Teresa Edwards

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Teresa Edwards
Edwards and ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne in 2011
Personal information
Born (1964-07-19) July 19, 1964 (age 59)
Cairo, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Career information
High schoolCairo (Cairo, Georgia)
CollegeGeorgia (1982–1986)
WNBA draft2003: 2nd round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career1996–2004
Coaching career2007–2014
Career history
As player:
1996–1998Atlanta Glory
1998Philadelphia Rage
2003–2004Minnesota Lynx
As coach:
2007Minnesota Lynx (assistant)
2011Tulsa Shock (assistant)
2011Tulsa Shock (interim)
2014Atlanta Dream (assistant)
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame as player
Medals
Women’s basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Team competition
FIBA World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1986 Soviet Union Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1990 Malaysia Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Australia Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Havana Team competition
Jones Cup
Gold medal – first place 1984 Taipei Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1987 Taipei Team competition
Silver medal – second place 1988 Taipei Team competition

Teresa Edwards (born July 19, 1964)[2] is an American former women's basketball player and four time Olympic gold medalist.

In 2000, Sports Illustrated magazine placed her as 22nd of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century". She played for, and graduated from, the University of Georgia.

The US Olympic Committee appointed Edwards as chef de mission for the 2012 Olympic Games.[3] In 2010, Edwards was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. in 2013, she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2021, Edwards published an autobiographical audio book, Black Gold, about her basketball career, with a focus on her Olympic experiences.

High school[edit]

Born in Cairo, Georgia, Edwards attended Cairo High School, where she was a four-year starter. In her junior and senior years, the Syrupmakers were 58–3. She scored 1,982 points in her high school career, and was honored as the Georgia High School Player of the Year in 1982.[2]

College years[edit]

Edwards began her college career for the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball at the University of Georgia where she was a two time All-American. She was the starting point guard for the Georgia Lady Bulldogs,[2] helping lead them to the Final Four in 1983 and 1985. Edwards played in her first Olympic Games in 1984 as a collegian, and won her first of four gold medals as the youngest member of the team.[2] Her college jersey number (#5) was retired, making her one of only three Lady Bulldog players given that honor.[2] She earned her degree in leisure studies in 1990.

Georgia statistics[edit]

Source[4]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
83 Georgia 33 430 45.9% 63.4% 2.2 3.0 2.1 0.3 13.0
84 Georgia 33 465 52.1% 78.5% 2.5 5.7 2.5 0.4 14.1
85 Georgia 30 464 52.7% 73.4% 2.8 6.3 3.3 0.4 15.5
86 Georgia 32 630 55.8% 78.8% 4.6 5.5 2.8 0.4 19.7
Career Georgia 128 1989 51.8% 73.6% 3.0 5.1 2.7 0.4 15.5

ABL career[edit]

Edwards was the star player and head coach for the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League (ABL). She played in the ABL inaugural game between the Glory and the San Jose Lasers, won by the Lasers 78–70.[5] She was traded to the Philadelphia Rage in 1998.[citation needed]

WNBA career[edit]

During the 2003 WNBA draft, at the urging of Minnesota Lynx head coach Suzie McConnell Serio, the Lynx selected Edwards even though she was 38 years old. Edwards and Serio were teammates on the women's basketball team during the Summer Olympics of 1988 and 1992.[6][7]

Edwards played for the Lynx during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Afterwards, her contract expired and she became a free agent. But no other WNBA team offered her a contract for the 2005 season.

In December 2006, Edwards returned to Lynx, as an assistant coach.

Edwards served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[8]

In 2011, Edwards was named as assistant coach of the Tulsa Shock. She would later become the interim head coach after Nolan Richardson resigned on July 9, 2011.[9]

On March 4, 2014, Edwards was hired by the Atlanta Dream as the assistant coach.[10]

WNBA career statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2003 Minnesota 34 34 25.1 .375 .300 .775 3.1 4.4 1.2 0.3 2.7 5.3
2004 Minnesota 34 34 20.5 .370 .294 .700 2.6 2.3 1.4 0.2 2.7 5.7
Career 2 years, 1 team 68 68 22.8 .372 .297 .743 2.9 3.3 1.3 0.3 2.7 5.5

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2003 Minnesota 3 3 27.7 .316 .333 1.000 3.3 6.3 1.7 0.3 2.7 6.7
2004 Minnesota 2 2 21.5 .167 .200 .750 2.5 1.0 1.5 0.5 2.0 3.0
Career 2 years, 1 team 5 5 25.2 .280 .294 .875 3.0 4.2 1.6 0.4 2.4 2.2 5.2

International career[edit]

After Edwards graduated, she played abroad for nine seasons splitting time between Vicenza- Italy, Nagoya- Japan, Spain (Dorna Godella), and France (Tarbes and Valenciennes).[2] During this time, she also continued to appear in international competition.

