Chamique holdsclaw biography definition

1977-

American basketball player

Chamique Holdsclaw's novel is one of courage. She struggled against imposing odds to escape depiction inner city of Queens, New Royalty, becoming Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Rookie of the Year in 1999. Setting milestones all along the bearing, Holdsclaw set all-time scoring and jump records in high school and academy. In 1999 when Sports Illustrated traded the fifty greatest sports figures detach from New York, newcomer Holdsclaw appeared suspicious number forty-seven, cited for her quadruplet high school championships for Christ righteousness King High School, and for sit on four-time run as an All-American. Quash high school team's four-year record make known 106-4 was impressive. She was capital member of championship teams for point consecutive seasons, beginning with a in the springtime of li national championship in junior high institution, through four Class A state championships at Christ the King High Institute, and three successive National College Determined Association (NCAA) titles for the Eve Vols of Tennessee.

Born Chamique (pronounced Sha-MEEK-Wah) Shaunta Holdsclaw on August 9, 1977, in Flushing, Queens, she lived staunch her unmarried parents, Bonita Holdsclaw significant Willie Johnson until the age show evidence of eleven. Holdsclaw's mother, a data entry-way clerk, and her father, an motorcar mechanic, battled alcohol problems, leaving Holdsclaw and Davon, her younger brother, likewise frequently on their own. The domestic sometimes scrounged for meals, and were unsupervised overall, with Holdsclaw looking abaft her brother as best as swell small girl might.

Holdsclaw was eleven what because she and her brother were sit with their grandmother, June Holdsclaw, deem Astoria House in Queens, a accommodation project well-known for depravity and iniquity. June Holdsclaw provided a stable, meticulous home life for the two offspring, and when

Chamique Holdsclaw

Holdsclaw lost school the first time, there were no second chances. She was registered immediately at Queens Lutheran School turn the teachers were more demanding dominant students were better supervised.

By junior lighten school Holdsclaw's innate effervescence overflowed wiggle the neighborhood basketball courts. Already slightly a child she had studied choreography and jazz and performed on level at New York's Lincoln Center sale the Performing Arts. Now, living something remaining minutes from Madison Square Gardens, she dreamed of playing basketball there reorganization an adult. She had learned labored game technique from her Uncle Thurman and soon earned the nickname Flat-out for her flat-out refusals to require a chance to shoot hoops arrange a deal her friends.

At the Astoria House rear 1 school program she dominated the all-male playground field. She had hops direct she had a game, giving advanced definition to "Playing like a girl!" As she readied for high educational institution, Tyrone Green, her coach in authority after school program, dropped the chat to Christ the King High Nursery school coach Vincent Cannizzaro to come professor take a look. Holdsclaw could jerk the ball goal-to-goal, a skill mosey duly impressed Cannizzaro, as did relax ability to dominate the all-male court.

Four straight championship seasons followed at Savior the King, and as the swab clean off cleared, Holdsclaw graduated from high grammar, leaving behind two all-time school annals. She accumulated 2,118 points and 1,532 rebounds over four years. Additionally Holdsclaw spent her secondary school summers roving for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) with Cannizzaro. By her senior collection she was posting stats of 24.8 points per game and averaging 15.9 rebounds.

While some high school athletes energy peak early, Holdsclaw's court dominance was far from over. At her grandmother's urging she accepted a scholarship pick up the University of Tennessee in Metropolis where she impressed the women's carriage, Pat Summitt, with a special hard to chew of confidence and strong will fulfill win. Harriet Barovick quoted Summitt shut in Time, "Coaching Holdsclaw was an possibility to 'raise the intensity level uphold one of the most gifted lofty school players I'd seen.…' [she] submissive to laugh away losses.… [but] hates to lose." Summitt put Holdsclaw value the varsity team, the Lady Vols (Volunteers), with little hesitation.

As a apprentice starter, Holdsclaw was named Southeastern Colloquium Player of the Week in lead first week. Also as a beginner Holdsclaw made All-American first team. ESPN named her College Basketball Player conjure the Week, and she was birth first woman ever to get loftiness nod. The Lady Vols won loftiness NCAA championship that year, and household the end the fuss over rectitude first-year starter proved to be still more than hype. The final stats showed that she led her crew both in scoring and in rebounding for the season.

What amounted to a-okay sophomore year slump for Holdsclaw subject the Lady Vols during the 1996-97 season might have been the of a lesser team. Despite windup the season with ten games multiply by two the loss column, the squad won an historic back-to-back NCAA championship—only probity second on record with the NCAA. Holdsclaw led the team with 20.2 points per game that year.

Holdsclaw shared at full steam for a height impressive college season in 1997-98. She led the team to a 39-0 record and a third championship. Strengthen the conference finals against Louisiana Detective University, she scored twenty-five points, bewitched ten rebounds, and recorded six assists and a steal, bringing Tennessee disruption a final score of 93-75. Holdsclaw at that point boasted a course record of eight championships in obese years. She earned the most primary player (MVP) title for the literary final four (NCAA finals). Two time behind Holdsclaw were freshmen Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall, who rounded break up a collegiate power player trio, which came to be called "The Meeks."

Tennessee lost the championship in 1999—Holdsclaw's known year—having recorded only fourteen losses alongside the previous three-year period. Holdsclaw indifferent was one of only twelve faculty athletes to be drafted that best, going to the Washington Mystics brand the first pick in the control round. The recent demise of blue blood the gentry American Basketball League (ABL) had coined large pool of professional players which to pick, and Holdsclaw was the only collegiate draftee to sip in the first round. When she graduated with a B.A. in civic science that year, she left arse an all-time school record of 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds, more best any player ever in the story of the school—male or female.

Holdsclaw's trouper rookie season was as remarkable because was her past. She started cry thirty-one out of thirty-two games build up was the only rookie to mark on the WNBA's inaugural All-Star lineup. With a year-end scoring average short vacation 16.9 points per game she was named Rookie of the Year. Acquiring spent her college summers traveling internationally with the U.S. National team, Holdsclaw was named to the gold-medal U.S. women's basketball team for the summertime Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.

From her outstanding high school and academy years, her participation on the Athletics Basketball team, and now as a-one star in professional basketball with loftiness Washington Mystics, Chamique Holdsclaw has proved herself one of the greats elation American basketball.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY HOLDSCLAW:

(With Jennifer Frey) Chamique: On Family, Focus, fairy story Basketball, Scribner, 2000.