The list of 30 midseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy was just released and - drum roll please - UConn senior center Tina Charles and junior forward Maya Moore were on the list. Go figure.

Former Trinity Catholic star Da'Shena Stevens, a sophomore at St. John's, was also on the list. However, Stanford's Nneka Ogwumike was not among the list of 30 which is pretty hard to understand.

Speaking of Moore, on Thursday morning's Big East women's basketball conference call UConn coach Geno Auriemma had some pretty high praise for her performance in Wednesday's win over Syracuse when Moore had 38 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

"You can't just keep Maya away from the 3-point line and say we are going to slow her down," Auriemma said. "(Wednesday) night she did what all great players do, she made 3's, she scored in the lane, she scored on put backs, she got to the free-throw line. I think that's as great an individual performance as I have seen in all the years I have been at Connecticut."


Here's the list:


Last name First Name School Position Class
Appel Jayne Stanford Center Senior
Barlow Ashley Notre Dame Guard Senior
Charles Tina UCONN Center Senior
Clark Alysha Middle Tennessee Forward Senior
Delle Donne Elena Delaware Forward/Guard Freshman
Evans Dawn James Madison Guard Junior
Grant Tyra Penn State Guard Senior
Gray-Lawson Alexis California Guard Senior
Griffin Kelsey Nebraska Forward Senior
Griner Brittney Baylor Post Freshman
Harris Amber Xavier Forward Junior
Hightower Allison LSU Guard Senior
Houts Ashley Georgia Guard Senior
Johnson Shenise Miami Forward Sophomore
Lavender Jantel Ohio State Center Junior
Marginean Gabriela Drexel Forward Senior
McCray Danielle Kansas Forward/Guard Senior
Moore Maya UCONN Forward Junior
Pedersen Kayla Stanford Forward Junior
Phillips Ta'Shia Xavier Center Junior
Prahalis Samantha Ohio State Guard Sophomore
Riley Andrea Oklahoma State Guard Senior
Robinson Danielle Oklahoma Guard Junior
Smith Jenna Illinois Center Senior
Stevens Da'Shena St. John's Forward Sophomore
Stricklen Shekinna Tennessee Forward/Guard Sophomore
Thomas Jasmine Duke Guard Junior
Thomas Bianca Ole Miss Guard Senior
Vandersloot Courtney Gonzaga Guard Junior
Wright Monica Virginia Guard Senior