– Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins, and Madison Booker Repeat as Award Winners –
SAN ANTONIO — Immediately, on ESPN’s Faculty GameDay protection of the NCAA Males’s and Ladies’s Ultimate 4 in San Antonio, the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame revealed this yr’s positional award winners. The awards acknowledge the preeminent school basketball participant at every place, also called the Naismith Beginning 5. The winners had been decided by a mixture of enter from committees composed of high basketball personnel and Beginning 5 Fan Voting.
The Corridor of Fame choice committees, which included media members, coaches, sports activities data administrators, and Corridor of Famers, decided the preseason watch listing of 20 candidates in October. The listing was narrowed to 10 candidates in February and 5 candidates in March earlier than figuring out the winner. All season lengthy, gamers had been capable of play their method into award consideration.
“The Basketball Corridor of Fame is proud to have fun the most effective within the recreation at each stage, each women and men,” mentioned John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame. “The scholar-athletes receiving our Beginning 5 Awards exemplify the expertise and character of the Corridor of Famers these awards are named in honor of. We acknowledge this excellent group as the following technology of basketball stars, and are assured they’ll proceed to excel in all they do. Immediately, we have fun their achievements as we formally title them the Males’s and Ladies’s 2025 Naismith Beginning 5.”
2025 Males’s Naismith Beginning 5:
Braden Smith (Purdue) – Bob Cousy (Level Guard) Award
Chaz Lanier (Tennessee) – Jerry West (Taking pictures Guard) Award
Cooper Flagg (Duke) – Julius Erving (Small Ahead) Award
Johni Broome (Auburn) – Karl Malone (Energy Ahead) Award
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Middle) Award
2025 Ladies’s Naismith Beginning 5:
Paige Bueckers (UConn) – Nancy Lieberman(Level Guard) Award (two-time winner: 2021)
JuJu Watkins (USC) – Anne Meyers Drysdale (Taking pictures Guard) Award (two-time winner: 2024)
Madison Booker (Texas) – Cheryl Miller (Small Ahead) Award (two-time winner: 2024)
Aneesah Morrow (LSU) – Katrina McClain (Energy Ahead) Award
Lauren Betts (UCLA) – Lisa Leslie (Middle) Award
Quotes from Males’s Naismith Beginning 5 Award Winners and Corridor of Famers
“I’m honored to be the recipient of the Bob Cousy Award and wish to thank the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame and Mr. Cousy for this award. I’d additionally prefer to shout out my teammates, coaches, and assist employees for his or her belief and confidence in me this season. To be included among the many elite gamers which have gained this award may be very humbling, and I’m grateful to be chosen to hitch that prestigious group.” – Braden Smith, Bob Cousy Award Winner (#CousyAward)
“I wish to begin by thanking the West household and the choice committee for naming me the recipient of this unbelievable distinction. It’s a true privilege to win the Jerry West Award, and I’m deeply honored. I’d not be on this place with out God and the assist of my household, my coaches, my teammates, and the followers. Representing the College of Tennessee this yr has been particular, and this accolade isn’t just about me, however about all of us who contributed to such an superior season.” – Chaz Lanier, Jerry West Award Winner (#WestAward)
“I’m extremely honored to obtain this recognition. Julius Erving is among the best to ever play the sport, so to obtain that is unbelievably humbling. I’m grateful to my coaches, teammates, household, and everybody who has supported me alongside the best way. My final purpose is to assist my crew win a nationwide championship, and this acknowledgment simply motivates me to maintain working and bettering every single day.” – Cooper Flagg, Julius Erving Award Winner (#ErvingAward)
“I’m humbled and honored to be chosen because the 2025 Karl Malone Energy Ahead of the Yr Award winner. There are such a lot of folks to thank, however most significantly, the person above, my household, coaches, and teammates. Their assist, encouragement, and improvement helped me grow to be the particular person and participant I’m at present. I wish to thank the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame, Mr. Malone, and the choice committee for this honor.” – Johni Broome, Karl Malone Award Winner (#MaloneAward)
“I’m humbled and honored to obtain the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. Kareem is among the all-time legends, not solely within the recreation of basketball, however as a pacesetter off the court docket as properly. I thank my teammates and coaches for placing me ready for fulfillment and to these with the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame for this prestigious recognition.” – Ryan Kalkbrenner, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Winner (#KareemAward)
Quotes from Ladies’s Naismith Beginning 5 Award Winners and Corridor of Famers
“Nancy Lieberman is a legend and a trailblazer in our sport, and it’s an honor to obtain this award. I wouldn’t be on this place with out the onerous work and assist of my teammates. They deserve plenty of credit score, and I share this honor with them as a result of with out my crew, I wouldn’t be on this spot. It’s humbling to bookmark my school profession with the Nancy Lieberman Award.” – Paige Bueckers, Nancy Lieberman Award Winner (#LiebermanAward)
“It’s a true honor to be chosen for this award, which is a particular one as a result of it celebrates Ann Meyers Drysdale, a legend in our recreation, and it means rather a lot to me to obtain this prestigious award. Thanks, and Combat On!” – JuJu Watkins, Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Winner (#MeyersAward)
“At the beginning I wish to thank God for the chance and expertise he has blessed me with. Additionally, I wish to thank the committee for choosing me for this award. It’s an honor to earn an award with the title Cheryl Miller on it as a result of I understand how a lot she has meant to the sport. I wish to thank my teammates and coaches as I wouldn’t have acquired this award with out their assist and encouragement.” – Madison Booker, Cheryl Miller Award Winner (#MillerAward)
“It’s an immense honor to obtain the Katrina McClain Award, a testomony to the perseverance, ardour, and dedication that basketball has instilled in me. To face on the shoulders of giants and be acknowledged for this award is a humbling reminder that goals, irrespective of how bold, are at all times inside attain.” – Aneesah Morrow, Katrina McClain Award Winner (#McClainAward)
“The truth that I’m even up for an award like that is actually significant to me. Clearly there’s plenty of work that I’ve put into this, and it has rather a lot to do with this system that I’m at, however I don’t take an award like this without any consideration and it’s actually appreciated.” – Lauren Betts, Lisa Leslie Award Winner (#LeslieAward)
For extra data, go to HoophallAwards.com or comply with @hoophallU on Instagram and X.
In regards to the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame
Positioned in Springfield, Massachusetts, town the place basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame is an unbiased non-profit 501(c)(3) group devoted to selling, preserving, and celebrating the sport of basketball at each stage—women and men, novice {and professional} gamers, coaches, and contributors—each domestically and internationally. The Corridor of Fame museum is house to greater than 475 inductees and over 40,000 sq. ft of basketball historical past. Almost 200,000 folks go to the Corridor of Fame museum every year to be taught in regards to the recreation, expertise the interactive reveals, and take a look at their expertise on the Jerry Colangelo “Courtroom of Goals.” Finest identified for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the sport’s elite, the Corridor of Fame additionally operates over 70 highschool and collegiate competitions yearly all through the nation and overseas. For extra data on the Basketball Corridor of Fame group, its museum, and occasions, go to hoophall.com and comply with @hoophallU.
