All-Rookie and Other Awards

This was not an especially memorable year for rookies. I will most steadfastly NOT count newcomers like Lexie Brown and Imani Wright as rookies for this consideration, because that would be stupid. Productivity, skills, and earning playing time vs productive players as opposed to be handed playing time were all considered.

ACC All-Rookie Team

Francesca Pan, Georgia Tech
Danielle Touissant, Virginia
Kobi Thornton, Clemson
Leaonna "Ducky" Odom, Duke
Alex Sharp, Wake Forest

Notes: Pan's the rookie of the year, and an already-struggling GT team would have been dead without her scoring. Touissant has been a big part of UVa crawling out of a hole. Thornton has the size and strength to be a dominant player, and she's started to shed some of that rawness to make life miserable for others. Odom has been electric at times for Duke as an unstoppable force in the open floor. Sharp was inserted into the Wake lineup and proved to be a steadying force at both ends.

Hey, why not an

ACC All-Rookie Second Team

Gabby Cooper, Syracuse
Alayna Gribble, Pitt
Jackie Young, Notre Dame
Jocelyn Willoughby, Virginia
Georgia Pineau, Boston College

Notes: Cooper has been the Orange's only useful frosh and one of their few dependable shooters outside Peterson and Sykes. Gribble is a scorer-rebounder-playmaker and her purpose is to make life easier for the already-overtaxed Brenna Wise. Young has helped a fairly deep Notre Dame team as a slasher and rebounder. Willoughby gives the Hoos some physicality, while Pineau is another triple-threat type that's emerged at BC.

Other awards?

Coach: If FSU beats Notre Dame, then it's Sue Semrau. Otherwise, give it to Wes Moore of NC State if they win their last two games. If he loses both and Duke beats UNC, then Joanne McCallie, unbelievably enough, deserves some consideration.

6th Woman: Let's go with Laura Cornelius of Miami, who started only 6 games and is averaging 9 ppg (third on the team!) in a key playmaking role. Runner-up is Chartrice White of FSU, averaging 9 ppg as the team's backup center.