Denise Curry

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Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States
Women's Basketball
Gold 1976 Los Angeles Team Competition

Denise Curry (born August 22, 1959 in Fort Benton, Montana) is an American former basketball player and college and professional basketball coach. As of the 2007-2008 season, she is in her fifth year as an assistant basketball coach for the Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team.

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[edit] College basketball

Curry moved to Davis, California by the time she was in high school. She graduated from Davis Senior High School. During her college playing career she led UCLA to AIAW National Championship in 1978, has been named All-America three times (1979, 1980, 1981), set fourteen school records and was all-time leading scorer (3,198 points) and rebounder (1,310 points). She scored in double figures in every one of the 130 games she played for UCLA. She averaged 24.6 points per game. Only one other Bruin player, Natalie Williams, averaged over 20 points per game at 20.4. As of 2008, she is still the top record holder in 10 categories for UCLA.[1]

She was named MVP of Western Collegiate Athletic Conference three times and UCLA All-University Athlete of the Year in 1981. She was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 1981.[2]

[edit] Amateur and Olympic competition

For the US national team, she won gold medals in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Pan American Games in 1983, World Championships in 1979, and silver medals at World Championships in 1983, World University Games in 1981 and Pan American Games in 1979.

[edit] Professional basketball

With her professional team, Stade Francais, she won French National championships in 1986 and 1987.

[edit] Coaching

Curry served as an assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley. She was an assistant in the San Jose Lasers of the Women's American Basketball League. She became the head basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton for three seasons from 1997-1998 through 1999-2000. She had a coaching record of 16 wins and 64 losses as the head coach of the Titans.[3] As of the 2007-2008 season, she is in her fifth year as an assistant basketball coach for the Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team.

[edit] Honors

Curry is a member of the Basketball (enshrined in 1997), Women's Basketball (enshrined in 1999), and Amateur Athletic Union Halls of Fame.

She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.[4]

Her #12 basketball jersey was one of the first four retired by UCLA. She was honored on February 3rd, 1990 in a ceremony in Pauley Pavilion, along with Ann Meyers (#15), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33), and Bill Walton (#32). This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of twenty-five years of the arena. The primary criteria for being chosen was that all four players were three-time All-Americans.[1]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b UCLA Women's Basketball Media Guide (PDF copy available at uclabruins.com) 2006-2007 season publication
  2. ^ Crystal Langhorne Honored As 2005 USA Basketball Female Athlete Of The Year. USA Basketball, December 8, 2005 (List of previous winners)
  3. ^ 2007 Titans Women's Basketball media guide. Cal State Fullerton Titans (PDF copy available at fullertontitans.cstv.com)
  4. ^ UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees 1994 (7): Donald Bragg, basketball; Denise Curry, basketball; John Richardson, football; Larry Rundle, volleyball; John Sciarra, football; Kiki Vandeweghe, basketball; Peter Vidmar, gymnastics.
Awards
Preceded by
Carol Blazejowski		 United States Basketball Female Athlete of the Year
1981		 Succeeded by
Cindy Noble/LaTaunya Pollard