Duke, Kansas State and Tennessee each had two players named to a list of 20 finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.

PAST NAISMITH WINNERS

1983: Anne Donovan, ODU 1984: Cheryl Miller, USC 1985: Cheryl Miller, USC 1986: Cheryl Miller, USC 1987: Clarissa Davis, Texas 1988: Sue Wicks, Rutgers 1989: Clarissa Davis, Texas 1990: Jennifer Azzi, Stanford 1991: Dawn Staley, Virginia 1992: Dawn Staley, Virginia 1993: Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech 1994: Lisa Leslie, USC 1995: Rebecca Lobo, UConn 1996: Saudia Roundtree, Georgia 1997: Kate Starbird, Stanford 1998: Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee 1999: Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee 2000: Tamika Catchings, Tennessee 2001: Ruth Riley, Notre Dame 2002: Sue Bird, UConn

The group also includes Mississippi State senior LaToya Thomas, a three-time Kodak All-American, and junior Diana Taurasi, the leading scorer for top-ranked and unbeaten Connecticut, which has won an NCAA Division I-record 63 consecutive games.

The other finalists include Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt), Alana Beard (Duke), Kara Braxton (Georgia), Coretta Brown (North Carolina), Shameka Christon (Arkansas), Gwen Jackson (Tennessee), Kara Lawson (Tennessee), Kelly Mazzante (Penn State), Nicole Ohlde (Kansas State), Jocelyn Penn (South Carolina), Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech), Nicole Powell (Stanford), Aiysha Smith (LSU), Stacy Stephens (Texas), Iciss Tillis (Duke), Kendra Wecker (Kansas State), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota) and Shereka Wright (Purdue).

The Naismith Board of Selectors includes some the country's leading basketball coaches, journalists and administrators. The winner will be honored in Atlanta on April 11.

The Naismith Awards program, now in its 35th year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of excellence in basketball for student athletes.