How Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Miller and more got names on college hoops awards

It took Katrina McClain a little while to understand the prestige of the honor.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was naming its Power Forward of the Year award in women’s college basketball after the former University of Georgia star.

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“I didn’t realize the magnitude of it at first. Once I found out it was on a different scale and a lifetime event, I was really floored,” McClain said. “This is something that can continue to inspire young women to continue to play well. That is very exciting.”

In a move to mirror the men’s college game, the Hall of Fame expanded the women’s awards this year to include all five positions on the floor.

The Hall of Fame has honored the game’s top point guard since 2000 with the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. Beginning this season, players will also receive the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award and the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award.

“Kudos to the Hall of Fame for being able to start this. When I heard they were going to do the five positions, I really honestly had no idea I would be one of them,” said Meyers Drysdale, the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship at UCLA and the first four-time All-American in college basketball history regardless of gender. “I know there were an awful lot of great college players that have come along, so to be picked as the shooting guard is very, very humbling.”

The idea to expand the women’s awards began nearly a year ago. The Hall of Fame knew there was enough history and enough great players to make it possible.

It just wanted to make sure the awards would get the proper attention.

Once the Hall of Fame had partners in place like ESPN and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to help promote the awards, it starting selecting the namesakes. To be considered, players had to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

“There were some very hard decisions obviously because there were a number of good candidates for each position, “said Greg Procino, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Vice President of Basketball Operations. “We wanted to make a list that was well-rounded and diverse and inclusive of the different eras of the women’s game.”

Each namesake is heading her own award selection committee, which is comprised of head coaches, media members, sports information directors and Hall of Fame members.

The committee will narrow each watch list by mid-February before releasing the five finalists in March. Players that were not named to the initial list can play their way on as the season progresses.

Fans will eventually be able to help vote on the winner at www.hoophallawards.com.

According to Procino, the tentative plan is to announce the winners of the positional awards and the Wade Trophy player of the year award during the ESPN2 broadcast of the NCAA semifinals on March 30. The following day, a reception will be held for the winners at the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.

The Hall of Fame is inviting Leslie, Meyers Drysdale, McClain, Lieberman and Miller to attend.

“For us, year one is really foundational and trying to build awareness and generate interest around the awards,” Procino said. “We really want that to help propel us in the future years. We are perfectly fine with accepting criticism. We want chatter about the awards and want people to talk about them.”

Along with honoring players for their performance on the court, the awards can provide a platform for educating them about the history of the game.

The bios of the Lieberman, Meyers Drysdale, Miller, McClain and Leslie are featured prominently on the Hoophall Awards website and included in every press release.

“This has really held true so far on the men’s side, and it’s very valuable from our perspective,” Procino said. “The Hall of Famers are viewing these namesakes as a legacy piece for themselves. It’s a way for them to kind of enter back into the current game and a tool for the up-and-coming players to learn about who came before them.”

McClain, a two-time All-American who left Georgia as the program’s leading scorer and rebounder, would love to spend time with any players in contention to receive her award.

“I think it’s great to continue to educate them and create awareness for the young kids of today about the players of the past,” said McClain, a teacher’s assistant at James Simons Elementary School in Charleston, S.C. “This didn’t just start today. It had to come through something. Everybody goes through something to get here and the stories are awesome if you take the time to read, listen or observe.”

Meyers Drysdale has always made herself available to speak with players of all ages and provide any advice they may need. She hopes the new awards can help foster appreciation across generations.

“There are so many unbelievably great women who have played the game and are continuing to play this game as such a high level,” said Meyers Drysdale, the Vice President of the Phoenix Mercury & Suns. “I was able to see what happened when the recipients of the men’s awards met the Hall of Famers and it was pretty powerful. It would be great to see the same thing happen consistently now with the women.”