Teresa Weatherspoon

Teresa Weatherspoon
Sport(s)	Women's college basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Louisiana Tech
Biographical details
Born	(1965-12-08) December 8, 1965 Pineland, Texas
Playing career
1984–1988 1988–1992 1992–1993 1993–1994 1994–1996 1997–2003 2004	Louisiana Tech Busto Arsizio Magenta Como CSKA Moscow New York Liberty Los Angeles Sparks
Position(s)	Point Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–present	Westchester Phantoms Louisiana Tech (assoc HC) Louisiana Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	87–51
Accomplishments and honors
Championships NCAA Division I Champion (1988) Olympic Games Gold Medal (1988) World Championships Gold Medal (1986) Goodwill Games Gold Medal (1986) World University Games Gold Medal (1987) 2-time Russian League Champion (1995,1996) America South Regular Season Champion (1988) America South Tournament Champion (1988) 4-time WNBA Eastern Conference Champion (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002) 2-time WAC Regular Season Champion (2009, 2011) WAC Tournament Champion (2010)
Awards Wade Trophy winner (1988) 2-time Kodak All-American (1987,1988) 2-time All-Final Four Team (1987,1988) Region Most Outstanding Player (1988) 2-time All-Region Tournament Team (1987,1988) America South Conference Player of the Year (1988) LSWA Louisiana Player of the Year (1988) Broderick Cup winner (1988) 2-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1997,1998) 4-time WNBA All-Star (1999,2000,2001,2002) 4-time All-WNBA second team (1997,1998,1999,2000) 6-time Italian League All-Star (1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994) NCAA Women's Basketball Team of the Decade (1980s) Olympic Games Bronze Medal (1992) New York Magazine "Best of New York" Award Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year (2010) Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2010) Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2010) WBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year (2011)

Teresa Weatherspoon

Medal record
Women’s Basketball
Competitor for United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1988 Seoul	Team Competition
Bronze	1992 Barcelona	Team Competition

Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon (born December 8, 1965 in Pineland, Texas) is a former American Women's National Basketball Association player who played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks and is currently the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

Career

Weatherspoon was a health and physical education major and star basketball player at Louisiana Tech. In 1988, her senior season, Weatherspoon led the Lady Techsters to the NCAA national title.

Weatherspoon is one of the original players of the WNBA in 1997 when she joined the New York Liberty in the WNBA's inaugural season. A talented ball-handler and charismatic leader, her energetic play quickly endeared her to the fans and media in New York. In 1997 she was the first winner of the league's Defensive player of the year award. She won the title again in 1998. Up until the 2003 season, she held the distinction of being the only WNBA player to start every one of her games. After the 2003 season, she was not re-signed by the Liberty and signed with the Los Angeles Sparks. After her 2004 season with the Sparks, Weatherspoon retired.

In 2007 Weatherspoon was the head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association. In April 2008 she joined the coaching staff of the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech. On February 9, 2009, she was promoted to interim head coach to replace former head coach Chris Long. April 2, 2009 saw Louisiana Tech shed the interim label and name Teresa head women's basketball coach. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Westchester Phantoms (ABA) (2007–2008)
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (WAC) (2009–present)
2008–09	Louisiana Tech	9–2	8–0	T–1st	WNIT Second Round
2009–10	Louisiana Tech	23–9	11–5	2nd	NCAA First Round
2010–11	Louisiana Tech	24–8	15–1	1st	NCAA First Round
2011–12	Louisiana Tech	17–15	8–6	3rd
2012–13	Louisiana Tech	14–17	9–9	5th
Louisiana Tech:		87–51	51–21
Total:		87–51
National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion       Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

Personal

Weatherspoon was born to Charles and Rowena Weatherspoon in Pineland, Texas. Her father, Charles Sr., played minor league baseball in the Minnesota Twins' farm system, and holds the record for the most grand slams (3) in a minor league game. Weatherspoon has two brothers and three sisters. She credits her family, especially her mother Rowena Weatherspoon, as the biggest influence on her basketball career. Her fans call her by her nicknames "T-Spoon" or "Spoon". She and Atlanta Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon are second cousins.

In 1999, she published a book titled Teresa Weatherspoon's Basketball for Girls, filled with anecdotes and advice on improving basketball skills for young girls.

Vital statistics

• Position: Guard
• Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
• College: Louisiana Tech '88
• Teams(s): New York Liberty (1997–2003)
  Los Angeles Sparks (2004)

Career highlights

• WNBA #2 all-time in career assists
• Led the New York Liberty to the first ever WNBA Finals in 1997
• Started in the first four WNBA All-Star games (1999, 2000, 2001, & 2002)
• All WNBA Second Team (1997, 1998, 1999, & 2000)
• WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1997 & 1998)
• Hit a memorable court to court shot to tie the WNBA Finals series with the Houston Comets in 1999
• Started all her WNBA games up until the 2003 season

WNBA career statistics

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 high		League leader

Awards and honors

As a Basketball Player:

• 1986 World Championships Gold Medalist (with Team USA)
• 1986 Goodwill Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA)
• 1987 World University Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA)
• 1988 Olympic Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA)
• 1992 Olympic Games Bronze Medalist (with Team USA)[1]
• 1988 Wade Trophy
• 2010 Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010.[2]
• 2010 Inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
• 2011 Inducted into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor
• 2011 Named One of Top 15 WNBA Players of All-Time

As a Head Coach of Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters:

• 2009 WAC Regular Season Champions
• 2009 WNIT Second Round
• 2010 WAC Tournament Champions
• 2010 NCAA Tournament
• 2010 Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year
• 2011 WAC Regular Season Champions
• 2011 NCAA Tournament
• 2011 WBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year

See also

• 1987 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
• List of NCAA Division I women's basketball players with at least 800 assists

External links

• New York Post- Liberty Team Page
• Teresa Weatherspoon Profile at Louisiana Tech
• WBCA Press Release 3-29-2010