Michele Timms

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Olympic medal record
Women's Basketball
Bronze 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
Silver 2000 Sydney Team Competition

Michele Margaret Timms (born June 28, 1965 in Melbourne, Victoria), and known as Michele Timms, is an Australian basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association. Many consider the Melbourne, Victoria native to be one of Australia's greatest female basketball players in history.

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[edit] Personal

In addition to playing basketball, she has also parachuted from an airplane, played Australian rules football with her brothers, as well as cricket. In July 2003, she announced she was pregnant, and on January 25, 2004 she had a daughter named Kalsie Patricia.

[edit] WNBA career

At the onset of the WNBA in 1997, she went to the Mercury, where she played in the WNBA Finals in 1998, losing to the Houston Comets. In 2001, she announced her retirement and almost immediately joined the Mercury's television broadcasting crew, a job which she held only for that season. She averaged 4.6 points and 4.0 assists per game with the Mercury; her highest scoring average in one season being 12.1 points per game in 1997. On August 7, 2002, her number "7" jersey became the first to be retired by the Phoenix Mercury, and only the 2nd jersey ever retired by the WNBA. Upon her retirement, she was the Mercury's career leader in assists.

In February 2005, the Phoenix Mercury announced that she had been signed as an assistant coach under fellow Australian and Mercury head coach Carrie Graf.

Timms played a very influential role in opening the flood gate for many of the future international women's players, especially Australian women basketball stars.

[edit] International career

Timms began her professional basketball career in 1984 in Australia. In 1989, she became the first Australian woman to play internationally when she went to Germany to play with the Lotus München team. While playing in Germany, she got a chance to play alongside Marlies Askamp, who would later also play with her on the Mercury. While there, she was named the Women's International Player of The Year in 1994 and 1996.

Also in 1996, at her second Summer Olympics, she helped the Australian national women's basketball team earn their first Olympic medal, a bronze at the Atlanta competition. Four years later Timms was on the squad that captured the silver medal in front of their own crowd.

[edit] Coaching career

She worked as the basketball development officer for the South Dragons in the Australian National Basketball League. During her time with the Dragons, she impressed many of the clubs staff and players with her sound knowledge of the game and excellent coaching skills. She left the club on the 9th January 2008 and during the middle of the Dragons season, to fulfill her career ambitions by moving to the U.S.A.[1]

She has just been appointed as an assistant coach with the Chinese women's national basketball team, reuniting her with her former Opals coach Tom Maher. [2]

[edit] Vital statistics

She was named the Women's International Player of The Year 1994 and 1996

[edit] References

  1. ^ Timms signs off on Dragons, southdragons.com.au, 9 January 2008
  2. ^ Bernard, G., China calls for Timms, Herald Sun, 10 February 2008
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