Posted by Graham Hays
In a year when Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps headlined the world of sports by dominating races (give or take the occasional photo finish at the wall), Maya Moore was a fittingly clear-cut choice as the nation's top freshman last spring.
But now Moore is a sophomore, the calendar has turned to 2009 and the current pack of newcomers has yet to spit out a clear leader in the race for this season's honor. As of the beginning of the week, Long Island's Ashley Palmer was the only freshman among the nation's top 50 in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game. And with full respect to Palmer (who is also among national leaders in rebounding at 9.9 per game and is turning over the ball fewer than two times per game), the Northeast Conference is going to produce a national award winner about as often as the guy in the outside lane from Lichtenstein beats Bolt.
Who else is in the race? In no particular order, at least after No. 1:
AP Photo/Wade Payne
Shekinna Stricklen leads Tennessee with 14 points per game through 13 contests.
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee: She was the front-runner when I started taking a closer look at the competition, and I haven't changed my mind. Teammate Glory Johnson is going to be just fine (and she is already a significant asset, for that matter), but Stricklen has been the team's best player since Angie Bjorklund returned and took some of the pressure off the team's freshmen. At 6 feet, 2 inches, Stricklen does everything from play the point to block shots. And watching her spot up from beyond NBA range is simply fun.
Caroline Doty, Connecticut: The simple fact that Doty is competing for shots with the last three winners of Big East Freshman of the Year (Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles and Moore) makes adding a fourth consecutive award to Connecticut's trophy case an uphill climb. But Doty is making a go of it. Through the first half of the season, her shooting numbers are almost spot-on with what Mel Thomas provided before last season's season-ending injury, and Doty is a more athletic defender and rebounder than the guard the Huskies missed down the stretch.
Move a thousand miles and change to the west and Whitney Hand is filling a similar role with similar aplomb for Oklahoma.
Ariana Moorer, Virginia: The numbers don't jump off the stat sheet, but Moorer has stepped into a high-pressure situation and handled things without incident. Bumped into the starting role at point guard when Paulisha Kellum went down with a season-ending injury, Moorer leads the Cavaliers in assists, averages 24 minutes a game and must be doing something right for a team that is 13-2 and poised to make noise in the ACC.
Shenise Johnson, Miami: It might be a quiet season for freshmen elsewhere in the ACC, but that doesn't take much away from the fact that Johnson leads conference newcomers in points, assists and steals per game, and is tied for the lead in rebounds per game. As Monday's loss against Clemson highlighted, Miami is going to have to step up its play after spending a lot of time at home in games against teams it should, and to its credit did, beat early on, but Johnson looks like a keeper.
Jamie Smith, UNLV: By itself, shooting better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line is impressive but not exactly unique on the basketball landscape. Same goes for averaging better than eight rebounds per game. But doing both as a freshman is a good way to get noticed. Smith has hit 20 3-pointers this season; the four MWC veterans averaging more rebounds per game have combined to hit 13.
Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State: One of the highly touted freshmen who has been every bit as good as advertised. As might be expected for a freshman point guard with the kind of moves that can fool opponents, her teammates and possibly even herself equally, Prahalis turns over the ball a lot. But thanks to the sheer quantity of good plays she makes, she's still third in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio. You know Jantel Lavender loves having her around.
Joelle Connelly, Hofstra: The Colonial is in the same boat as the Northeast, but Connelly is averaging 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game for a Pride team that already has three more wins this season than it had all of last season. And she's doing it with more assists than turnovers, a rare sight in a freshman post.
Da'Shena Stevens, St. John's: If Doty doesn't claim the award as the Big East's top newcomer, it will probably be thanks to Stevens. The Red Storm have rolled to a 13-1 record against a relatively comfortable schedule, so life is going to get considerably tougher for Stevens as conference play heats up. But at 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and all-around defensive playmaking, she has already shown an ability to stick up for herself.
Washington State: I don't know which one to pick, so I'm giving them a collective nod. The Cougars are 7-5 and likely in for a long season in the Pac-10, but the future is bright (or at least as bright as things get during winter on the Palouse). Three of Washington State's double-digit scorers are freshmen, led by Jazmine Perkins (14.7 points per game) and April Cook (14.2 points per game). And another, Rosie Tarnowski, has a positive assist-to-turnover ratios to go with the points.
Five more making noise:
Casey Garrison, Missouri State;
Emma Langford, Wyoming;
Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford;
Brittany Rayburn, Purdue;
Ceira Ricketts, Arkansas
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