Pac-10 Honors for Nneka and Ros

Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott announced today the individual honors voted on by the league's ten head coaches.

Player of the Year: Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford

Sophomore Nnemkadi Ogwumike upholds a tradition of excellence at Stanford, becoming the seventh different Cardinal voted Pac-10 Player of the Year and the 14th time since 1986-87. The award has also been bestowed upon a Cardinal for the third-straight year and six times over the last seven years, including current teammate senior center Jayne Appel who won the honor last year. Ogwumike has helped the Cardinal go undefeated in Pac-10 play (18-0), post a 28-1 record and boast a No. 2 national ranking all season. Ogwumike was named to the All-Pac-10 team after averaging 18.2 ppg and 9.4 rpg, leading the Conference in scoring and ranking third in rebounding. She is also the league leader and ranks fourth in the country in shooting percentage (63.8). She has scored in double figures 26 times this season, including a Conference-best 14 20-point games. On Jan. 23, she put up 30 points at Oregon, also grabbing a school-record 23 rebounds. Ogwumike was named Pac-10 Player of the Week a league-high three times this year. She is vying for national player of the year honors as she was named a candidate for the State Farm/WBCA Wade Trophy. Ogwumike is nearing the 1,000-point threshold, needing just 71 points.

Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Stanford & Brianna Gilbreath, USC

In the third year of the award, USC’s Briana Gilbreath and Stanford’s Rosalyn Gold-Onwude share the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honor, the first time a player other than Briann January, a former Arizona State standout and a member of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, has won the award.

Gold-Onwude has been a steady presence in the backcourt for the Cardinal, helping the team go 18-0 in Pac-10 play and 28-1 overall. A starter in 28-of-29 games, her skills have helped Stanford post the best scoring defensive average in the Pac-10 and also rank 13th in the nation, limiting opponents to a paltry 54.7 ppg. Opponents have had a hard time shooting against the Cardinal, clocking in at a low of 33.9 percent shooting, the third-lowest opponent shooting percentage in the country. Gold-Onwude has also helped Stanford post the sixth-best three-point defensive shooting percentage (26.1) in the nation.

Gilbreath is the Trojan’s rebounding leader, averaging 5.9 rpg. She leads the team with 44 blocks, averaging 1.52 stops per game to rank third in the Pac-10. She is also among the top-15 steals leaders in the Conference, averaging 1.72 thefts per game. The 2009 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and a former McDonald’s All-American, Gilbreath has helped USC claim the third seed in the State Farm Pac-10 Tournament, the team’s highest seeding since 2004. The Women of Troy have also won 12 league games, the most since the 2004-05 campaign.

Freshman of the Year: Davellyn Whyte, Arizona

Freshman guard Davellyn Whyte becomes the first Wildcat to win Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors since Adia Barnes nabbed the honor in 1998. Whyte was also named to the All-Pac-10 team on Wednesday. Whyte is the highest-scoring freshman in the league, averaging a team-leading 16.0 points per game, which also ranks fifth among all Pac-10 players. The Phoenix, Ariz., native’s contributions has led to the Wildcats averaging nearly 10.0 points per game and shooting nearly five percent better than last season. Whyte has recorded two 30-point games this season, including netting a school-record 39 points in the win over Oregon on Jan. 16 en route to earning Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. Whyte was the Arizona State Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior.

Coach of the Year: Nikki Caldwell, UCLA

Nikki Caldwell becomes the first Bruin coach to win Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. The second-year head coach has led UCLA to a 22-7 record overall and 15-3 in the Pac-10. The 15 league wins tied a school record and are the most since 1998-99. Three of her Bruins have landed on the All-Pac-10 team since taking over the helm last year, including two this season. For the second-consecutive year, one of her players was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. Caldwell goes into the 2010 State Farm Pac-10 Tournament with a career record of 41-19 record and 24-12 in Pac-10 games. Caldwell is a 1994 graduate of Tennessee where she was also an assistant coach under legendary Pat Summit for six years before moving to Los Angeles.