Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Nneka Ogwumike

HOUSTON, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Nneka Ogwumike of Cy-Fair High School (Cypress, Texas) as its 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Ogwumike as the nation's best high school girls basketball player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Ogwumike from the nearly 457,000 high school girls basketball players nationwide. Ogwumike is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The state's returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Ogwumike led the Bobcats to a 39-2 record and their first-ever Class 5A state championship, averaging 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game. The 6-foot-2 senior forward averaged 21.4 points and 13.3 rebounds a game in the postseason and recorded 17 points and 17 rebounds while being named MVP of the championship win over DeSoto.

Named Miss Texas Basketball as a junior in 2007, Ogwumike, 17, was selected for both the McDonald's All-American and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America games. She was also a top performer at last summer's USA Basketball Youth Development Festival, leading the medal-play event in points and steals, and finishing second in rebounds.

Also a volleyball standout for a state semifinalist squad, Ogwumike has maintained a 3.86 GPA in the classroom. A passionate artist and pianist, Ogwumike is the Senior Class President as well as her school's 2007 Homecoming Queen, and has fundraised to assist children of the Darfur crisis. She also organized a charity drive for the family of a Texas high school coach who lost a battle with leukemia. Ogwumike, whose parents Peter and Ify are natives of Nigeria, volunteers at Hamilton Middle School as an office aide and remains an active member of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church.

"She's a phenomenal athlete and she has an edge to her that I don't think anyone around here has had in a long time," said LaShawn Johnson, head coach at rival Elsik High. "She's consistent, day-in and day-out, and she has that determination to help her team win that separates the great players in the world."

Ogwumike has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Stanford University this fall.

"Without question, Nneka is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls basketball player based on her statistics on the court and the impact her play had on Cy-Fair's success," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

    Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

    * WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
    * Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix
    * 2007 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
    * Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez
    * NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
    * Softball gold medalist Cat Osterman
    * Beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.

   ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOREES

     Year       Name                High School              Status

    2007-08  Nneka Ogwumike     Cy-Fair/Cypress, TX     High School Senior

    2006-07  Maya Moore         Collins Hill/Suwanee,   Univ. of Connecticut
                                 GA

    2005-06  Tina Charles       Christ the King/Middle  Univ. of Connecticut
                                 Village, NY

    2004-05  Abby Waner         ThunderRidge/Highlands  Duke Univ.
                                 Ranch, CO

    2003-04  Candace Parker     Naperville Central/     Univ. of Tennessee
                                 Naperville, IL

    2002-03  Candace Parker     Naperville Central/     Univ. of Tennessee
                                 Naperville, IL

    2001-02  Ann Strother       Highlands Ranch/        Indiana Fever
                                 Highlands Ranch, CO

    2000-01  Shyra Ely          Ben Davis/Indianapolis, San Antonio Silver
                                 IN                      Stars

    1999-00  Shereka Wright     Copperas Cove/Copperas  Seattle Storm
                                 Cove, TX

    1998-99  Nicole Kaczmarski  Sachem North/Lake       Professional/Europe
                                 Rononkoma, NY

    1997-98  Tamika Williams    Chaminade-Julienne/     Minnesota Lynx
                                 Dayton, OH

    1996-97  Nikki Teasley      St. John's at Prospect  Washington Mystics
                                 Hall/Frederick, MD

    1995-96  Jamie Walz         Highlands/Ft. Thomas,   Western Kentucky
                                 KY                      Grad.

    1994-95  Stephanie McCarty  Seeger/West Lebanon,    Univ. of Toledo
                                 IN                      (Coach)

    1993-94  Monick Foote       Samford/Wilmington, DE  Univ. of Virginia
                                                                      Grad.

    1992-93  La'Keshia Frett    Phoebus/Hampton, VA     New York Liberty

    1991-92  Katie Smith        Logan/Logan, OH         Detroit Shock

    1990-91  Michelle Marciniak Central Catholic/       Retired from WNBA
                                 Allentown, PA

    1989-90  Lisa Leslie        Morningside/Inglewood,  L.A. Sparks
                                 CA

    1988-89  Lisa Harrison      Southern/Louisville, KY Retired from WNBA

    1987-88  Vicki Hall         Brebeuf Preparatory/    Retired from WNBA
                                 Indianapolis, IN

    1986-87  Kris Durham        Union Catholic/Scotch   Seaton Hall Grad.
                                 Plains, NJ

    1985-86  Susan Anderson     Mt. Baker/Deming, WA    Univ. of Texas Grad.