experts.

Robyn Norwood

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The Vote

The final point totals in voting for the women’s Wooden Award, by more than 200 members of the media and college basketball experts who submitted ballots by March 29:

Player Points

ALANA BEARD, Duke 519

DIANA TAURASI, Connecticut 456

KELLY MAZZANTE, Penn State 219

NICOLE POWELL, Stanford 169

SHEREKA WRIGHT, Purdue 97