MY FAVOURITE BASKETBALL PLAYERSports. Everytime I hear about this word I will get really excited. This is because I really love sports. I watch all kind of sports including pool, darts and chess. Well, in an easy word, I watch all kind of sports including boring sports. But now my focus are only in basketball. Why? This is because the topic given for my curriculum assignment is ‘My Favourite Basketball Player’.
Eventhough I enjoy all kind of sports but I don’t really know much about them. But if you asked me about badminton, soccer and Formula One, that I can answer confidently. So, I don’t really know much about basketball. In basketball world, there are only three players that I remember the most till today plus there are my favourite players.- Michael Jordan, Yao Ming and Sue Bird.
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Among these three, I like Sue Bird the most. Not because she is woman. The first time I saw basketball game when I was form two. I cannot remember Seattle against what team but I remember Sue Bird. At that time she still a rookie. I was amazed by her because she was the shortest player at that time. However, she can shoot for three points at a far distance gracefully and she looked so flexible. That is why I like her.
But when I searched for her in the internet last time for this assignment, I was so shocked. I think I have not seen she plays about four years already because my mother cut the sports channel for my SPM preparation and I cannot watch television during matriculation. Why I was so shock? That is because she is taller than me now and she has gained a lot of achievements now. I will talk about that later.
First of all I would like to share with you about Sue Bird’s personel background. Her full name is Suzanne Brigit Bird. Sue Bird is her nickname on her jersey. She was born on 16 October 1980 in Long Island (Syosset), New York. She is the youngest of two children to Herschel and Nancy Bird. Her height now is 175cm and weight is 68kg. She wears number 10 because her sister Jennifer and her were both born in October. Jennifer was also a basketball player during high school. Sue Bird started playing AAU basketball in the sixth grade. She studied in University of Connecticut(UConn) in communication science major and was named to the Dean’s list. She was named as the Best Female College Athlete of the Year at the 10th annual ESPY Awards on 10th July 2002. She was a member of the gold-medal winning 2002 US Women’s World Championship Team in China. She was also named as the Female Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at the 68th Annual Sports Star of the Year awards banquet on 27th January 2003.
That is general. Now let’s go more details. Sue Bird played her freshman and sophomore years at Syosset High School. But she wanted more competition so she decided to enroll at the basketball powerhouse which is Christ The King Regional High School in Queens, New York that produced many well-known basketball stars like Jayson Williams and Speedy Claxton. Sue Bird spent two seasons there and the Royals (her team)went undefeated in both seasons. In the second season, her team won the New York state championship and the national title. She won many awards including the New York State Player of the Year and the New York Daily News Player of the Year. She was named as a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored eleven points.
After finishing her high-school, she chose UConn over other universities like Stanford and Vanderbilt because it was close to her home and the UConn program had the winning tradition like the one at Christ the King. She gained renown while playing as the point guard for the UConn women’s basketball team (Huskies) from 1998 to 2002. She led them to NCAA titles in 2000 and 2002. While playing for the Huskies, Sue Bird was feared most as a three-point shooter and also at the free throw line where she averaged over 90% of her free throws in her sophomore and senior seasons. She finished her college career on many record lists. She was named as the Naismith winner and College Player of the Year in 2002. She currently ranks number one in three point field field goal percentage (45.9). She has won two National Championships, three Big East Championships and Big East regular season titles. She was also the inaugural winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2000, given to the top point guard in the nation and won the award in 2001 and 2002. Overall her record at college in games she played is a remarkable 114-4. She was also a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women’s basketball “Huskies of Honor” recognition program. Below is her statistics at UConn.
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN PTS AVG
1998-99 8 16 41 0.316 6 19 0.316 3 4 0.750 16 2.0 25 16 1 15 160 41 5.1
1999-00 37 140 279 0.502 72 145 0.497 53 59 0.898 94 2.5 160 80 1 69 1052 405 10.9
2000-01 34 137 309 0.443 60 139 0.432 35 45 0.778 89 2.6 169 88 4 63 941 369 10.9
2001-02 39 198 392 0.505 69 148 0.466 98 104 0.942 131 3.4 231 93 9 96 1168 563 14.4
Totals 118 491 1021 0.481 207 451 0.459 189 212 0.892 330 2.8 585 277 15 243 3321 1378 11.7
Sue Bird was the first player chosen in the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm. She was also the first point guard to be the top pick in the league’s history. In her rookie season, she was selected as a starter on the 2002 WNBA Western Conference All-Star team. She led the Storm to their first playoff appearance. Since that, she has been selected to the Western Conference All Star team. In 2004, she helped the Seattle Storm win its first WNBA Championship. By winning that, Sue Bird became one of the seven women to receive an Olympic Gold Medal, a NCAA Championship and a WNBA Championship together with Ruth Riley, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and fellow Huskies- Swin Cash, Kara Wolters and Diana Taurasi.
