SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State junior guard Casey Garrison has been named to the prestigious 2010-11 Naismith preseason watch list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday (Nov. 9). Garrison, the unanimous preseason choice to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, was the lone MVC player chosen for the 50-player list.
The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2010-11 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded on April 4, 2011 at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis.
Garrison led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring (19.9 ppg) and steals (2.7 spg) and ranked second in assists (5.1 apg), spearheading the Lady Bears' turnaround from a 10-20 season in 2008-09 to a 22-11 overall mark and third-place Valley finish last year. The 6-0 guard was the only Division I women's basketball player in the nation to rank among the top 35 individuals in those same three categories in 2009-10.
Garrison became the sixth Missouri State player to earn Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year recognition in 2009-10, and just the fourth sophomore to be named Valley MVP. She also earned her second consecutive first-team all-conference nod and her first selection to the MVC All-Defensive Team. The Bolivar, Mo., native's total of 658 points on the season ranks fifth all-time at MSU and 11th on the Valley's single-season scoring list. She put her stamp on both the Lady Bear and MVC career record books in her second collegiate campaign, topping the 1,000-point plateau in just her 57th career game, becoming the second-fastest player to reach the mark in conference history.
Additionally, Garrison became the first Lady Bear since Kari Koch in 2006 to be chosen as a WBCA Region 6 finalist for the State Farm Coaches' All-American Team. She was the lone Valley representative and one of just five players chosen from Region 6, which consists of teams in the MVC, Big Ten Conference and Horizon League.
Since 2005, presenting sponsor AT&T has set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining the trophy winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging fan voting will account for 25 percent of all of the final results - more than any other national college basketball award.
In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.
The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball's player of the year. For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
Missouri State opens the 2010-11 regular season with a Friday (Nov. 12) evening contest against Lamar in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT. Tickets for the 5:35 p.m. at JQH Arena are available at the Missouri State Athletics Box Office, online at www.MissouriStateTix.com, or by calling (417) 836-7678.
