Clarissa Davis (born June 4, 1967) is a former Texas women's basketball All-American, who is also known as Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil. She is a National Player of the Year, Olympic and pro standout, and was inducted into

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 April 2006. She was one of six inductees in the Class of 2006, which features four former players and two coaches. Born and raised in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Davis played under coach Mike Floyd at John Jay High School before playing at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. She also played basketball in Europe with Galatasaray Istanbul and Fenerbahçe Istanbul in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and won Turkish Championships with both of these rival clubs. She won in 1991 EuroLeague Women. Clarissa Davis graduated with a Communications bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in 1989."Texas to retire Clarissa Davis' No. 24 jersey"

Texas Sports News Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. ''www.texassports.com.'' Retrieved June 11, 2021.

Amateur career

* Won the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

award in both 1987 and 1989 and the

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

in 1989"The Wade Trophy."

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBCA ...

. ''www.wbca.org.'' Retrieved February 9, 2016. * As a senior in 1988–89, named

, USBWA Women's National Player of the Year, WBCA Player of the Year, and Mercedes Benz National Player of the Year * Two-time Kodak All-American and Naismith All-American,

U.S. Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

All-American at the University of Texas (1987, 1989) ... consensus All-American * Earned Most Outstanding Player honors as a freshman at the 1986 Final Four, leading Texas to the NCAA Championship and an undefeated season with a 34–0 record... Also led Texas to the NCAA Final Four (1987) and to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

twice (1988, 1989) * Named to both the NCAA and the Southwest Conference "Team of the Decade" for the 1980s, earning top honors as the SWC's "Athlete of the Decade" * Scored 2,008 points during her collegiate career for an average of 19.9 ppg ... in the Texas career record book, she stands: 1st, scoring average; 3rd, scoring; 4th, rebound average (8.7 rpg); 5th, field goal pct. (.539); 8th, rebounding (887) * Set Texas single season records (as a senior) for points (843), scoring average (26.3 ppg) and free throws made (188) * Came to UT after starring at John Jay High School in San Antonio * No. 24 retired by Texas Longhorns in 2020.

Texas statistics

Source

USA Basketball

Davis-Wrightsil's first experience with international basketball came in 1986, when she was a member of the team that won a gold medal at the 1986 World Championship. She also played in the 1986 and 1994

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 ...

, and the 1987

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

."Tenth Pan-American Games – 1987."
''www.usba.com.'' Retrieved February 9, 2016. After serving as an alternate on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team, she played on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team, which received a bronze medal in Barcelona, and was the team's second-leading scorer (13.0 ppg).

WNBA career

Clarissa Davis was selected by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in the second round (22nd pick overall) of the 1999 WNBA Draft. She played in fourteen games with the Mercury, averaging 9.3 points per game in her only season in the league.

Coaching career

After her playing career, Davis-Wrightsil worked for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

organization from 1999 to 2002. She ran the Spurs' successful campaign to obtain the

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

as a WNBA franchise, and served as the Silver Star's Chief Operating Officer from 2002 to 2006."Rutgers Women's Basketball Assistant Coach Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil Leaves Post."
''www.scarletknights.com'', April 2, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2016. Davis was an assistant coach for the University of Texas Longhorns women's basketball team during the 2006–2007 season. She left Texas after one season to take a similar position with

C. Vivian Stringer Charlaine Vivian Stringer (born March 16, 1948) is an American former basketball coach. She holds one of the best coaching records in the history of women's basketball. She was the head coach of the Rutgers University women's basketball team from ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

team in 2008. After helping the Scarlet Knights to their fifth consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 2008–2009 season, Davis-Wrightsil resigned to be with her ailing mother in Texas. Inducted into Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2006, Davis is also the founder of TEAMXPRESS, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

sports-based mentoring organization for girls in San Antonio, TX."Our Founder: Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil."
''www.teamexpress.org.'' Retrieved September 30, 2013.

Amateur career

Texas statistics

USA Basketball

WNBA career

Coaching career

References

Further reading