Vivians, William Named To Wooden Award Top 30
November 14, 2017 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Add another watch list for Mississippi State seniors Victoria Vivians and Morgan William as the duo was among the Top 30 players named Tuesday for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's.
The senior guards were selected by a panel of national women's college basketball media members, and the Top 30 was announced on ESPN's SportsCenter and espnW.
Vivians and William are two of six Southeastern Conference players on the list. Mississippi State is one of eight schools to have multiple players on the list. Tennessee is the only other SEC school with two or more selections.
Vivians, a 2017 Third Team Associated Press All-American, had quite the debut for Mississippi State in its season-opening win against Virginia, tallying 22 points on 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) shooting from the field. She also grabbed 7 rebounds.
The Carthage, Miss., native passed Alexis Rack for third place on State's career scoring list. Her 1,776-career points puts her behind only former MSU All-Americans LaToya Thomas and Tan White in program annals.
Prior to the season, Vivians was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard and was a Preseason All-SEC selection after earning first team accolades the previous two years.
William joined Vivians in garnering Preseason All-SEC honors, and she was selected to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the country's top point guard after a stellar junior campaign that saw her average 10.9 ppg and dish a school-record 181 assists.
The Birmingham, Ala., native became the Bulldogs' career assists leader last season, and she brought her total to 488 with 8 dimes in Friday's season-opening win against Virginia.
William also sits atop the MSU record books at the free-throw line with an 84.3 career percentage that is ninth in SEC annals.
Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs return to action Thursday, hosting Georgia State in a 7 p.m. tip at the Hump. MSU closes out a season-opening three-game homestand Sunday at 2 p.m. against in-state foe Southern Miss.
Both games will be streamed live online on SEC Network +. Admission to all MSU home games is $5 for adults and $3 for youth age 18 and under. Youth 12 and under can get free admission to all women's basketball games by joining Bully's Kids Club at www.bullyskidsclub.com.
John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's 2017-18 Preseason Top 30
The senior guards were selected by a panel of national women's college basketball media members, and the Top 30 was announced on ESPN's SportsCenter and espnW.
Vivians and William are two of six Southeastern Conference players on the list. Mississippi State is one of eight schools to have multiple players on the list. Tennessee is the only other SEC school with two or more selections.
Vivians, a 2017 Third Team Associated Press All-American, had quite the debut for Mississippi State in its season-opening win against Virginia, tallying 22 points on 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) shooting from the field. She also grabbed 7 rebounds.
The Carthage, Miss., native passed Alexis Rack for third place on State's career scoring list. Her 1,776-career points puts her behind only former MSU All-Americans LaToya Thomas and Tan White in program annals.
Prior to the season, Vivians was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard and was a Preseason All-SEC selection after earning first team accolades the previous two years.
William joined Vivians in garnering Preseason All-SEC honors, and she was selected to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the country's top point guard after a stellar junior campaign that saw her average 10.9 ppg and dish a school-record 181 assists.
The Birmingham, Ala., native became the Bulldogs' career assists leader last season, and she brought her total to 488 with 8 dimes in Friday's season-opening win against Virginia.
William also sits atop the MSU record books at the free-throw line with an 84.3 career percentage that is ninth in SEC annals.
Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs return to action Thursday, hosting Georgia State in a 7 p.m. tip at the Hump. MSU closes out a season-opening three-game homestand Sunday at 2 p.m. against in-state foe Southern Miss.
Both games will be streamed live online on SEC Network +. Admission to all MSU home games is $5 for adults and $3 for youth age 18 and under. Youth 12 and under can get free admission to all women's basketball games by joining Bully's Kids Club at www.bullyskidsclub.com.
John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's 2017-18 Preseason Top 30
| Name | School | Conference | Height | Class | Position |
| Kristine Anigwe | California | Pac-12 | 6-4 | Jr. | C/F |
| Ariel Atkins | Texas | Big 12 | 5-11 | Sr. | G |
| Monique Billings | UCLA | Pac-12 | 6-4 | Sr. | F |
| Allazia Blockton | Marquette | Big East | 6-0 | Jr. | G |
| Kalani Brown | Baylor | Big 12 | 6-7 | Jr. | C |
| Lexie Brown | Duke | ACC | 5-9 | Sr. | G |
| Jordin Canada | UCLA | Pac-12 | 5-6 | Sr. | G |
| Napheesa Collier | Connecticut | The American | 6-1 | Jr. | F |
| Sophie Cunningham | Missouri | SEC | 6-1 | Jr. | G |
| Asia Durr | Louisville | ACC | 5-10 | Jr. | G |
| Katelynn Flaherty | Michigan | Big Ten | 5-7 | Sr. | G |
| Rebecca Greenwell | Duke | ACC | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Ruthy Hebard | Oregon | Pac-12 | 6-4 | Soph. | F |
| Myisha Hines-Allen | Louisville | ACC | 6-2 | Sr. | F |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Oregon | Pac-12 | 5-10 | Soph. | G |
| Tynice Martin | West Virginia | Big 12 | 5-11 | Jr. | G |
| Brooke McCarty | Texas | Big 12 | 5-4 | Sr. | G |
| Brittany McPhee | Stanford | Pac-12 | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Kelsey Mitchell | Ohio State | Big Ten | 5-8 | Sr. | G |
| Jaime Nared | Tennessee | SEC | 6-2 | Sr. | G/F |
| Kia Nurse | Connecticut | The American | 6-0 | Sr. | G |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame | ACC | 5-8 | Jr. | G |
| Mercedes Russell | Tennessee | SEC | 6-6 | Sr. | C |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | Connecticut | The American | 6-3 | Jr. | G/F |
| Azurá Stevens | Connecticut | The American | 6-6 | Sr. | G/F |
| Shakayla Thomas | Florida State | ACC | 5-11 | Sr. | F |
| Victoria Vivians | Mississippi State | SEC | 6-1 | Sr. | G |
| Morgan William | Mississippi State | SEC | 5-5 | Sr. | G |
| Gabby Williams | Connecticut | The American | 5-11 | Sr. | F |
| A'ja Wilson | South Carolina | SEC | 6-5 | Sr. | F |
Players Mentioned
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