Jennifer Marie Rizzotti (born May 15, 1974) is an American former collegiate and professional

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 ...

player, and former Division I coach at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. She is the president of the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

. Rizzotti 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 2013.

Early life

Rizzotti attended New Fairfield High School in New Fairfield, Connecticut. The basketball court at the New Fairfield town park was named after Rizzotti in honor of her achievements. She also attended ASIJ in Tokyo, Japan.

College career

From 1992 to 1996, she was one of the stars of the women's basketball team at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. She was the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

on the Huskies first national championship team in 1995, which recorded a perfect season, winning all 35 games. Rizzotti's picture was on the cover of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

magazine in recognition of the perfect season. Jen received the Honda-Broderick Cup for 1995–96, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year." She was named the 1996 Associated Press Player of the Year. Rizzotti was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. Rizzotti won the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

during the 1995–96 basketball season. This award is given to the best women's basketball player in the country under 5'6' tall. During the 1995–96 season Jennifer set school records for assists with 212 and steals with 112. Jennifer graduated with a degree in biology. Sports Illustrated did a series of thirteen photographs featuring players on teams that were chasing or achieved undefeated seasons. The cover photo of Jennifer Rizzoti racing upcourt is one of the photos in the collection.

USA Basketball – player

Rizzotti was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996. She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event. Rizzotti averaged 2.6 points per games, while recording 26 assists, highest on the team.

Awards and honors

* 1993— Big East Co-Rookie of the Year * 1996—

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

* 1996—

Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year The AP College Basketball Player of the Year is an award given by the Associated Press (AP) that recognizes the best men's and women's college basketball players of the year in the United States. The men's award began in 1961 while the women's beg ...

* 1996—Winner of the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

for basketball * 1996—The Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports. * 2013—Inducted into the

Professional career

She began her career as a professional basketball player playing for the New England Blizzard of the now defunct American Basketball League. During that time she was a two-time All-Star, Rizzotti was a member of 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 ...

after being drafted in 1999, and played for the Comets in 1999 and 2000. The Comets won the League Championship both seasons.Porter p 399 In 2001, she was traded to the Detroit Shock, but a month later, she was traded to the Cleveland Rockers. She played for 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 ...

from 2001 to 2003. Rizzotti was selected in the

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

by the Detroit Shock in January 2004, but she retired from the WNBA prior to the 2004 season.

Coaching career

Rizzotti was recently the head basketball coach at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She previously spent 17 seasons as the head women's basketball coach at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

where she led the

Hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

to four

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

championships and six trips to the NCAA tournament. She was named America East Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2010. In 2010 Rizzotti guided Hartford to an undefeated regular season in the America East Conference and was one of the 10 finalists up for the Kay Yow Coach of the Year. Rizzotti served as the head coach of the

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 ...

U18 team, at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in June 2010 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs CO. She previously served as an assistant coach of the U18 team, assisting head coach Doug Bruno in 2006, when the team went 4–0 to win the gold medal. In 2011, Rizzotti was named USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. She was the head coach for the USA U18 team, which won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She continued as head coach of the U19 team and guided the team to another gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship games held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Hall of Fame

Rizzotti was inducted in the

in June 2013. In her emotional acceptance speech she summarized, "I'm in the Hall of Fame because I played at the right school, at the right time with the right teammates, and I was taught to be a champion by the best coach who's ever coached the game." Her credentials included point guard on the 1995 National Championship team, and winner of the

and AP national player of the year award.

Personal life

Rizzotti grew up in New Fairfield, Connecticut and graduated from New Fairfield High School in 1992. She is the daughter of Tom and Carol Rizzotti.Porter p 398 Rizzotti was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2001. Rizzotti married

assistant Bill Sullivan in July 1999. The two welcomed their first child, Holden Thomas Sullivan, born . The couple's second child, Conor, was born on . Rizzotti was honored by her alma mater, the University of Connecticut, as the winner of the Red O'Neill Award, an award given annually to a former student athlete who has "gone on to distinguish themselves in their chosen career." Rizzotti was honored by The University of Hartford in 2010 as commencement speaker. Additionally she received an honorary doctorate degree from the university.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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, 32, , 2, , 13.7, , 38.2, , 30.8, , 66.7, , 1.1, , 1.4, , 0.5, , 0.1, , 0.8, , 1.9 , - , 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 ...

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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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 ...

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, 26, , 25, , 26.7, , 40.0, , 38.4, , 80.0, , 2.7, , 3.3, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 1.7, , 6.8 , - , 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 ...

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Playoffs

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, 3, , 0, , 12.0, , 66.7, , 66.7, , 0.0, , 0.7, , 2.7, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.3, , 4.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 4 years, 2 teams , 9, , 0, , 9.9, , 42.9, , 42.9, , 0.0, , 0.7, , 1.8, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.1, , 2.0

College

Head coaching record

Source:

Notes

References

External links

Official Biography, George Washington ColonialsWNBA player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzotti, Jennifer 1974 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball coaches from New York (state) Cleveland Rockers players George Washington Revolutionaries women's basketball coaches Hartford Hawks women's basketball coaches Houston Comets players New England Blizzard players People from New Fairfield, Connecticut Basketball players from White Plains, New York Point guards Basketball players from Fairfield County, Connecticut UConn Huskies women's basketball players Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Early life

College career

USA Basketball – player

Awards and honors

Professional career

Coaching career

Hall of Fame

Personal life

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Head coaching record

See also

Notes

References

External links