Chambana Sun

Illinois guard Makira Cook has been named to the Nancy Lieberman Award preseason watch list for the second year in a row, as announced by the Naismith Awards on Monday. The award recognizes the top point guard in the nation, and Cook is among 20 players selected for this honor. She remains the only player from Illinois to be included on this list.

The Nancy Lieberman Award has been presented annually since 2000 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Cook's performance during the 2023-24 season earned her an All-Big Ten Second Team recognition. She led Illinois in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game, achieving double figures in 27 out of her 31 appearances and leading her team in scoring on 14 occasions.

In her senior year, Cook recorded over 500 points for a second consecutive season. Her shooting stats included a field goal percentage of 40%, a three-point percentage of 35.4%, and an impressive free-throw percentage of 85.4%. During Illinois' successful run to win the inaugural WBIT championship, she averaged 21 points per game and was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 27 points against Villanova in the final.

Having already surpassed both the 1,000-point mark at Illinois and over 1,600 career points, Cook is set to play her final year at Illinois after being named to the Coaches Preseason All-Big Ten team on September 26.

The Nancy Lieberman Award watch list will be reduced to ten candidates by late January, with five finalists announced in late March.

This award is part of five women's Naismith Starting Five awards, alongside those for other positions: Ann Meyers Drysdale (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller (Small Forward), Katrina McClain (Power Forward), and Lisa Leslie (Center). These lists will be released throughout this week.