Duke junior Jasmine Thomas has been named to the John R. Wooden Award ballot and is a candidate for the 2010 All-American team and player of the year award given to the nation's top women's basketball player.
The Blue Devils' leading scorer has led the program to its first ACC Tournament title since 2004 and was named tournament most valuable player. She'll now concentrate on the next goal as the Devils host Hampton at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Duke, the No. 2 seeds in the Memphis Regional, has tackled a demanding schedule with the help of Thomas, who averages 15.8 points, 4.2 steals and 2.8 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.
She rarely speaks about her accomplishments outside the context of team play. She said making the Wooden Award ballot is an honor she's proud to share with her teammates.
"The best feeling is that I'm able to take care of things for myself as well as my team play," she said. "I like that my team has been successful as well as myself."
Thomas said sometimes a player amasses personal accolades but their team doesn't advance. "I think that anyone can look out for themselves," she said. "I take pride in being able to make teammates better. And if me being at my best is going to make my teammate better than I take more in that. And that's what I've been trying to do."
Among ACC players, Thomas ranks fifth in scoring, is tied for third in assist/turnover ration, is fifth in steals and is tied for sixth in assists.
Thomas, a 5-foot-9 guard from Fairfax, Va., is listed among some of the nation's best such as Connecticut's Maya Moore and Tina Charles, Stanford's Jayne Appel and Virginia's Monica Wright.
The Wooden Award committee has until March 30 to vote for candidates and the awards will be announced on April 9 during the 34th annual ceremony.
Thomas is also a Naismith and Wade Trophy candidate for player of the year.
Edward joined the News & Observer staff in 2004. He is a graduate of American University and Johns Hopkins University. He covers Wake Forest football and women's college basketball for the N&O. Edward is a native of Washington, D.C. He can be reached at 829-4781 or 
Comments
Sorry...I haven't had a
Thu, 03/18/2010 - 22:38 — duke_blueSorry...I haven't had a chance to post on this, been busy with brackets. I try to watch them whenever I can catch them on TV. Congrats Jasmine...you very much deserve to get the award! You are a really great player and a valuable part of the team!!!
Now thats worth at least a
Thu, 03/18/2010 - 21:19 — unc098Now thats worth at least a big congratulations to Jasmine. What a great honor. Where are the rest of the Duke folks on this??????