Tina Charles (basketball)

Tina Charles

WNBA's Connecticut Sun  – No. 31
Center
Born	(1988-12-05) December 5, 1988 Jamaica, New York
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	198 lb (90 kg)
College	Connecticut
Draft	1st overall, 2010 Connecticut Sun
WNBA career	2010–present
Profile	WNBA player profile
WNBA teams
Connecticut Sun (2010–present)
Non-WNBA teams
Galatasaray Medical Park (2011–2012) Wisła Can-Pack Kraków (2012–present)[1]
Awards and honors
WNBA Rookie of the Year (2010) WNBA All-Star (2011) WNBA Most Valuable Player (2012) 3× WNBA rebounding champion (2010, 2011, 2012) 2006 USA Today National Player of the Year 2006 McDonald's National Player of the Year 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year 2006 WBCA National Player of the Year 2006 EA Sports National Player of the Year 2010 John R. Wooden Award winner 2009 NCAA Championship 2010 NCAA Championship
Medal record Women's basketball Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Team competition U18 and U19 Gold 2006 U18 Colorado Springs, Colorado Team Competition WUG Gold 2009 World University Games Belgrade, Serbia Team Competition FIBA World Championship for Women Gold 2010 World Championships Ostrava and Karlovy Vary, Brazil Team Competition

Tina Alexandria Charles (born December 5, 1988)^[2] is an American women's basketball player with the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Galatasaray Medical Park of the TWBL. Originally from Jamaica, New York, Charles was drafted 1st overall in the 2010 WNBA Draft. In 2009 and 2010, she and teammate Maya Moore led the Connecticut Huskies to two undefeated national championships.

High school

Charles played basketball at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, New York. After averaging 26.5 points, 14.8 rebounds and 5.2 blocked shots per game her senior year, she was named WBCA National Player of the Year, “Miss Basketball” for New York state, and was selected as a McDonald’s All-American and tabbed New York City Player of the Year by Newsday, the Daily News and the New York Post.^[3] Charles was the leading scorer on the Christ the King team that won 57 consecutive games, leading to a USA Today #1 ranking in the country after an undefeated season in 2006.^[4] Charles was named a WBCA All-American.^[5] She participated in the 2006 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored fifteen points and had twelve rebounds.^[6] Charles was named the MVP of the Red team.^[7] During high school, Charles also played on the AAU club basketball team the New York Gazelles.

College

In 2009, Charles led the UConn Huskies to a national title as a junior.^[8] She was named Final Four MOP and one of the 10 players on the State Farm All-America team during Final Four weekend.^[8] Charles made a comment to ESPN during a post-championship interview, in regards to the tradition of sports champions who visit the White House after their title game victories. She said, "Barack Obama, we will be here soon!" and after the 2010 championship she made a comment, "President Barack Obama, we're back!"

On February 13, 2010, before the game vs. St. John's, Charles became the 12th UConn Women's basketball player to be recognized in the Huskies of Honor and was the 2nd player to be honored while still a player. The first was Renee Montgomery the year before.

On March 1, 2010, during a game against Notre Dame, Charles broke two UConn records on the same night. Her fifth rebound made her the all-time leading rebounder at UConn, surpassing Rebecca Lobo's fifteen year-old record of 1268. Lobo was present working as a commentator for ESPN, and interviewed Charles after the game. Additionally, Charles started the night in third place in career scoring, behind Kerry Bascom and Nykesha Sales. Sales had scored 2,178 points and Bascom 2,177 in their careers. During the game, Charles surpassed both to become the leading scorer in UConn history.^[9]

Commemorative Ball for 1000 points

Charles was named the Big East Conference Player of the Year for 2010.^[10]

Charles is majoring in psychology with a minor in criminal justice. She anticipates working in corrections at the close of her basketball career. In 2010, she is spending six hours a week as an intern at Bergin Correctional Institution, helping prisoners adjust back to life in society.^[11]

