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Yolanda Griffith

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Yolanda Griffith
Personal information
Born (1970-03-01) March 1, 1970 (age 54)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High schoolCarver (Chicago, Illinois)
College
WNBA draft1999: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Monarchs
Playing career1993–2009
PositionCenter
Number33, 13
Career history
1993–1997DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg
1997–1998Long Beach Stingrays
1998Chicago Condors
1999–2007Sacramento Monarchs
2000–2002Lavezzini Basket Parma
2003–2004UMMC Ekaterinburg
2005–2006UMMC Ekaterinburg
2008Seattle Storm
2009Indiana Fever
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney National team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens National team

Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. An eight time WNBA All-Star, she was named the 1999 WNBA MVP and the WNBA Finals MVP in 2005 when she won the WNBA championship with the Sacramento Monarchs. One of the top defensive players in WNBA's history, she was the 1999 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in rebounds and steals two times each. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. She is sometimes called by her nicknames: "Yo" and "Yo-Yo". Griffith was inducted into the 2014 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's class on her first year of eligibility. In 2021, she was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life

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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Griffith attended George Washington Carver High School in the Chicago area.[1] In her senior year (1988–1989), she was named First-team Parade All-American,[2] as well as first team All-America in softball.[1]

College career

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Griffith was offered a scholarship to play for the women's basketball team at the University of Iowa, but had to cancel it after she gave birth to her daughter, Candace.[3]

Afterward, she attended Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Florida, where she earned Junior College All-America honors in 1990-91.[1] She later transferred to Florida Atlantic University, which was then a Division II school, where she graduated in 1993, earning Kodak Division II Player of the Year honors.[1] While in school, she supported herself and her daughter by working for a car repossession company.[1]

Professional career

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Germany

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Following her graduating from college, Griffith began her professional basketball playing career in Germany with DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg, where she played from 1993 to 1997.[citation needed] In 1997, she finished as the top scorer and rebounder in the Euroleague Women, averaging 24.7 points and 17.1 rebounds per game.[4]

American Basketball League

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After four seasons in Germany, Griffith joined the American Basketball League (ABL).[1] She was selected by the Long Beach Stingrays as the number one pick overall in the ABL players draft.[1] In their only season, Griffith led the Stingrays to the brink of the ABL title, only to lose to the defending champions, the Columbus Quest. Griffith was named the 1997–1998 ABL Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-ABL first team.[1] She finished second in the ABL's 1998 Most Valuable Player voting to her future 2000 Summer Olympics teammate Natalie Williams.[citation needed]

When the Long Beach franchise folded after the end of the 1997–98 season, she was dealt to the expansion Chicago Condors, in her hometown. She played there only briefly, however, as the league folded on December 22, 1998. Prior to that, Griffith ranked fifth among league leaders in scoring (17.2 ppg), first in rebounding (12.3 rpg), 19th in assists (2.6 apg), second in steals (3.3 spg), and second in blocked shots (1.3 bpg).[citation needed]

WNBA

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The Sacramento Monarchs selected Griffith as the no. 2 overall draft pick in the 1999 WNBA draft.[1] She is a seven-time WNBA All-Star, and won the WNBA's MVP, Newcomer of the Year[5] and Defensive Player awards in 1999.

In 2001, Griffith set the WNBA single-season record for most offensive rebounds with 162.[citation needed]

In 2005, the Monarchs won their first WNBA title over the Connecticut Sun, three games to one in a best-of-five series. Griffith was named Finals MVP.[citation needed]

On April 8, 2008, after nine seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, Griffith signed with the Seattle Storm.[citation needed]

On February 20, 2009, Griffith signed with the Indiana Fever, after a one-year stint with the Storm.[citation needed]

On June 9, 2009, Griffith tore her achilles tendon in a game against the Seattle Storm, her former team. In August the same year, she announced her retirement from professional basketball.[6][7] In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA.[8] In 2016, Griffith was once again honoured by the WNBA in the WNBA Top 20@20 in celebration of the league's 20th season.[9]

Europe

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As the WNBA and the seasons in Europe did not overlap, Griffith, like many other WNBA players played in Europe during the winter. She played two seasons for Lavezzini Basket Parma in Italy from 2000 to 2002. In 2003–2004 and 2005–2006, she played for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg.[citation needed]

Coaching career

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Griffith began her coaching career in 2009 as an assistant coach with the Indiana Fever. She was later an assistant coach at the college level with Dartmouth, Lafayette, Albany and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2018, she became an assistant coach with the Boston College Eagles.[citation needed]

Statistics

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WNBA career statistics

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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

