Victoria Andrea Bullett (born October 4, 1967) is an American former 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 current women's basketball head coach at

West Virginia Wesleyan College West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of about 1,055 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of ...

. She played for the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team disbanded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization ...

and

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

in the WNBA, as well as for European and South American professional teams, the U.S. Olympic team, and the University of Maryland Terrapins. Bullett played at various times as a center, small forward, and power forward. She 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 2011.

Early years

Bullett spent her childhood in

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

. She grew up playing backyard basketball with her six brothers. One of her older brothers coached her high school basketball team and helped Bullett attract the attention of collegiate scouts. Bullett's younger brother Scott played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 1990s.

College career

Bullett is one of the most decorated players in the history of the women's basketball program at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, which she attended from 1985 to 1989. Over the course of her college career, Bullett averaged 16.9 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. She set Maryland records for points scored, field goals made, and rebounds recovered. She led the Terrapins to three ACC titles and one NCAA Final Four. In 1989, Bullett was named ACC Tournament MVP, ACC Player of the Year, and a

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

All-American. She was also chosen for the All-ACC First Team in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Bullett graduated from Maryland with a bachelor's degree in

general studies North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland General Studies is a GCSE and former A-level examination offered to 16- to 18-year-olds in England, Wales and North ...

. In 2001, she returned to school and earned an additional degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. In 2015, she graduated from the United States Sports Academy with a master's degree in sports coaching. After she graduated, the University of Maryland honored Bullett by retiring her jersey (#23). She was also named a member of the ACC Women's Basketball 50th Anniversary team in 2003. In 2007, Bullett was named an ACC Women's Basketball Legend. She is also a member of the Maryland Athletics Walk of Fame. Fellow left-handed forward

Crystal Langhorne Crystal Allison Langhorne (born October 27, 1986) is an American former basketball player of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the University of Maryland Terrapins. In 2008 she was drafted by the Washington Mysti ...

in 2007-2008 broke many of Bullett's Maryland career records.

USA Basketball

Bullett was selected to the 1988 and 1992 United States Olympic Teams, which won gold (1988) and bronze medals (1992). She also played on the 1986 USA Select (junior national) team, the United States team which won the gold medal at the 1990 World Championships, and the United States team for the 1990

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

. Bullett was a member of the USA National team at the 1990 World Championships, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team won their opening round games fairly easily, with the closest of the first three games a 27-point victory over Czechoslovakia. Then they faced Cuba, a team that had beaten the US in exhibition matches only a few weeks earlier. The USA team was losing at halftime, but came back to win 87–78. The USA team found itself behind at halftime to Canada in their next game, but came back to win easily 95–70. After an easy match against Bulgaria, the USA team faced Czechoslovakia again, end achieved an almost identical result, winning 87–59. In the title match, the USA team won the gold medal with a score of 88–78. Bullett averaged 9.5 points per game.

Professional career

WNBA

When the WNBA was founded in 1997, Bullett was assigned by the league to the

in the Initial Player Allocation phase of the

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

. Her debut game was played on June 22, 1997 in a 59 - 76 loss to 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 ...

. Despite the loss, Bullett recorded 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Over the next three seasons, Bullett started in all 90 of the Sting's games and averaged more than 10 points per game. In all three seasons, the Sting reached the WNBA Playoffs. In 1999, Bullett was named as a reserve to the inaugural WNBA Eastern Conference All-Star team, and played in the All-Star Game as a substitute for the injured

Rebecca Lobo Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the cent ...

