ALYSON GROVE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona guard Dee-Dee Wheeler was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year last weekend at the Pac-10 Tournament in Eugene, Oregon. Wheeler led the team in steals and assists and was the second-leading scorer in her first year at UA.

Wheeler's contributions to team recognized by Pac-10

UA guard Dee-Dee Wheeler had a feeling she might be honored at the Pac-10 awards banquet in Eugene, Oregon Thursday night.

It wasn't only because the freshman led the team in steals and assists and was the second-leading scorer. After seeing herself in the season-recap video four different times, the UA guard said she had a clue that she was about to be named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

She was right.

Wheeler became the second Wildcat to receive the award, joining Adia Barnes, who won the award during the 1994-95 season.

"I was smiling and my teammates were yelling, 'Go Dee-Dee,'" Wheeler said. "Girls on the other teams were also very supportive."

Wheeler was also named on the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team - realizing the two goals she had set for herself at the beginning of the season.

"I definitely thought she deserved it and am extremely happy for her," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "She's such a hard worker and very coachable. This is just the beginning for her."

Wheeler's performance ranked her among the team's top contributors. Her 54 steals on the season led the team, as did her 3.4 assists per game.

As the team's second leading scorer with 12.6 points per game, including 19 double-digit scoring performances, Wheeler said she would trade in her individual success in order to benefit the team.

"I either give it all up or I might as well go home," she said. "It would have been better for me if our team did better because we had the talent to do so. But the (award) does make me feel good."

It's her unselfish attitude and team mentality that grabbed Bonvicini's attention.

"She always puts the team first," Bonvicini said. "She would gladly trade in all the individual stuff for the success of the team. She is such an unselfish leader."

From the beginning of the season, Bonvicini said she expected Wheeler to make immediate contributions off the bench.

The 5-foot-6 freshman and graduate of Chicago's Dunbar Vocational Career Academy had one adjustment to get used to: She was moved from shooting guard to running UA's offense at the point.

While at first Wheeler said it took some getting used to, she slowly stopped looking at the bench for Bonvicini's guidance and learned to run the offense.

"Dee-Dee has exceeded my expectations and she did it right away and grew from there," Bonvicini said.

Wheeler said Bonvicini stressed the importance of her becoming a team leader - something that Wheeler had to adjust to.

"I think I lead more by example than I do verbally," Wheeler said. "I do what I do to help my team win."

The UA freshman learned at an early age to develop a thick skin - by example.

The youngest sister to brothers Antinio, 22, and Earl, 20, Wheeler grew up playing sports and competing against men.

"We played hard, they fouled and scratched me, but they always showed me respect," Wheeler said. "They treated me like a boy, but when I fell down, they always helped me up."

Wheeler's true passion was baseball, and it wasn't until eighth grade that she took a serious interest in basketball.

After she realized there was no future career for her in baseball, she began to concentrate solely on basketball.

Her dedication proved successful as she led all freshmen in the Pac-10 in scoring.

Her quickness, athletic agility, winning mentality and height have brought comparisons to junior guard Jason Gardner. Their similarities extend even to the pair of red Nikes that both athletes sport.

"I knew he had them and I loved red," Wheeler said. "I was watching TV, and they said we wore the same kicks. I was constantly compared to Jason when I was recruited."

Although the Wildcats' run at the Pac-10 Conference title ended with a 66-58 loss to ASU in the first round, Wheeler is still optimistic for next season.

"We're an NCAA Tournament team and we need to win the games we're supposed to win," Wheeler said. "We can't let them get out of reach.

"We're going to let a lot of teams know that we have a lot of good players returning and that our record wasn't as good as it should have been."