The All-Fourth Of July Teams

CSTV.com

	Jeff Lippman Jeff is CSTV.com's lead women's basketball writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- BASKETBALL 1/17: Maryland's Unsung Hero 1/10: In The Heart Of Texas 1/3: Dawg Lovers Delight 1/2: December Women's Hoops Report 12/20: All We Want For Christmas 12/13: Like Knight And Day 12/06: A Tale Of Two Tolivers 12/04: November Women's College Basketball Report 11/29: To Dunk Or Not To Dunk 11/21: Jazzing Up Duke 11/15: Stanford's Trees 11/9: Predicting The Hardware 11/8: From Zero To 60 11/8: The Best Of The Best 11/6: Rebels Work Like Gator Aid 11/5: Surprises Few At Top Of SEC 11/4: Hoosiers Going Nowhere But Up 11/4: Hoosiers, The Sequel 11/2: Building The Game They Loved 11/1: Young Vandy Will Still Be Just Dandy 10/31: Bridging The Tennessee Gender Gap 10/30: Open The SEC, Find A Pearl 10/29: Singing Lullabies 10/29: Immediate Impacts 10/24: Assisted Development 10/18: Questions In Judgment 10/16: Preseason Top 25 - All-American Teams 10/15: Conference Winners 10/15: A Chip Shot Away 10/12: The Great Eight 10/11: A Family Of Champions 10/4: For One More Year 9/27: All It Takes Is One 9/20: Around The Big East In 30 Games 9/13: They're So Berkeley 8/30: March Madness Come Early 8/23: Dude, Looks Like a Lady...Vol 8/16: Wading Through the Talent 8/15: Kia Creates Controversy 8/9: A Pricey Comparison 8/2: Everybody Knows Their Names 7/26: Never Lonely At The Top 7/24: The Future Stars In Bratislava 7/19: Moore Pieces of the Puzzle 7/17: Devotion To Country And Basketball 7/12: Golden Memories 7/5: Ta'Shia and The Crusading Musketeers 6/28: The All-Fourth Of July Teams 6/21: Two Out of Three Ain't Bad 6/14: We Will Meet Again, But Not Yet 6/7: Orange and Blueprints to Success 5/31: Running with the Big Dogs 5/24: WNBA Rookie of the Year Handbook 5/23: Tennessee's Goddess of Victory 5/17: Creating A Necessary Madness 5/10: The Next Marist? 5/3: Going Away Presents 4/25: Women's Coaching Carousel - The Losers 4/19: Women's Coaching Carousel: The Winners 4/12: Destination: Tampa 2008 4/5: Tommorow Is Only A Day Away 4/3: What Else Is New? 4/3: Bye Bye Blue Devils 4/2: The Underdog Vols 4/2: All-American Futility 3/29: Parker Transcending Greatness 3/27: Absolute Dominance 3/26: Mississippi Nouveau 3/25: Price Is Right For Ole Miss 3/24: The Cinderella of Cliche 3/23: Rising From The Fabric Softener 3/22: Making History One Upset at a Time 3/20: Two For Tournament Tuesday 3/19: Aggression Will Make Her Grrr-eat 3/18: Getting Back Up 3/15: NCAAs Not Always Neutral 3/13: Coming Out Parties 3/12: Seeds Align For Atlantic Coast 3/8: Suffering From Madness, Terps Find Cure 3/6: Winning Ugly Was Oh So Pretty For Rutgers 3/5: Pursuing Equilibrium 3/4: Tickle the Ivory, Cut Down the Nets 3/3: Heart and Desire 3/2: Maryland's Biggest Fan 3/1: Everybody's Native All-American 3/1: February Women's College Basketball Report 2/28: The Juice Is Loose 2/26: Jersey's Public Enemy No. 1 2/22: Hindsight's Perfect Vision 2/15: The Fabulous Five 2/8: Duke Out-Shines North Carolina 2/8: Chestnut Hill Idol 2/1: Freshman Dawg Has Her Day 2/1: Summitt Up For Greatness 1/31: January Women's College Basketball Report 1/25: Duke's Devastating Defense 1/22: "D Stands For Defense, And Duke 1/18: Rebels With A Cause 1/13: A Devil Of A Rematch 1/11: As Easy As One, Two, Three 1/2: December Women's College Basketball Report 12/28: Pride of the Pride 12/20: From Israel To Exams 12/19: MAAC Champs In Trouble 12/13: Bridging The Gap 12/10: Owls Give Terps a Hoot of a Time 12/1: November Women's College Basketball Report 11/25: Vermont's Power Too Much For Wagner 10/16: Looking Out For No. 1 FOOTBALL 10/9: No. 2 Ranking A Long Time Coming 10/8: Tebow Makes An Impression 10/1: Tebow Sparks Gators SOCCER 8/30: Boston College Eaglets 8/29: Leader In Life And Between The Nets 8/27: Preceded by Expectations 8/27: 2007 Women's Soccer Season Preview 9/29: Talent and Climate Lures Trinidadians 9/18: Late Start No Obstacle WATER POLO 9/6: Water Polo Championships 101

