Geno Auriemma, coach of top-ranked and unbeaten Connecticut, and Pat Summitt and Jody Conradt, who each reached the 800-win plateau this season, are among 25 coaches who have been named finalists for the Naismith College Coach of the Year.

PAST NAISMITH WINNERS

1987: Pat Summitt, Tennessee 1988: Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech 1989: Pat Summitt, Tennessee 1990: Tara VanDerveer, Stanford 1991: Debbie Ryan, Virginia 1992: Chris Weller, Maryland 1993: Vivian Stringer, Iowa 1994: Pat Summitt, Tennessee 1995: Geno Auriemma, UConn 1996: Andy Landers, Georgia 1997: Geno Auriemma, UConn 1998: Pat Summitt, Tennessee 1999: Carolyn Peck, Purdue 2000: Geno Auriemma, UConn 2001: Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame 2002: Geno Auriemma, UConn

The winners of the Naismith award, which is sponsored by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and is regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in college basketball, will be honored on April 11 at the Georgia World Congress Center in conjunction with the Final Four in Atlanta.

The entire list of finalists: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut; Melanie Balcomb, Vanderbilt; Gary Blair, Arkansas; Joan Bonvicini, Arizona; Kevin Borseth, Wisconsin-Green Bay; Pam Borton, Minnesota; Kurt Budke, Louisiana Tech; Jody Conradt, Texas; Kristy Curry, Purdue; June Daugherty, Washington; Sharon Fanning, Mississippi State; Mark French, UC Santa Barbara; Gail Goestenkors, Duke; Sue Gunter, LSU; Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina; Cathy Inglese, Boston College; Andy Landers, Georgia; Deb Patterson, Kansas State; Harry Perretta, Villanova; Rene Portland, Penn State; Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech; Vivian Stringer, Rutgers; Pat Summitt, Tennessee; Tara VanDerveer, Stanford; Susan Walvius, South Carolina.

Summitt and Auriemma are each four-time winners of the award. No other coach has won the Naismith multiple times.