Danielle Victoria Rodriguez (born December 18, 1993) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player and coach. After graduating from the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...
, she went on to play professionally in the
Úrvalsdeild kvenna where she was named the
Foreign Player of the Year in 2018 and led the league in assists in 2017 and 2019.
Playing career
Rodriguez played college basketball for the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...
. After graduating, she signed with Stjarnan in 2016. She had a standout season, averaging 23.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and league leading 5.9 assists during the regular season and leading Stjarnan to the playoffs. In the playoffs, Stjarnan were beaten in the first round by
Snæfell.
She returned to Stjarnan the following season and continued her strong play. On January 21, 2018, Rodriguez had a
triple-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
, her third of the season, with 29 points, 19 rebounds and 17 assists in an 86–64 victory against
Njarðvík
Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400.
History
In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. T ...
. Despite her stellar play, Stjarnan missed out on the playoffs with a loss against
Skallagrímur in the last game of the regular season. For the season she averaged 29.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists and was named the
Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year.
In June 2018, Rodriguez re-signed with Stjarnan for the
2018–2019 season. On October 31, she was one steal away from a
quadruple-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
in a victory against
Valur. She finished the game with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and 9 steals. On 16 January 2019, Rodriguez had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, her fifth
triple-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
of the season, in an overtime victory against first-place
KR. On 13 February, Rodriguez scored 33 points, including a three-point heave from just inside the half-court line to finish the first half, in Stjarnan's 103–82 win over
Breiðablik in the
Icelandic Cup semi-finals, propelling Stjarnan to the Cup finals for the first time in its history. She also helped Stjarnan reach the Úrvalsdeild playoffs for the first time where it eventually bowed out against
Keflavík
Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129.
In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njar� ...
in the semi-finals.
After Stjarnan withdrew the team from the Úrvalsdeild in June 2019, Rodriguez signed with
KR. On 13 February 2020 she had 31 points and 11 assists in an overtime victory against defending cup and national champions
Valur in the
Icelandic Cup final four.
On 15 May 2020, Rodriguez announced that she was retiring from playing professionally to fully focus on her coaching career.
On 4 April 2022, Rodriguez resumed her playing career after a two year hiatus and signed with
Grindavík
Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn.
It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindaví ...
. For the season, she averaged 20.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game while Grindavík finished in fifth place and missed the playoffs. On 14 April, she signed a one-year contract extension with Grindavík.
Statistics
College statistics
Source
Coaching career
On December 1, 2018, the
Icelandic Basketball Federation
The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketba ...
announced that it had hired Rodriguez as an assistant coach to the
Icelandic women's national under-20 basketball team.
In May 2020, Rodriguez was hired as an assistant coach to
Stjarnan men's basketball team and became the first woman to serve as a coach in the Icelandic top-tier
Úrvalsdeild karla.
In August 2020, Rodriguez was hired as an assistant coach to the
Icelandic women's national basketball team.
On 27 September 2020, she won her first medal as a coach when Stjarnan defeated
Grindavík
Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn.
It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindaví ...
in the
Icelandic Super Cup
The Icelandic Men's Super Cup (Icelandic: ''Meistarakeppni karla'') is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the Úrvalsdeild karla and the Icelandic Cup holders (or, if the same team holds both titles, between the title-hold ...
.
In August 2021, Rodriguez was named an assistant coach with
University of San Diego women's basketball team.
References
External links
Icelandic statisticsa
kki.isUtah Utes profilea
utahutes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Danielle
1993 births
Living people
21st-century American women
American expatriate basketball people in Iceland
American women's basketball players
Grindavík women's basketball players
KR women's basketball players
Point guards
Stjarnan women's basketball players
Stjarnan women's basketball coaches
Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) coaches
Úrvalsdeild kvenna (basketball) coaches
Úrvalsdeild kvenna (basketball) players