America's favorite holiday comes at a time when women's basketball is on the minds of exactly nobody. Let's face it, the Fourth of July, the weekend when barbecue, beer and baseball takes center stage lies far away from the start of the college basketball season.

But that doesn't mean that CSTV.com women's basketball can't celebrate the holiday in style. And what is everybody's favorite way to celebrate the Fourth of July? That's right, fireworks. So without further ado, here are CSTV.com's explosive lists of women's basketball's All-Fourth of July teams.

The All-Fire Cracker Team - These players are the heart and souls of their team. They are the spark plugs, the fire crackers. Whenever their squad needs a jolt of energy, these fire crackers provide the ignition.

On a Rutgers team that did the unthinkable, reaching the national championship game against Tennessee, Ajavon was the match that lit the team's wick. The rising senior finished fourth on the team with 12 ppg, but when the Scarlet Knights needed a big shot, Ajavon was the one to fire.

Shannon Bobbitt, Tennessee

Bobbitt is like the Energizer Bunny for the Lady Vols. She may be tiny, but don't underestimate this New Yorker's resolve. She's not big on trash-talking but challenge this rising senior and she will simply explode by you. Bobbitt gets her Vols going with pristine passes and big-time long-range bombs.

Renee Montgomery, Connecticut

Montgomery is instant offense and the heart and soul of the Connecticut Huskies. This rising junior was the go-to scorer for UConn last season, but this season will have a few more options with the maturation of center Tina Charles and the game of incoming freshman Maya Moore to back her up.

Mandy Morales, Montana

Watch out for Mandy Morales next season. As a sophomore, this 5-foot-9 point guard averaged 19.7 points per game and 6.8 assists, leading her Grizzlies to a first-place Big Sky finish and a Top 25 final ranking last season.

Abby Waner, Duke

Without Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding, Waner will be the go-to scorer for the Blue Devils. Last season, Waner was the epitome of spark plug, going on runs of multiple three-pointers in a row. She'd have a monster first half only to be quiet in the second. The Devils will need more consistency from Waner next season.

The All-M80 Team - These are the centers who rule the paint. Like an M-80, they destroy everything in their path and own the inside with powerful bodies, grabbing rebounds and eating space in the lane.

Sylvia Fowles, LSU

This 6-foot-6 freak of nature led LSU to the Final Four last season. She is a double-double machine who averaged 16.9 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game last season. New coach Van Chancellor was chomping at the bit to coach this raw natural talent.

Erlana Larkins, North Carolina

This rising senior will take over the leadership role for North Carolina as Ivory Latta has finally left Chapel Hill. Larkins, just a forward, is a beat around the paint, making a living on the put-back basket. Expect her averages of 12.9 points and 9.4 boards to skyrocket next year.

Courtney Paris, Oklahoma

Paris is the biggest, baddest and toughest center in women's basketball today. Her 23.5 points, 15.9 rebounds and 3.4 blocks were all among the nation's leaders and her broad shoulders literally carried her Oklahoma teammates at times.

Kia Vaughn, Rutgers

Vaughn's emergence into the national spotlight catapulted Rutgers as well. The Scarlet Knight guards needed that inside presence to advance to the next level and Vaughn's team-leading 12.8 points and 9.3 boards per game last season did just that.

Khadijah Whittington, N.C. State

Anyone in Greensboro, N.C., for the ACC Tournament last season knows that Whittington is the real deal. She may be the smallest in stature in this group, but averaging a double-double last year at 10.5 points and rebounds per game, and this rising senior will continue to be a monster inside for Kay Yow's bunch.

The All-Aerial Assault Team - For those who don't know, the aerial assault fireworks are the ones that come in bulbs and are inserted in a tube to be lit that shoot into the sky with massive aerial effects. In this light, these are the players who reign threes from long distance and bring an aerial assault on the rim.

