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Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke (born April 14, 1963) is an American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
, and in the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...
(WNBA). She is considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Upon the WNBA's formation, she played for the
Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...
from 1997 to 2000, being named the
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
of the
WNBA Finals The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...
in four straight seasons. Cooper served as the coach of the
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...
in the WNBA from 2001-2002. In the NCAA, she was college coach for UNC Wilmington, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern, and
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
between 2005 and 2022. Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...
in 2009 and the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
in 2010. She has been member of every WNBA Anniversary Team (10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th) since their creation. In 2011, Cooper was voted by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history.


Early years


High school

Cooper attended Locke High School before enrolling at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
. Cooper participated athletically in both track and field as well as basketball. She led her team to the California State Championship (4A) scoring an average of 31 points per game, and scoring 44 points in one game. Cooper was named the Los Angeles Player of the Year.


College

Cooper was a four-year letter winner at guard for USC from 1982 to 1986. She led the Women of Troy to NCAA appearances in all four years, Final Four appearances in three of her four years, and back-to-back NCAA tournament titles in
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
. After the 1984 Championship, she briefly left school, but was persuaded to return. She completed four years with USC, although she did not graduate. Cooper closed out her collegiate career with an appearance in the 1986 NCAA tournament championship game and a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. Cooper ranks eighth on USC's all-time scoring list with 1,559 points, fifth in assists (381) and third in steals (256). While Cooper was at USC, the Women of Troy compiled a record of 114–15. She earned her bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2005.


USC statistics

Source


Career


Team USA

Cooper was named to represent the US at the 1981
William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...
competition in
Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
, while still in high school. The team won seven of eight games to win the silver medal for the event. Cooper scored 2.8 points per game and recorded nine steals. Cooper was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in July 1986. North Carolina State's
Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 ca ...
served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 win over Yugoslavia and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70. The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer.
Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...
was the scoring leader in this game, scoring 26 points to help the US to a 78–70 victory. The US faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2 Ivilana Semenova, considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the US went on a scoring run to take a large lead they did not relinquish. The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the US squad. Cooper averaged 2.0 points per game. Cooper continued to represent the US with the national team at the 1986 World Championship, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill Games in Moscow. The US team was even more dominant this time. The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the US so far, ended up an 82–59 victory. At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records. The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke. The US team started by scoring the first eight points, and raced to a 45–23 lead, although the Soviets fought back and reduced the halftime margin to 13. The US went on a 15–1 run in the second half to put the game away and ended up winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88. Cooper averaged 5.9 points per game. Cooper played for
USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...
as part of the 1987 USA Women's Pan American Team which won a gold medal in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cooper was a member of the gold medalist 1988 US Olympic Women's Basketball Team., and the Bronze Medal team in 1992.


International

Cooper played for several teams in the European leagues: * Samoa Bétera (Spain) 1986–1987 (36.7 ppg) *
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
(Italy) 1987–1994 *
Alcamo Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometr ...
(Italy) 1994–1996 During her time playing for Samoa Bétera, a Spanish team, she was the league leading scorer with 36.7 ppg. During the almost ten years she played in the Italian leagues, she was the league's leading scorer eight times and finished second the other two years. In 1987, she was the MVP of the European All-Star team. She was also named to the All-Star team of the Italian leagues in 1996–1997.


WNBA

At the age of 34, Cooper signed to play with the
Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...
. Cooper has the distinction of scoring the most points out of all players who participated in the first day of the WNBA's conception. On June 21, 1997, 58 women across 6 teams suited up to kick off the WNBA's first scheduled day of competition. On that day, the Comets earned a 76–56 win over the
Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon ...
where Cooper recorded 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. She was the only player that day to score 20+ points, thus making her the first player in WNBA history to have a 20-point game. She led the league in scoring three consecutive years, leading the franchise to a record four WNBA Championships. In addition, she was voted the WNBA's MVP in 1997 and 1998 and named Most Valuable Player in each of those four WNBA Finals. Cooper was named the 1998 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation. During the Comet dynasty, she was a vital part of the triple threat offense with
Sheryl Swoopes Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2 ...
and Tina Thompson. When retired in 2000, Cooper became the first player in WNBA history to score 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 2,500 career points. She scored 30 or more points in 16 of her 120 games and had a 92-game double-figure scoring streak from 1997 to 2000. She went on to coach the
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...
for one and a half seasons (2001–2002). Cooper returned as an active player in the 2003 season and played only 4 games during that season with the Comets. Her appearance in the game on May 22, 2003, as a 40-year-old, made her the oldest player, at the time, to play in a WNBA game (later being broken by Nancy Lieberman-Cline who at 50 years old, played a game for the Detroit Shock on July 24, 2008). Cooper's final WNBA game ever was played on June 1, 2003, in a 68–64 loss to the
Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...
with Cooper recording 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Afterward, she served as a TV analyst and halftime reporter for the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
of the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. Cooper has also been named one of the top 15 players in the WNBA at the 2011 WNBA All-Star game. During Game 1 of the
2016 WNBA Finals The 2016 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2016 presented by Verizon for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2016 WNBA season, 2016 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The top-se ...
, she was named in the
WNBA Top 20@20 WNBA Top 20@20 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 20 Players of All Time, chosen in 2016 on the occasion of the twentieth season of the WNBA from amongst 60 nominees compiled by the league. The group was to comprise the 20 best a ...
.


