University of Tennessee Athletics
DeShields On Wade Watch List
March 11, 2016 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE -- The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its candidates for the 2015-16 Wade Trophy, and Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields is among 30 student-athletes being considered for the award.
DeShields, a 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard from Norcross, Ga., leads the Lady Vols with a 13.9 scoring average and also contributes the squad’s third-leading rebounding average at 5.1. She has scored 20 or more points eight times, including a pair of contests with 30 or more points.
On Feb. 21, DeShields surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her career, including her totals at North Carolina in 2013-14 and at Tennessee in 2015-16. She stands at 1,094 in her second collegiate season, ranking her fourth among sophomores in UT history.
DeShields paces UT in field goals, three-point field goals and steals and is second in free throws, assists and blocks.
The Wade Trophy is presented to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA Division I women’s basketball player each year – one who not only excels athletically, but also serves as a positive role model both on and off the court. The acclaimed Wade Watch list, from which the Wade Trophy recipient is chosen, consists of players selected on the basis of game and season statistics, leadership, character, overall playing ability and the positive impact on her respective team.
The WBCA will officially announce The Wade Trophy winner during the WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four® in Indianapolis.
The WBCA purchased sole ownership and all rights to The Wade Trophy from the Society of Health and Physical Educators, doing business as SHAPE America, in January 2016. The two organizations had partnered to present the prestigious award since 2000. The WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Selection Committee determines the recipient.
The Wade Trophy, named after the late, legendary head coach Lilly Margaret Wade, a three-time national champion at Delta State University, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball.
