To me Anigwe has been the best start to finish. There are nights she has put Cal on her back. Shepard has been solid too. I also think Sophie Cunningham at Missouri has had a very good year. I'm obviously a UConn homer but if you look at complete body of work Lou doesn't win the award. But if you asked me where my chips would be in 3 years I'd have them all on Lou.
I've only seen Anigwe play once, but it's pretty obvious she's been Cal's go-to person all year, as has Shepard at Nebraska.
Two frosh centers I've seen a few times who have performed well and will get better are Michigan's Hallie Thome (14.6 per game)
and BC's Mariella Fasoula (14.0 ppg), who played well against Notre Dame the first time around (they play again on Saturday).
Michigan also has a frosh point guard, Boogie Brozoski, who will get better with time.
The beauty of KLS is she didn't need to shoulder "the weight"when she first came on, but is now making major contributions. Besides her shooting, I love her wherewithal and passing ability. She runs the floor well and seems to know when and where to make the pass.
Of course, I'm pretty happy with the contributions of our Irish frosh, Arike Ogunbowale (11.9 ppg) and Marina Mabrey (11.4 ppg) or Mabrey2. They were expected to contribute but have probably surpassed expectations, in part because of circumstances, and, in part, because they're going for it. Arike has been strong all of conference play and Mabrey2 -- after a lull -- came on strong against FSU, which we hope will keep going into the ACC playoffs.
Good class to follow the next few years. And to think Collier will get more minutes as a sophomore and ND will have Ali Patberg (knock on wood) coming back strong from her knee injury.