Career statistics


=Regular season

= , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 28 , , 28 , , 35.1 , , .470 , , .414 , , .864 , , 4.0 , , 4.7 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 3.89 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 22.2° , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 30 , , 30 , , 35.0 , , .446 , , .400 , , .854 , , 3.7 , , 4.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 3.17 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 22.7° , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 31 , , 31 , , 35.5 , , .463 , , .335 , , .891 , , 2.8 , , 5.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 3.35 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 22.1° , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 31 , , 31 , , 35.0 , , .459 , , .355 , , .875 , , 2.7 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 3.19 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 4 , , 4 , , 36.0 , , .421 , , .389 , , .893 , , 2.5 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 3.50 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 1 team , 124 , , 124 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 35.2 , , .459 , , .377 , , .871 , , 3.2 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 3.40 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 21.0


=Playoffs

= , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 2 , , 2 , , 38.5 , , .533 , , .400 , , .741 , , 4.5 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 3.50 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 28.0° , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 5 , , 5 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 39.6° , , .452 , , .250 , , .844 , , 3.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 3.00 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 25.8° , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 6 , , 6 , , 36.7 , , .388 , , .324 , , .865 , , 4.3 , , 6.8 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 3.33 , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 6 , , 6 , , 38.0 , , .378 , , .344 , , .897 , , 2.5 , , 3.7 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 3.00 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 22.8° , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 4 years, 1 team , 19 , , 19 , , 38.1 , , .416 , , .317 , , .847 , , 3.5 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 3.16 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 23.3


College coaching career


Prairie View A&M (2005–2010)

In May 2005, Cooper was named the head coach of the women's basketball team at
Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...
. In her second season in 2006–07, Cooper-Dyke led the underdog Panthers to their first
SWAC women's basketball tournament The SWAC women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament involving 8 of the 12 league schools, and seeding is based on r ...
title and NCAA tournament appearance. Cooper-Dyke was named SWAC Coach of the Year for 2007. In January 2008, the NCAA penalized Prairie View for NCAA rules violations committed by Cooper, reducing the number of scholarships for the team. The school was placed on four years' probation for "major violations" in 2005–2006 that ranged from Cooper giving players small amounts of cash to various forms of unauthorized practices. Cooper also gave players free tickets to Comets game, which is another NCAA infraction. In five seasons at Prairie View, Cooper-Dyke had a cumulative 86–72 record.


UNC Wilmington (2010–2012)

On May 10, 2010, Cooper-Dyke was announced as the next head coach of the UNC Wilmington Seahawks Women's Basketball team. In Cooper-Dyke's first season, UNCW achieved an historic high in wins with a 24–9 record and appeared in the 2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament. Cooper-Dyke was the 2011
Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
Coach of the Year, her third conference yearly honor of that sort.


First stint at Texas Southern (2012–2013)

On April 10, 2012, Cooper resigned from UNCW and became the head coach at Texas Southern. The 2012–13 Texas Southern team went 20–12 and appeared in the 2013 Women's National Invitation Tournament.


USC (2013–2017)

On April 11, 2013. Cooper returned to
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
as head coach. In her first season, Cooper-Dyke led USC to a 22–13 (11–7 Pac-12) season with an appearance in the 2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. On March 3, 2017, Cooper-Dyke resigned as head coach at USC, following a 14–16 season in 2016–17 and 70–56 overall record.


Second stint at Texas Southern (2019–2022)

In April 2019, she returned to coach at Texas Southern. Texas Southern had a 20–10 record in her first season back but had two straight losing seasons afterwards at 5–10 and 11–15. Cooper-Dyke retired on March 17, 2022. She concluded her four seasons in two stints with a cumulative 56–47 record. ''
The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...
'' reported on May 5, 2022, that Texas Southern opened a
Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...
investigation into Cooper-Dyke over accusations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. A hearing had been scheduled for April 6 but was canceled due to Cooper-Dyke no longer being employed by the university. Additional allegations of similar misconduct were revealed from her previous coaching jobs at UNC Wilmington and USC.


Halls of Fame

Cooper was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...
in 2009. She was also announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
(the first WNBA player to be inducted) and was formally inducted on August 13 of that year.


Personal life

Although born in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, Cooper-Dyke grew up in
South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...
, California. Cooper-Dyke is the daughter of Mary and Kenny Cooper. Her father left the family when she was only six years old, leaving her mother to raise eight children. Cooper-Dyke attended the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
and played on their women's basketball team for four years, winning NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984 with star teammate
Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...
, but left in 1986 before earning a degree. She played on international women's basketball teams in Spain and Italy for a decade before returning to the US to play for the
Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...
. While abroad she learned to speak Italian fluently. In 2000, she published her autobiography, entitled ''She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey'', which covered her childhood, her basketball career up to that time, and her mother's battle with
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
. Her first marriage was on July 30, 1993, to Anthony Stewart in San Antonio, Texas. On April 28, 2001, she married Brian Dyke. She is a mother to twins – a son, Brian Jr., and a daughter, Cyan, born June 15, 2002.


Head coaching record


WNBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;",
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, 32, , 13, , 19, , , , align="center", 5th, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;",
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, 10, , 6, , 4, , , , align="center", (resigned), , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 42, , 19, , 23, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,


College


Awards and achievements

* 2x Ronchetti Cup (1990, 1993) * 2× WNBA MVP (1997, 1998) * 3× WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2003) * 4× WNBA Champion (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) * 4× WNBA Finals MVP (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) * WNBA Hall of Fame (2009) *
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...
(2009) *
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
(2010) * CAA Coach of the Year (2010) * WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award (2015)


Notes


References

* * *


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper-Dyke, Cynthia 1963 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Los Angeles Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Chicago Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Houston Comets players Locke High School alumni Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Phoenix Mercury coaches Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers basketball coaches Shooting guards Texas Southern Tigers women's basketball coaches UNC Wilmington Seahawks women's basketball coaches United States women's national basketball team players USC Trojans women's basketball coaches USC Trojans women's basketball players WNBA All-Stars