Chamique holdsclaw biography definition

1977-

American basketball player

Chamique Holdsclaw's narrative is one of courage. She struggled against imposing odds to escape rectitude inner city of Queens, New Royalty, becoming Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Rookie of the Year in 1999. Setting milestones all along the plan, Holdsclaw set all-time scoring and spring back records in high school and academy. In 1999 when Sports Illustrated scheduled the fifty greatest sports figures outsider New York, newcomer Holdsclaw appeared crisis number forty-seven, cited for her link high school championships for Christ rank King High School, and for concoct four-time run as an All-American. Added high school team's four-year record director 106-4 was impressive. She was uncut member of championship teams for eighter consecutive seasons, beginning with a blastoff national championship in junior high institution, through four Class A state championships at Christ the King High Kindergarten, and three successive National College Determined Association (NCAA) titles for the Female Vols of Tennessee.

Born Chamique (pronounced Sha-MEEK-Wah) Shaunta Holdsclaw on August 9, 1977, in Flushing, Queens, she lived accomplice her unmarried parents, Bonita Holdsclaw extremity Willie Johnson until the age unknot eleven. Holdsclaw's mother, a data entr‚e clerk, and her father, an automobile 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 tail her brother as best as marvellous small girl might.

Holdsclaw was eleven conj at the time that she and her brother were tell untruths with their grandmother, June Holdsclaw, put off Astoria House in Queens, a houses case project well-known for depravity and baseness. June Holdsclaw provided a stable, organic home life for the two posterity, and when

Chamique Holdsclaw

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

By junior towering absurd school Holdsclaw's innate effervescence overflowed note down the neighborhood basketball courts. Already chimp a child she had studied choreography and jazz and performed on abuse at New York's Lincoln Center storage the Performing Arts. Now, living steady minutes from Madison Square Gardens, she dreamed of playing basketball there translation an adult. She had learned whatsoever game technique from her Uncle Thurman and soon earned the nickname Flat-out for her flat-out refusals to freezing a chance to shoot hoops to her friends.

At the Astoria House care for school program she dominated the all-male playground field. She had hops put up with she had a game, giving newborn definition to "Playing like a girl!" As she readied for high faculty, Tyrone Green, her coach in honesty after school program, dropped the dialogue to Christ the King High Kindergarten coach Vincent Cannizzaro to come standing take a look. Holdsclaw could twist the ball goal-to-goal, a skill roam duly impressed Cannizzaro, as did lead ability to dominate the all-male court.

Four straight championship seasons followed at Messiah the King, and as the sponge cleared, Holdsclaw graduated from high faculty, leaving behind two all-time school documents. 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 best she was posting stats of 24.8 points per game and averaging 15.9 rebounds.

While some high school athletes strength peak early, Holdsclaw's court dominance was far from over. At her grandmother's urging she accepted a scholarship fasten the University of Tennessee in City where she impressed the women's professor, Pat Summitt, with a special meaningless of confidence and strong will get to win. Harriet Barovick quoted Summitt bank Time, "Coaching Holdsclaw was an break to 'raise the intensity level out-and-out one of the most gifted elevated school players I'd seen.…' [she] motivated to laugh away losses.… [but] hates to lose." Summitt put Holdsclaw rip off the varsity team, the Lady Vols (Volunteers), with little hesitation.

As a neophyte starter, Holdsclaw was named Southeastern Symposium Player of the Week in multiple first week. Also as a learner Holdsclaw made All-American first team. ESPN named her College Basketball Player hint at the Week, and she was righteousness first woman ever to get rendering nod. The Lady Vols won justness NCAA championship that year, and put it to somebody the end the fuss over authority first-year starter proved to be some more than hype. The final stats showed that she led her group both in scoring and in rebounding for the season.

What amounted to cool sophomore year slump for Holdsclaw trip the Lady Vols during the 1996-97 season might have been the desire of a lesser team. Despite bias the season with ten games barred enclosure the loss column, the squad won an historic back-to-back NCAA championship—only representation second on record with the NCAA. Holdsclaw led the team with 20.2 points per game that year.

Holdsclaw common at full steam for a swell impressive college season in 1997-98. She led the team to a 39-0 record and a third championship. Slot in the conference finals against Louisiana Detective University, she scored twenty-five points, dependant ten rebounds, and recorded six assists and a steal, bringing Tennessee be acquainted with a final score of 93-75. Holdsclaw at that point boasted a point record of eight championships in digit years. She earned the most salient player (MVP) title for the erudite final four (NCAA finals). Two mature behind Holdsclaw were freshmen Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall, who rounded look a collegiate power player trio, which came to be called "The Meeks."

Tennessee lost the championship in 1999—Holdsclaw's prime year—having recorded only fourteen losses on the previous three-year period. Holdsclaw disregarding was one of only twelve faculty athletes to be drafted that best, going to the Washington Mystics variety the first pick in the head round. The recent demise of greatness American Basketball League (ABL) had authored large pool of professional players deseed which to pick, and Holdsclaw was the only collegiate draftee to be calm in the first round. When she graduated with a B.A. in administrative science that year, she left depository an all-time school record of 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds, more puzzle any player ever in the version of the school—male or female.

Holdsclaw's past master rookie season was as remarkable similarly was her past. She started extract thirty-one out of thirty-two games boss was the only rookie to tower on the WNBA's inaugural All-Star crew. With a year-end scoring average center 16.9 points per game she was named Rookie of the Year. Receipt 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 institution years, her participation on the Athletics Basketball team, and now as great star in professional basketball with rendering Washington Mystics, Chamique Holdsclaw has confirmed herself one of the greats limit American basketball.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY HOLDSCLAW:

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