WNBA

Charles was the overall #1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft, selected by the Connecticut Sun.^[12]

Charles was named the 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year. In her first season, she set all-time league records for rebounds, with 398, and double-double with 22. (both scoring and rebounds in double digits).^[13]

On September 2, 2011, Tina Charles had 10 points, 10 assists and 16 rebounds for the first triple-double in Connecticut Sun history, and only the fifth such accomplishment in WNBA history. Charles had eight assist at halftime, and was taken out of the game with nine, because the lead over the opponent was so large. The coach did put her back in the game in the fourth quarter, and she earned an assist on a pass to Jessica Moore, leading to the triple double.^[14] However, subsequent review by the league resulted in a change, as three of the assists should not have been credited to Charles, so she ended the game with seven assists, not ten.^[15]

On August 18, 2012, Charles recorded nine rebounds in an 85–74 win over the Liberty. One of the rebounds in the second quarter pushed her career total to 1,000. She accomplished this milestone faster than any other WNBA player in history. She reached 1,000 rebounds in her 89th game, surpassing the record formerly held by Yolanda Griffith, who reached 1,000 rebounds in her 92nd game.^[16]

Charles was named the 2012 MVP of the WNBA, winning 25 of 41 first place votes. She led the league in the number of double-doubles recorded, and set the mark for the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 900, 1000 and 1100 rebounds.^[17]

USA Basketball

Charles was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Charles helped set the tone in the opening game against Paraguay, recording a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. In the gold medal game, she had her second double-double of the tournament with 13 points and 13 rebounds. She was the leading scorer on her team with 12 points per games, as well as the leading rebounder, with 9,5 per game.^[18]

Charles was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009, one of only three college players invited to the training camp.^[19] The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants.^[19][20]

Charles was named a member of the team representing the USA at the 2009 World University Games held in Belgrade, Serbia. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. Charles was the team's leading scorer and rebounder, with 16.1 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game. In the gold medal game against previously undefeated Russia, she had 28 points and 18 rebounds.^[21]

On October 5, 2009, Charles was selected to be one of the USA National Team members to travel to the 2009 Ekaterinburg International Invitational. She was the only college player on the team.^[22] Charles contributed to the USA Basketball win at the Ekaterinburg Tournament. She had double-digit scoring in all three games, with the second game, against Euroleasing Sopron, her best result, scoring 15 points in only 13 minutes of play.^[23]

Charles was named the USA Basketball 2009 Female Athlete Of The Year, for her contributions to the Gold Medal earned at the 2009 USA Women's World University Games, the Gold Medal earned at the 2009 Ekaterinburg International Invitational, and the undefeated collegiate season leading to a National Championship.^[24]

Charles was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball.^[25] This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.^[26]

Charles was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball payers, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which will represent the USA at the 2012 Olympics in London.^[27]

Off the court

Charles has established a foundation, the Heart of Hope Foundation, to distribute Automated external defibrillators (AED) to schools.^[28]

Charles has also funded a school in Mali.^[29]

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Awards and honors

• 2006 USA Today National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 McDonald's National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 Parade Magazine National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 WBCA National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 EA Sports National Player of the Year^[2]
• 2006 Miss New York Basketball^[2]
• 2009 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year^[24]
• 2010 All-BIG EAST First Team (unanimous)^[30]
• 2010 Big East Player of the Year^[10]
• 2010 AP All-America First Team^[31]
• 2010 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Player of the Year.^[32]
• 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-America Team^[33]
• 2010 #1 selection in 2010 WNBA draft^[12]
• 2010 John R. Wooden Award winner^[34]
• 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year^[13]
• 2010 All-WNBA Second Team^[35]
• 2012 WNBA MVP^[17]

University of Connecticut statistics

See also

• Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
• List of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball players with 1000 points
• List of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball players with 1000 rebounds
• 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team
• 2009–10 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

References

External links

• Heart of Hope Foundation