. In January 2000, Bullett was traded to the

for Shalonda Enis and a 2000 3rd-round pick (later turned out to be Jill Morton, who ended up never playing in the WNBA). Over the next three seasons, she started in all 96 of the Mystics' games. Bullett broke a WNBA record on July 3, 2001 by playing 55 minutes in the Mystics' quadruple-overtime victory over the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. Her cumulative WNBA accomplishments in six seasons included more than 800 field goals made, more than 1100 rebounds, more than 250 assists, more than 250 blocks, and more than 350 steals. Bullett's final WNBA game was Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

on August 25, 2002. In that game, the Mystics lost to the Liberty 57 - 64 with Bullett recording two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Italy and Brazil

Bullett was also a renowned professional basketball player in Italy through much of the 1990s. She played for

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

from 1990 to 1993, then for

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

from 1993 to 1997. Four times during her career, Bullett was named an All-Star for the Italian league. In addition, Bullett played several years in Brazil for the Data Control/ Fluminense professional team, which won the Brazilian league championship in 1998.

Coaching career

Bullett retired from the WNBA after the 2002 season, then retired from overseas professional play in 2007. She moved back to Martinsburg,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, which renamed the street where she grew up "Vicky Bullett Street" in her honor. She then taught for the Board of Education of Berkeley County, West Virginia and took graduate courses in education. She became a teacher at South Middle School in Martinsburg. In January 2009, the

hired Bullett as an assistant coach. In June 2009, the Mystics announced that Bullett would also take on the responsibilities of Manager of Basketball Operations. In June 2011, Bullett was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee along with

Ruthie Bolton Alice Ruth Bolton (born May 25, 1967), known as Ruthie Bolton, is an American former professional women's basketball player. Born in Lucedale, Mississippi, she played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels of women's basketball. Bolt ...

Muffet McGraw Muffet McGraw (; born December 5, 1955) is an American former college basketball coach and analyst, who served as the head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame from 1987 to 2020, compiling a 848–252 (.771) record over 33 seasons. Career McG ...

Val Ackerman Valerie B. Ackerman (born November 7, 1959) is an American sports executive, lawyer, and former basketball player. She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National ...

, Pearl Moore, and Lometa Odem. Since leaving the Mystics in 2009, Bullett has taken the head coaching job for the women's basketball team at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown Maryland. In 2011, she signed on as assistant coach to Dr. Marlys Palmer. As of March 2012 Bullett has taken over the many roles needed to coach a successful coaching position. On May 10, 2016, she was named as the head coach for the women's basketball team at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Career statistics

College

Source

WNBA

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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;", Charlotte , style="background:#D3D3D3", 28° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 28° , , 31.3 , , .448 , , .304 , , .775 , , 6.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.9 , , 2.0 , , 2.4 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;", Charlotte , style="background:#D3D3D3", 30° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 30° , , 31.6 , , .441 , , .154 , , .826 , , 6.5 , , 1.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 2.1 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;", Charlotte , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 31.5 , , .486 , , .370 , , .773 , , 6.8 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 1.9 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 34.2 , , .486 , , .324 , , .714 , , 5.7 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , 10.7 , - , 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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 33.5 , , .392 , , .297 , , .729 , , 7.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.7 , , 8.7 , - , 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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 29.8 , , .462 , , .396 , , .829 , , 5.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 6 years, 2 teams , 186 , , 186 , , 32.0 , , .452 , , .315 , , .776 , , 6.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , 10.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 1 , , 1 , , 40.0 , , .417 , , .000 , , – , , 9.0 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 2 , , 2 , , 34.5 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 6.0 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 4 , , 4 , , 30.4 , , .406 , , .333 , , .500 , , 6.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.8 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 34.5 , , .500 , , .571 , , 1.000 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , 2.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 22.0 , , .407 , , .143 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 2 teams , 14 , , 14 , , 29.2 , , .391 , , .300 , , .875 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 7.9 , -

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullett, Vicky 1967 births Living people African-American basketball coaches All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Brazil American expatriate basketball people in Italy American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from West Virginia Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from West Virginia Centers (basketball) Charlotte Sting players Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States Martinsburg High School alumni Maryland Terrapins women's basketball players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Sportspeople from Martinsburg, West Virginia Power forwards Schoolteachers from West Virginia American women educators Small forwards Washington Mystics players WNBA All-Stars Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen United States women's national basketball team players Goodwill Games gold medalists Goodwill Games medalists in basketball