For international, Sue Bird competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 2000 Jones Cup Team that won the Gold medal in Taipei. In the 2003 – 2004 off-season, she was named to the United States 2004 Women’s Olympic Basketball Team’s core roster and she was the youngest player of the nine players. The team would go on to win the gold at the games in Athens. In the 2004-2007 WNBA off-season, she played in Russia reaching the Russian championship and the Euroleague women’s playoffs. In 2008, she was invited back to be on the 2008 Olympic Basketball Team and the team has won the Gold medal in Beijing. In 2009, Sue Bird was invited to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp. The team selected will play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and also the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. As a result of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.
Actually, there are a lot more achievements that Sue Bird has achieved and also during these years of she plays basketball, she was also suffered from many injuries including serious injuries. But still, those will not make her give up on her basketball career. However, that experience has made her become a tough and better player. I hope that she will be really successful in her basketball career and gain more achievements. I end up my essay with one of the articles that I chose as reference.
Just the Facts Roster & Bios Schedule & Results Stats Features History Media Guide
Sue Bird
Position: Guard
Height: 5'9" / 176 cms.
Weight: 150 lbs. / 68 kgs.
WNBA Team: Seattle Storm
School: University of Connecticut '02
NOTE: As of October 14, 2009
• Printable (PDF) bio
USA Basketball Notes:
Gold Medals: 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational, 2004 & 2008 Olympics, 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, 2002 World Championship, 2002 Opals World Challenge, 2000 R. William Jones Cup.
Silver Medal: 2007 FIBA World League Tournament.
Bronze Medal: 2006 FIBA World Championship.
Honors: Named to the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball All-Tournament Team.
• Aided the USA National Team to a 3-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.
• Named to the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team on Aug. 17, 2009.
• Member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the USA’s fourth consecutive gold medal with a perfect 8-0 record; started all eight games and averaged 3.0 ppg., 2.3 rpg. and 1.8 apg.
• Aided the USA National Team to the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball gold medal and a 3-0 slate prior to the Olympics against Latvia and eventual Olympic bronze and silver medalists Russia and Australia, respectively; averaged 8.0 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 1.7 apg. and 1.7 spg., and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Is one of only eight players to have earned an NCAA title, a U.S. pro championship and Olympic gold medal. Swin Cash, Cynthia Cooper, Andrea Lloyd [ABL], Ruth Riley, Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi and Kara Wolters round out the list.
• Started all eight games of the USA’s 2007 College Tour, averaged 9.0 ppg., 2.3 rpg. and 2.9 apg.
• Aided the 2007 USA Select Team to a 3-2 record and the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia, averaged 7.2 ppg. and 3.0 apg. and collected the award for the tournament’s best guard.
• Member of the 2007 USA FIBA Americas Championship Team that competed in Valdivia, Chile, posted an unblemished 5-0 slate, captured the gold medal and qualified the United States for the 2008 Olympics; started all five games and averaged 5.6 ppg., 3.8 rpg. and 4.0 apg.
• Prior to the FIBA Americas Championship, aided the USA to a pair of victories against the Australia National Team, averaged 9.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 3.0 apg.
• Named to the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s National Team on March 6, 2007.
• Attended part of the USA’s 2007 Tour of Italy training camp, but was unable to compete due to her team’s EuroLeague schedule.
• Member of the 2006 USA World Championship Team that posted an 8-1 record and took home the bronze medal; averaged 7.7 ppg. and finished as the tournament assist leader (4.6 apg.).
• Aided the U.S. to a 56-49 exhibition victory over eventual World Championship gold medalist Australia.
• Member of the 2006 USA Basketball Senior National Team for the USA's March 2-9 European Tour; started two games and averaged 5.0 ppg., 3.0 rpg. and 2.0 spg.
• Member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team that rolled up an 8-0 record en route to winning the gold medal in Athens.
• Was on hand as the USA compiled a 16-0 exhibition record during the USA's Olympic preparations, averaged 4.4 ppg. and 3.7 apg. in the 13-game spring tour and 6.0 ppg. and 1.7 apg. in the USA's three pre-Olympic games.
• Helped the 2002 USA World Championship Team capture gold in China with an unblemished 9-0 record.
• Aided the U.S. to a 4-0 slate and the 2002 Australia-hosted Opal World Challenge title prior to the Worlds.
• Playing back-up to international veteran Dawn Staley and eventual ‘02 All-Worlds selection Shannon Johnson, averaged 3.3 ppg. in Australia and upped that to 4.3 ppg. at the ‘02 Worlds.
