LINCOLN — Nebraska dominated the Big 12 all season long, so not surprisingly, the conference women's basketball coaches on Monday honored the individuals responsible for the Huskers' historic run.
Connie Yori was named the Big 12's coach of the year. Kelsey Griffin earned the conference's player of the year award. Vonnie Turner shared defensive player of the year honors with Baylor's highly touted freshman, Brittney Griner.
Four NU players either made an All-Big 12 team or received honorable mention status. Griffin and Turner were on the all-defensive team. The five-player all-freshman team included point guard Lindsey Moore.
The conference accolades, voted on by the league coaches, come on the heels of Nebraska's perfect 29-0 regular season, something that no other Big 12 team had done. The 2005-06 Oklahoma Sooners are the only other Big 12 squad to finish the conference portion of its season unbeaten.
Yori and Griffin deserve much of the credit for the third-ranked Huskers' record-setting season, though both humbly thanked others Monday afternoon.
“I've got great players to work with every day who have given everything they can to make this program great,” Yori said. “These honors aren't given to coaches because they are smarter than anybody else. They are given because their players buy into team concepts.”
Yori was named the Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year after her final season at Creighton in 2002. She led the Bluejays to MVC regular-season and tournament titles. Yori took over at Nebraska that summer.
Eight years later, Yori and the Huskers are enjoying surprising success.
Nebraska, which is one win away from doubling its win total from a season ago, could be one of the most improved teams in NCAA Division I history by year's end. The NCAA one-year turnaround record is a 17-game improvement in the win column, set by Valparaiso in 2002.
Griffin missed that 2008-09 season with a foot injury, but she said her return isn't the only reason for Nebraska's remarkable season.
“A lot of my teammates made huge improvements this year. Whether I was on this team or not, they were going to be better,” Griffin said. “The reason we have been successful is that we all know we are better than we have ever been, and our confidence has grown because of our commitment and love for one another.”
When Griffin's on the court, though, she clearly makes a difference.
She's the first Husker to win Big 12 player of the year honors. Karen Jennings won the Big Eight award in 1993.
Griffin, an All-America candidate, was the league's second-leading scorer (21.4 points per game) and top rebounder (10.6) in Big 12 play. Griffin's 17 double-doubles during the regular season are the most among conference players. She leads the NU team in offensive fouls drawn (23) and ranks second in steals (54), assists (53) and blocks (21).
“There is no one more deserving of Big 12 player of the year honors than Kelsey Griffin,” Yori said. “And I think it is terrific that the outstanding coaches in our league recognize how valuable Kelsey is to our team and how great of a player she is.”
Griffin made the All-Big 12 first team for the third time. Turner and Cory Montgomery joined her on the 10-player squad.
In addition to earning co-defensive player of the year, Turner made the all-defensive team for the third consecutive season.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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