After the 1994 season, she stayed in the United States to train for her fourth Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[11] Edwards was selected to take the competitors' oath at the Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta (the opening ceremonies took place on her 32nd birthday).[2] She was named the 1996 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.[12]

She competed for the United States in international competition a total of 19 times. Her teams won 14 gold medals.

In 1984, the USA sent its National team to the 1984 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Edwards averaged 5.5 points per game.[13]

Edwards is the first female basketball player to have played in five Olympics.[2] She is jointly (with Australian Andrew Gaze) the third basketball player to compete at five Olympics along with Puerto Rican Teófilo Cruz and Brazilian Oscar Schmidt.

She also holds the unique distinction of being the youngest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 20 in 1984) and the oldest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 36 in 2000).[2]

She made a record fifth Olympic basketball team, earning a fourth gold medal to go with her bronze medal. She returned to Europe in 2002.

Edwards was named to the team representing the US at the 1987 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The team won all seven games to win the gold medal for the event. Edwards led the team in scoring with 23 points against China. The USA won the gold medal game by a single point over South Korea, helped by Edwards key free throws with a minute left in the game. She was the team's second leading scorer with 12.4 points per game over the seven games, and was named to the all-tournament team.[14] In the following year, 1988, Edwards was also named to the Jones Cup team. The USA team was not as successful, with a 3–2 record, but that was enough to secure the silver medal. She averaged 15.4 points per game to lead her team in scoring.[15]

Edwards was a member of the 1987 gold medal-winning USA Women's Pan American Team in Indiana,[16] and the 1991 bronze medal-winning team in Havana, Cuba.[17]

Edwards was a member of the USA National team at the 1990 World Championships, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team won their opening round games fairly easily, with the closest of the first three games a 27-point victory over Czechoslovakia. Then they faced Cuba, a team that had beaten the US in exhibition matches only a few weeks earlier. The USA team was losing at halftime, but came back to win 87–78. Edwards hit four of her five three-point attempts, and scored 32 points, along with five steals. The USA team found itself behind at halftime to Canada in their next game, but came back to win easily 95–70. After an easy match against Bulgaria, the USA team faced Czechoslovakia again, end achieved an almost identical result, winning 87–59. In the title match, the USA team won the gold medal with a score of 88–78. Edwards led the team in scoring and assists, averaging 21.9 points per game and recording 24 assist for the event.[18]

Edwards was named to the USA national team and competed in the 1994 World Championships, held in June 1994 in Sydney, Australia. The team was coached by Tara VanDerveer, and won their first six games, when they faced Brazil. In a closely contested, high-scoring game, Brazil hit ten of ten free throws in the final minute to secure a 110–107 victory. The USA won a close final game against Australia 100–95 to earn the bronze medal. Edwards had the second highest scoring average on the team with 12.7 points per game.[19]

She also holds the record for points in an ABL game with 46.[1]

Awards and honors[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Teresa Edwards". espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Porter p. 129–130
  3. ^ Gomez, Brian (June 28, 2010). "USOC picks hoops star Edwards as 2012 Olympic leader". The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Freedom Communications. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  4. ^ "Georgia Media Guide". October 26, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Grundy p 226
  6. ^ "Games of the XXIVth Olympiad – 1988". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  7. ^ "Games of the XXVth Olympiad – 1992". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  8. ^ Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup – A blog on sports media, news and networks – baltimoresun.com
  9. ^ "Nolan Richardson Resigns as Tulsa Shock Head Coach". Swish Appeal. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  10. ^ "Atlanta Dream". Atlanta Dream. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  11. ^ "Games of the XXVIth Olympiad – 1996". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  12. ^ "Sportswoman of the Year Award". Women's Sports Foundation. Archived from the original on July 22, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  13. ^ "1984 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  14. ^ "1987 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  15. ^ "1988 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  16. ^ "Tenth Pan American Games -- 1987". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  17. ^ "Eleventh Pan American Games – 1991". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  18. ^ "Eleventh World Championship -- 1990". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  19. ^ "Twelfth World Championship for Women -- 1994". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  20. ^ "Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Members by Year" (PDF). Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  21. ^ "Lobo: I'm just 1st of many Huskies heading to Hall". AP. June 11, 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  22. ^ "Class of 2010 Inductees Announced". WBHOF. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  23. ^ "2009–2012 USA Basketball Board of Directors". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  24. ^ "Teresa Edwards". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  25. ^ "NCAA Names Silver Anniversary Winners" (Press release). NCAA. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  26. ^ "FIBA announces 2013 Hall of Fame Class" (Press release). FIBA. May 27, 2013. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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