• Member of the 2000 USA R. William Jones Cup Team that posted a perfect 4-0 record in Taipei, Taiwan, and earned the gold medal; started all four games and passed off for a team high 4.3 apg. and added 2.0 ppg. and 2.5 rpg.
• Returned less than two months later as a member of the 2000 USA Basketball Select Team that competed against the eventual gold medal winning 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in an exhibition contest in Hawaii.
Professional Notes:
WNBA
• Drafted: No. 1 in 2002 by the Seattle Storm.
• WNBA title: 2004
• All-WNBA first team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• All-WNBA second team: 2008
• WNBA All-Star Games: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 (injured), 2009
• WNBA All-Decade Team: 1997-06
• During the 2009 WNBA season averaged 12.8 ppg., 2.5 rpg. and a league-leading 5.8 apg. to aid Seattle to a 20-14 slate and a second place finish in the Western Conference.
• Helped propel the Storm to the 2008 playoffs and a 22-12 record, despite missing reigning MVP Lauren Jackson for the final 13 games of the season, and was the third-leading vote-getter for 2008 WNBA MVP honors.
• Aided the Storm in 2007 to a 17-17 record and the Western Conference playoffs and capped the 2007 season ranked third in the league for assists (4.9 apg.).
• After returning from Athens, helped lead the Storm to a 20-12 slate and the 2004 WNBA crown.
• Helped her 2002 team to its then-best record and first playoff berth in franchise history as Seattle finished in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 17-15 record.
• Was the second leading vote getter for the 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year honor.
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International
• EuroLeague titles: 2007, 2008, 2009
• Russia Superleague titles: 2007, 2008, 2009
• EuroLeague All-Star Game: 2008
• Competed the last three years for Spartak Moscow Region with USA teammate Diana Taurasi, also played alongside Tina Thompson (2006-07 and 2007-08) and Sylvia Fowles (2008-09) and helped Spartak capture three consecutive EuroLeague and Russia Super League championships.
• Returned to Spartak Moscow Region to play during the 2007-08 season, aided Spartak to a 15-1 EuroLeague record and the team’s second straight title, averaged a EuroLeague third-best 4.6 apg., while adding 9.1 ppg. and 3.9 rpg. Her squad also captured the 2008 Russia Superleague crown.
• Competed for Moscow Spartak Region in 2006-07, averaged 4.1 ppg., 1.9 rpg. and 2.1 apg. in aiding Spartak to the 2007 EuroLeague and Russian League titles.
• Spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons competing in Russia for Moscow Dynamo, where she helped her team to the 2005 and 2006 EuroLeague quarterfinals.
Collegiate Notes:
• During her four years (1999-02) at Connecticut, the Huskies posted a 136-9 record (93.8 winning percentage), won a pair of NCAA crowns (2000, 2002) while advancing to four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2001 Final Four, and earned four Big East regular season and tournament titles.
• Was the 2002 Naismith Player of the Year and 2002 Wade Trophy recipient, named 2002 Player of the Year by the Associated Press (A.P.) and U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and also was presented with the first annual Senior C.L.A.S.S. award in 2002, which is bestowed upon the nation's top senior basketball player.
• Earned the 2002 Honda Award as the Women's College Basketball Player of the Year and collected the 2002 ESPY as the top Female College Athlete of the Year.
• Earned 2000 and 2002 All-Final Four honors, named the 2002 NCAA Mideast Region Most Outstanding Player and to the 2000 NCAA All-East Regional squad.
• The 2002 Big East Player of the Year; 2002 and 2001 All-Big East first team; 2000 All-Big East second team; 2002 Big East All-Tournament.
Personal Notes:
• Born on October 16, 1980, hails from Syosset, New York.
• Daughter of Nancy and Herschel Bird, has one sister, Jennifer.
• Wears No. 10 because she and her sister were both born in the 10th month of the year.
• Attended Christ The King H.S. (N.Y.), where she was the MVP of the 1998 New York state tournament, and also led her squad to a 27-0 record and the USA Today national crown.
• Named to the 1998 Parade Magazine All-America first team and the USA Today All-USA second team.
• A multi-sport athlete and National Honor Society member in high school, earned varsity letters twice in soccer and once in track.
• In 2003 was voted by Seattle sports fans to replace SuperSonics and 2000 U.S. Olympic Team guard Gary Payton's billboard at the entrance of Seattle's Nike Town. She not only beat out Sonics guard and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Ray Allen, the runner-up, but also Lance Armstrong, Mia Hamm and Marion Jones.
• Earned her degree in communication science.
• Spent part of the 2003-04 off-season helping to coach a team comprised of eighth-graders in a Bay Area youth league.
• During her seasons in Russia, has learned some Russian phrases and knows her way around Moscow’s top sushi restaurants.