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1999 Sacramento 29 29 33.8 .541 .000 .617 11.3° 1.6 2.5° 1.9 2.28 18.8
2000 Sacramento 32 32 32.1 .535 .000 .706 10.3 1.5 2.6 1.9 2.56 16.3
2001 Sacramento 32 31 33.7 .522 .000 .720 11.2° 1.7 2.0 1.2 2.34 16.2
2002 Sacramento 17 17 33.9 .520 .000 .803 8.7 1.1 0.9 0.8 2.65 16.9
2003 Sacramento 34 34 29.9 .485 .000 .774 7.3 1.4 1.7 1.1 2.21 13.8
2004 Sacramento 34 34 30.3 .519 .000 .853 7.2 1.2 2.2° 1.2 1.74 14.5
2005† Sacramento 34 33 28.3 .485 .000 .707 6.6 1.5 1.2 0.9 2.00 13.8
2006 Sacramento 34 34 25.1 .457 .000 .751 6.4 1.6 1.3 0.5 1.94 12.0
2007 Sacramento 32 32 23.1 .502 .000 .658 4.6 1.5 1.0 0.4 2.03 9.0
2008 Seattle 30 30 21.9 .462 .000 .648 6.3 1.5 1.4 0.6 1.70 7.2
2009 Indiana 3 0 13.7 .500 .000 .778 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 1.00 6.3
Career 11 years, 3 teams 311 306 28.8 .506 .000 .713 7.9 1.5 1.7 1.0 2.11 13.6

Postseason

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2000 Sacramento 2 2 39.0 .522 .000 .625 12.0° 1.0 0.5 0.5 2.00 14.5
2001 Sacramento 5 5 36.2 .478 .000 .764 8.8 1.4 1.6 1.2 2.20 21.2
2003 Sacramento 6 6 33.3 .537 .000 .912 8.8 1.2 1.2 1.0 2.00 17.2
2004 Sacramento 6 6 34.0 .492 .000 .833 8.2 1.3 2.0 1.0 2.00 13.7
2005† Sacramento 8 8 30.8 .491 .000 .711 8.3 1.4 1.2 0.5 1.25 17.3
2006 Sacramento 9 9 26.3 .485 .000 .765 7.1 1.8 1.1 0.6 1.11 14.8
2007 Sacramento 3 3 23.7 .409 .000 .889 6.0 0.3 0.7 0.3 2.33 8.7
2008 Seattle 3 3 29.0 .214 .000 .875 6.3 1.7 3.0 1.3 1.67 4.3
Career 8 years, 2 teams 42 42 31.1 .484 .000 .786 8.0 1.4 1.4 0.8 1.69 15.0

National team career

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Griffith has twice been a member of the U.S. National Women's Basketball team. She won Gold Medals at the Summer Olympics in both 2000 and 2004.[10][11][12] Griffith will serve as a member of the USA Basketball Women's Development National Team Committee from 2013-2016. The Women's Developmental National Team committees will select coaches and athletes for USA Basketball teams competing in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championships; and the 2014 and 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships. The Men's Developmental National Team Committee also selects staff and players for the annual Nike Hoop Summit.[13]

Coaching career

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Yolanda Griffith coaching from the sidelines

In 2011, Griffith accepted an assistant coach position with Ivy League university, Dartmouth, located in Hanover, NH.[14] In her first season with the Big Green the Dartmouth post players made great strides. Griffith was instrumental in the development of Arianne Hunter and Tia Dawson. Dawson, who was the Big Green's top rebounder and the top shot blocker in the Ivy League, was twice named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.[15] In 2013, Griffith was named the First Assistant Coach for Lafayette College a member of the Patriot League.[16] She was an assistant coach for Joanna Bernabei-MacNamee at the University of Albany. When Bernabei-MacNamee was named as the new head coach at Boston College in 2018, she brought Griffith along as her assistant. Griffith has been instrumental in the development of post players at BC.[citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Porter pp. 178–179.
  2. ^ Chuck Otterson (5 November 1989). "PBCC women: Tall expectations". The Palm Beach Post. p. 2C. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ Mechelle Voepel (4 August 2004). "Griffith finds success on road less traveled". ESPN. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  4. ^ "EuroLeague Women (1997) | FIBA Europe". fibaeurope.com. FIBA Europe. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  5. ^ "WNBA.com: Ambassadors of the Game: Yolanda Griffith". www.wnba.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Griffith ending career after 11 seasons". ESPN. Associated Press. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "FEVER: TORN ACHILLES TENDON ENDS GRIFFITHS SEASON". www.wnba.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. ^ "WNBA.com: AllStar 2011". www.wnba.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  9. ^ Mechelle Voepel (21 June 2016). "Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie among WNBA's 20@20". ESPN. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Yolanda Griffith, Lin Dunn inducted". ESPN. Associated Press. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad -- 2000". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Games of the XXVIIIth Olympiad -- 2004". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  13. ^ "USA Basketball Announces 2013-16 Competition Committees". Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  14. ^ YOLANDA GRIFFITH Archived 2013-04-26 at the Wayback Machine Dartmouth Big Green
  15. ^ "Dartmouth Endowment Yields 18.4% Return in Fiscal 2011". Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  16. ^ "WNBA, Olympic standout Yolanda Griffith named top assistant for Lafayette women's basketball program". 29 June 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

References

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  • David L. Porter, ed. (2005). Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30952-6.
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