HALL OF FAME WELCOMES COOPER-DYKE
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts
- UNCW women's basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was formally
inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame during its annual
enshrinement ceremony Friday night at the Symphony Hall.
A member of the
largest induction class in Hall-of-Fame history, Cooper-Dyke becomes the
first player to be inducted based primarily on her WNBA career. She was
part of an enshrinement class that included Karl Malone and Scottie
Pippen, longtime LA Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, St. Anthony's (N.J.)
high-school coach Bob Hurley, Sr., as well as former players Dennis
Johnson, Gus Johnson and international star Maciel "Ubiratan" Pereira,
all of whom were honored posthumously. Also included in the enshrinement
ceremony were the 1960 and 1992 US Men's Olympic teams.
During
her acceptance speech, Cooper-Dyke took the crowd on what she called "a
little journey" of her career, beginning with her state championship at
Locke High School, to the University of Southern California, where she
helped the Women of Troy capture two NCAA National Championships (1983,
1984) and make a third Final Four appearance (1986) under the guidance
of both Linda Sharp and Fred Williams.
From there,
Cooper-Dyke remarked on her time overseas, where she played playing 10
seasons in Italy and Spain, before bringing her talents back to the
United States to play for the Houston Comets in the newly-formed Women's
National Basketball Association.
Cooper-Dyke then
talked about her time with the Comets, where she helped form the
league's first dynasty as she guided the franchise win four consecutive
WNBA championships and was named WNBA Finals MVP in each of those
championship seasons. She expressed the joy of playing in front of her
mother, her friends and the American public and also thanked the Comets
management and coach Van Chancellor for giving her the opportunity to
return to home and showcase her talents.
She then touched on
her coaching career, first with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and then
at Prairie View A&M before talking about the desire to "re-invent"
herself with a move to the East Coast and her new position as head coach
at UNC Wilmington. She then thanked Athletic Director Kelly Mehrtens
and Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo for the opportunity and for them "taking
a chance" on her.
After completing the
journey through her career, Cooper-Dyke stressed the importance of
believing in oneself and thanked her husband, Brian, and her kids, Brian
and Cyan, for their love and support. She also recognized her team and
coaching staff at UNCW.
She closed her
speech by giving thanks to her mother, Mary Cooper, "one special person
who is my hero," was well as her aunt and her mother-in-law.
Be sure to check back with UNCWsports.com for more from tonight's enshrinement ceremony.