USA Basketball Statistics
TEAM G/S FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
09 WNT 3/ 3 8- 24 .333 1- 10 .100 2- 2 1.000 7/ 2.3 19/ 6.3 14 0 2
08 OLY 8/ 8 10- 31 .323 2- 10 .200 2- 4 .500 18/ 2.3 24/ 3.0 14 0 14
08 DIAM 3/ 3 9- 14 .643 4- 7 .571 2- 2 1.000 9/ 3.0 24/ 8.0 5 0 5
07 COLL 8/ 8 24- 52 .462 12- 26 .462 12- 12 1.000 18/ 2.3 72/ 9.0 23 0 5
07 FWLT 5/ 5 13- 26 .500 6- 14 .429 4- 4 1.000 11/ 2.2 36/ 7.2 15 0 7
07 TOA 5/ 5 11- 22 .500 2- 7 .286 4- 4 1.000 19/ 3.8 28/ 5.6 20 1 10
07 WNT 2/ 2 7- 15 .467 1- 3 .333 3- 4 .750 8/ 4.0 18/ 9.0 6 0 5
06 WC 9/ 9 27- 56 .482 10- 20 .500 5- 8 .625 13/ 1.4 69/ 7.7 41 1 12
06 WCX 1/ 1 3- 6 .500 0- 1 .000 0- 0 .--- 2/ 2.0 6/ 6.0 3 0 1
06 WNT 3/ 2 5- 10 .500 3- 4 .750 2- 2 1.000 9/ 3.0 15/ 5.0 6 0 3
04 OLY 7/ 0 9- 30 .300 2- 16 .125 0- 0 .--- 6/ 0.9 20/ 2.9 8 0 2
04 OLYx 3/ 0 7- 15 .467 2- 6 .333 2- 2 1.000 3/ 1.0 18/ 6.0 5 0 4
04 WNT 13/ 0 22- 53 .415 10- 30 .333 3- 4 .750 28/ 2.2 57/ 4.4 48 1 16
02 WC 7/ 0 9- 27 .333 4- 12 .333 8- 8 1.000 7/ 1.0 30/ 4.3 3 0 6
02 OWC 4/ 0 6- 16 .375 1- 4 .250 0- 0 .--- 5/ 1.3 13/ 3.3 4 0 1
00 SEL 1/ 1 0- 5 .000 0- 1 .000 0- 0 .000 2/ 2.0 0/ 0.0 3 0 0
00 JCUP 4/ 4 3- 13 .231 1- 3 .333 1- 4 .250 10/ 2.5 8/ 2.0 17 0 5
Totals 86/51 173-406 .426 61- 174 .351 50- 62 .806 175/ 2.0 457/ 5.3 235 3 98
WNBA Statistics
YEAR G/S FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
2009 31/31 154- 377 .408 54-150 .360 35- 41 .854 78/ 2.5 397/ 12.8 179 3 47
2008 33/ 33 172- 390 .441 47- 137 .343 74- 85 .871 84/ 2.5 465/ 14.1 169 3 39
2007 29/ 29 118- 276 .428 45- 133 .338 22- 26 .846 57/ 2.0 303/ 10.4 143 8 43
2006 34/ 34 137- 333 .411 56- 153 .366 59- 68 .868 102/ 3.0 389/ 11.4 162 5 61
2005 30/ 30 130- 294 .442 45- 103 .437 59- 69 .855 72/ 2.4 364/ 12.1 176 6 29
2004 34/ 34 151- 326 .463 64- 146 .438 73- 85 .859 106/ 3.1 439/ 12.9 184 5 51
2003 34/ 34 155- 368 .421 49- 140 .350 61- 69 .884 113/ 3.3 420/ 12.4 221 1 48
2002 32/ 32 151- 375 .403 57- 142 .401 102- 112 .911 83/ 2.6 461/ 14.4 191 3 55
Totals 257/257 1168-2739 .426 417-1104 .378 485-555 .874 695/ 2.7 3238/ 12.6 1425 34 373
College Statistics
YEAR G/S FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
2002 39/ 39 198- 392 .505 69- 148 .466 98-104 .942 131/ 3.4 563/ 14.4 231 9 96
2001 34/ 34 137- 309 .443 60- 139 .432 35- 45 .778 89/ 2.6 369/ 10.9 169 4 63
2000 37/ 37 140- 279 .502 72- 145 .497 53- 59 .898 94/ 2.5 405/ 10.9 160 1 69
1999 8/ 8 16- 41 .316 6- 19 .316 3- 4 .750 16/ 2.0 41/ 5.1 25 1 15
Totals 118/118 491-1021 .481 207- 451 .459 189-212 .892 330/ 2.8 1378/ 11.7 585 15 243
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