George Washington University Athletics
GW's Jonquel Jones Tabbed to Naismith Trophy Midseason 30
2/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 11, 2016
ATLANTA -- For the second year in a row, George Washington senior forward Jonquel Jones was named one of 30 midseason candidates for the 2015-16 Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Wednesday.
Jones is the nation's leading rebounder (14.8 rpg) and ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (16.9 ppg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg). The Freeport, Bahamas, native has registered 15 double-doubles in her 19 games played, tied for seventh-most in the NCAA. In addition, the 6-6 forward's 281 rebounds this season are the eighth-highest single-season total in program history.
Jones has also been selected to the midseason watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which also recognizes the national player of the year, and she is a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes the all-around student-athlete.
The 2015 Atlantic 10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American, Jones ranks third all-time at GW with 906 rebounds as a Colonial and sixth with 159 blocked shots to go with 1,119 points in her three seasons in Foggy Bottom. She is the third Colonial ever with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 150 blocks in her career. In addition, she has been named A-10 Player of the Week five times this season and 13 times over the last three years.
Jones, who repeats on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List after making the first cut for the prestigious award last season, is one of two players not from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC or American Athletic conference, joining Albany's Shareesha Richards.
The Naismith Trophy is presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year. After narrowing the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List from its original 50 to 30 this week, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will reveal 10 national semifinalists on March 3. Four finalists will be selected by the voting academy -- comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country -- to the final ballot on March 18. The Naismith Trophy winner will be announced on Monday, April 4, at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy -- named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of the game of basketball -- since UCLA's Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion's Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women's Naismith Trophy in 1983.
