In the latest issue of The Bootleg Magazine, we released
the 30 finalists for The Bootleg Honor Roll award for the 2007/2008
school-year.
The criteria are as follows:
Each academic year, The
Bootleg's Honor Roll will recognize the top ten Stanford student-athletes who
have performed at an exceptional level, with athletic accomplishments that are
both extraordinary and inspirational. While achieving athletic success,
these athletes should also have displayed uncommon leadership, sportsmanship and
respect towards their fellow teammates and opponents. Finally, these
honorees' performances and actions should also demonstrate their love for their
particular sport as well as their school pride, the famed “Spirit of
Stanford.”
During the months of June and July, we are releasing the
10 winners of this prestigious award, one by one. We have previously
recognized baseball’s Jason Castro, gymnastics’ David Sender, swimming’s Julia
Smit and Paul Kornfeld, soccer's Rachel Buehler, track’s Erica McLain, runner Arianna Lambie, volleyball’s Foluke Akinradewo and softball’s Missy Penna as
amongst this year’s winners. It is no surprise then that our final member of The
Bootleg's 2007-08 Honor Roll is women’s basketball guard Candice
Wiggins.
Honor Roll Winner: Candice
Wiggins
Tiger, McEnroe, Elway, Plunkett. They transcended their
sports in their time on the Farm. For alums a decade or two or three out of
college, they weren’t just star athletes, they defined an era at Stanford. For
you didn’t graduate in ’83, as much as you graduated with Elway.
Candice
Wiggins has been Stanford’s most dominant athlete for the past four years. And,
when her radiant personality never faltered as her accomplishments grew more
impressive by the year, she took on that same larger-than-life quality as the
Stanford legends before her. Her on-the-court accomplishments are phenomenal,
but Candice’s most telling legacy for my generation of Stanford students is
simple. She is the new standard, the new marker of an era. We will remember that
our time here overlapped with hers.
This year, Wiggins upset Tennessee’s
Candace Parker to win the Wade Trophy, awarded to the best women’s college
basketball player of the year. She scored 787 points and made 184 free throws,
both school records, in the process. For her career, Wiggins graduates the
Pac-10 record-holder in total points (2,629) and three-pointers (295), and atop
the Stanford all-time list in points per game (19.2), career free throws (563)
and career steals (281), knocking off greats like Kate Starbird, Val Whiting and
Sonja Henning. She is one of only seven players in women’s basketball history to
be a four-time All-American, is a three-time Pac-10 Player of the Year and the
all-time leading scorer in Pac-10 history.
Wiggins led the Cardinal to a
national runner-up appearance to Tennessee, its deepest Tournament run since
1992, when Wiggins was in kindergarten. She saved her best play for when it
mattered most, dropping 44 on UTEP in the Sweet 16 and 41 on No. 1 seed Maryland
in the Elite Eight to become the only women’s basketball player to score at
least 40 points in multiple NCAA Tournament games. She scored 25 points and
grabbed 13 rebounds in the national semifinals against Connecticut, and managed
14 in the Championship Game loss to the Vols.
Wiggins graduated with a
degree in Communications this spring, and was then drafted third overall by the
WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Already, Wiggins has made her mark on the
Lynx, a .500 team fighting for playoff consideration. Her 17 points per game
were second on the squad to Seimone Augustus’ 19, and more than double any of
her other teammates.
Wiggins, Parker and Oklahoma center Courtney Paris
were the only three collegians to be named to the U.S. National Team in 2007.
Wiggins shone, going 23-0 on four USA Basketball teams, and becoming the first
Stanford player to be named USA Basketball's Female Athlete of the Year.
Wiggins graduates Stanford as the best women’s basketball player to ever
suit up for one of the nation’s best programs – and not just in TheBootleg’s
humble opinion. Jennifer Azzi, somewhat of an authority on the subject, called
Wiggins Stanford’s best women’s basketball player ever. Meanwhile, though Coach
Tara VanDerveer has always shied away from the “best ever” question, her
feelings are pretty evident too.
"I've not only had great players at
Stanford, but great Olympians, and I can't say I've ever enjoyed coaching anyone
more than Candice," VanDerveer told the Palo Alto Weekly. "She's a special
young lady and, as a coach, you might get someone like this only once in your
career if you're lucky. What separates Candice from other players
is just her competitive desire. She plays at a hard pace and
brings other people with her.”
Congratulations to Candice and all the Honor Roll winners of the 2007-08 class!
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