Danielle McCray Named Honorable Mention Preseason All-Big 12 By League Coaches

Oct. 10, 2007

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sophomore guard-forward Danielle McCray was one of 13 players honored on Wednesday when the Big 12 Conference handed out its preseason women’s basketball honors. McCray, who is one of three returning starters to the Jayhawks’ line-up, was named to the honorable mention list after averaging 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds during her freshman season at KU. McCray was one of six players to earn honorable mention honors, while five players were named to the Big 12 first team in a vote by the league’s head coaches. In addition, Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) was named Big 12 women’s basketball Preseason Player of the Year while Dominic Seals (Texas Tech) was chosen Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Tyra White (Texas A&M) was selected Preseason Freshman of the Year.

“We are very excited for Danielle to be honored by the Big 12 coaches,” said Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson. “This award is a direct reflection of the outstanding progress both Danielle and her Jayhawk teammates made during the course of last season.”

Paris was last season’s Big 12 Player of the Year as well as Defensive Player of the Year. She was a consensus All-American, All-Big 12 First Team selection and MVP of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team the previous two years. The 6-4 junior center led the league in scoring (23.5 ppg) and rebounding (15.9 rpg) last season. She enters 2007-08 with 1,563 career points and 1,065 career rebounds. In addition, she is a member of the U.S. Senior National Team which has qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Seals, a 6-2 junior forward, transferred to Texas Tech from South Plains College. Last year she was selected State Farm/WBCA Junior College National Player of the Year and was a Kodak All-American. Her team was co-champions of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) and finished with a 31-2 record. The Dallas, Texas, native averaged 14.3 points and 8.2 rebounds.

White was a McDonald’s High School All-American and the 2007 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year while at Kansas City’s (Mo.) Hickman Mills High School. She averaged 18.5 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks per game during her senior campaign.

Joining Paris on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team are Jackie McFarland (Colorado), Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska), and teammates A’Quonesia Franklin and Takia Starks (Texas A&M). Each was named to the All-Big 12 First Team in 2006-07.

Joining McCray on the honorable mention list was Angela Tisdale (Baylor), Ashley Paris (Oklahoma), Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State), Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M) and Danielle Gant (Texas A&M).