T.J. Jordan, Old Dominion

Jordan is Old Dominion's leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, finishing third in the nation with 101 long-range bombs, coming in at 3.1 per contest. As a rising senior, Jordan will hope to lead the Lady Monarch's back to national respectability.

Mel Thomas, Connecticut

Thomas is a big-shot machine from long range. Shooting 42.4 pecent from deep, whenever UConn needed a big three pointer, it was Thomas they called upon to make the shot.

Kristi Toliver, Maryland

Two years ago, as a true freshman, Toliver made the biggest three pointer in Maryland history. All she did to repeat that performance was finish last year ranked No. 4 in the nation in three-point percentage at 44.7. Between Toliver and Tennessee transfer Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, the Terps will continue to be one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation.

Candice Wiggins, Stanford

Coming in just behind the Terps' Toliver, Stanford's Wiggins made 44.1 percent of her bombs. This Kodak All-American led the Cardinal in scoring with 16.9 points per game, a number that will grow as Wiggins continues to become the go-to player in Palo Alto.

Kelsey Luna and Leah Phillips, Indiana State

The Indiana State Sycamores have quite the long-range pair. Kelsey Luna and Leah Phillips are devastating from the three-point line, both finishing last season among the nation's Top 11 in 3-point percentage. Luna, just a freshman last year, finished No. 3 at 46.2 percent while Phillips, only a sophomore, hit on 42.2 percent.

The All-Roman Candle Team - Roman Candles are tubes that, when lit, erupt over and over with explosive shots. Like Roman Candles, these players consistently come up huge for their team and time after time hit the big shots to catapult their team to victory.

Essence Carson, Rutgers

While Kia Vaughn is the inside presence, Matee Ajavon is the sparkplug and Epiphanny Prince is the scorer, Essence Carson is the Scarlet Knight who has a nose for the game. She is the hardest worker and the emotional leader and any time the Knights need a big bucket, they give the ball to Carson.

Tina Charles, Connecticut

Charles averaged 12.7 points and 8.2 boards during a very successful freshman season in which she was named Big East Freshman of the Year. This talented, but very young and raw, center finished eighth in the nation in field goal percentage last season and will only get better the more she develops.

Crystal Langhorne, Maryland

While Courtney Paris is the nation's best center, Langhorne has the best inside moves. She doesn't have the height, but with her stellar footwork, no one can stop her inside game. This rising senior led the nation in field goal percentage last season at 70.7 percent. Her only problem is not taking enough shots.

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville

This rising junior from Baltimore was all-everything for Louisville last season, scoring 21.5 points per game and averaging 10.3 boards as well. With the graduation of teammate Jazz Covington, McCoughtry will have to be even more of the Cardinals go-to player next year.

Candace Parker, Tennessee

The only question with Candace Parker was which team to put her on, she has a place on them all. Parker is the greatest thing to hit women's basketball and Tennessee since Chamique Holdsclaw--and Parker looks like the real deal mentally. The Player of the Year last season looks to repeat both that title and the Lady Vols' national championship.  

The All-Bottle Rocket Team - Bench players who shoot into the game and make a big difference

Alex Miller, North Carolina

North Carolina's rising senior's game reminds many of North Carolina men's player Wes Miller--same name, no relation. It was Miller's job to come into the game when starter Ivory Latta needed a breather. Her 5.8 points and 2.1 assists will undoubtedly rise now that Latta is out of Chapel Hill.

Brittany Mitch, Duke

Mitch was a spark plug, coming off the bench and hitting big threes for the Blue Devils last season as a redshirt freshman. With the departure of most of Duke's scoring, Mitch will play a much bigger role next season.

Ketia Swanier, Connecticut

Swanier played 21 minutes a game last season, but started none of them with Montgomery getting the PT at point guard. Make no mistake, however, Swanier could start for most teams and she brings lots of energy and excitement to the Huskies roster. Connecticut will be guard heavy next season, but Swanier will always be the rock of the group.

Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, Maryland

Last season was marred with talk that Gatewood and Toliver couldn't share the point guard duties equally, but Brenda Frese and company don't foresee that problem this season as Gatewood will most likely step into a starting role. Either way, this Tennessee transfer can light it up from long distance and with Toliver, make the Terps one of the best three point teams in the nation.

Danielle Wilson, Baylor

This 6-foot-3 rising Baylor sophomore averaged over eight points and 2.5 blocks per game last season playing behind Bernice Mosby. She started just two games last year and will have competition for the starting role next season as well, but will eventually play a big role in how far the Bears make it next year.