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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 (appr ...
coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, and in the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA). She is considered by many as one of the greatest basketball players ever. In 2011, Cooper-Dyke was voted by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. Upon the league'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 award, abbreviated '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 particu ...
of the
WNBA Finals The WNBA Finals are 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. Starting 2016 Verizon is the offici ...
in all four seasons, and returned to play again in 2003. Cooper-Dyke still holds the record for most Finals MVPs with four. On April 30, 2019, she was introduced as the head coach for the Texas Southern Lady Tigers basketball team, a position she held in the 2012–13 season. She has also coached at
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, UNC Wilmington, Prairie View A&M, and, professionally, for the
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...
. 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.


Early years


High school

Cooper attended
Locke High School Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy (formerly Locke High School) is a Title 1 co-educational charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District/ Green Dot Public ...
before enrolling at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $ ...
. 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 The year 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 ...
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 R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...
competition in
Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, 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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
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 c ...
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 D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster fo ...
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 out 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 Oly ...
as part of the 1987
USA Women's Pan American Team The Pan American Team is one of the teams under the auspices of the USA Basketball organization. The Pan American Games are held every four years in the year before the Olympics. The first Pan American Games were held in 1951, but those games were m ...
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 (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
(Italy) 1987–1994 *
Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and 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 kil ...
(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 ...
. She led the league in scoring three consecutive years, galvanizing 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 20 ...
and
Tina Thompson Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975) is an American former WNBA professional basketball player who served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018-2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Bas ...
. 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, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...
for one and a half seasons (2001–2002). Cooper returned as an active player in the 2003 season, but announced her final retirement from professional basketball in 2004. Her appearance in the game, as a 40-year-old, made her the oldest player, at the time, to play in a WNBA game. 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 team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
of the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
. 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, 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 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 31 , , 31 , , 35.0 , , .459 , , .355 , , .875 , , 2.7 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 3.19 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
, 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. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant univers ...
. In her second season in 2006–07, Cooper-Dyke led the underdog Panthers to their first SWAC women's basketball tournament 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 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
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 The 2013 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2013 Women's NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 20 and ends on April 6 ...
.


USC (2013–2017)

On April 11, 2013. Cooper returned to
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
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 The 2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was played in March and April 2014, with the Final Four played April 6–8. The Ohio Valley Conference served as the host institution. The Final Four was played at Bridgestone Arena in Nash ...
. 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 website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
'' reported on May 5, 2022 that Texas Southern opened a
Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the 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 educa ...
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

Although born in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, 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, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...
, 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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $ ...
and played on their women's basketball team for four years, winning NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984 with star teammate
Cheryl Miller Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster fo ...
, 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 cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a ...
. Her first marriage was on July 30, 1993 to Anthony Stewart in San Antonio, Texas. On April 28, 2001 she was married to Brian Dyke. She is a mother to twins – a son, Brian Jr., and a daughter, Cyan, born June 15, 2002. After a successful college and professional basketball career, won four WNBA Championships and induction into the
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 prese ...
, she turned to coaching. She began her coaching career in 2005 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. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant univers ...
in Texas and guided the team to three SWAC Championships. While at the university, Cooper-Dyke turned student and coach and completed college requirements and earned a bachelor's degree in Health and Human Performance in 2010.


Head coaching record


WNBA

, - , style="text-align:left;",
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, style="text-align:left;",
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, style="text-align:left;",
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, 10, , 6, , 4, , , , align="center", (resigned), , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 42, , 19, , 23, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,


College

{{CBB Yearly Record End , overall = {{{Winning percentage, 256, 198, record=y


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 prese ...
(2010) * CAA Coach of the Year (2010) * WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award (2015)


Notes

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= Porter p. 88–89 {{cite news , title=90. Cynthia Cooper, Basketball , url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/90/ , newspaper=Sports Illustrated for Women , access-date=October 20, 2013 Grundy p. 199–200 {{cite web , url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1988 , title=Games of the XXIVth Olympiad -- 1988 , publisher=USA Basketball , access-date=2009-08-02 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914135521/http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1988 , archive-date=September 14, 2012 , df=mdy-all {{cite web , url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1992 , archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120424205809/http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/national/woly_1992.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=2012-04-24 , title=Games of the XXVth Olympiad -- 1992 , publisher=USA Basketball , access-date=2009-08-15 {{cite web, url=http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx , title=Sportswoman of the Year Award , publisher=Women's Sports Foundation , access-date=2009-08-03 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722204407/http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx , archive-date=July 22, 2009 , df=mdy {{cite web, title=1981 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP, url=http://archive.usab.com/womens/wjcup_1981.html, publisher=USA Basketball, access-date=August 3, 2014, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043853/http://archive.usab.com/womens/wjcup_1981.html, archive-date=August 8, 2014, url-status=dead, df=mdy-all {{cite web , title=First Women's Goodwill Games -- 1986 , date=June 10, 2010 , url=http://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/first-womens-goodwill-games-1986.aspx , publisher=USA Basketball , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911232850/http://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/first-womens-goodwill-games-1986.aspx , archive-date=September 11, 2015 , url-status=live , access-date=October 20, 2015 {{cite web , title=Tenth World Championship For Women -- 1986 , date=August 14, 2013 , url=http://www.usab.com/history/national-team-womens/tenth-world-championship-for-women-1986.aspx , publisher=USA Basketball , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905200253/http://www.usab.com/history/national-team-womens/tenth-world-championship-for-women-1986.aspx , archive-date=September 5, 2015 , url-status=live , access-date=October 19, 2015 {{cite web , url=http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/05/cynthia-cooper-dyke-leaves-prairie-view-for-unc-wilmington/ , title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Leaves Prairie View for UNC-Wilmington , publisher=HBCU Digest , access-date=May 16, 2010 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514091019/http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/05/cynthia-cooper-dyke-leaves-prairie-view-for-unc-wilmington/ , archive-date=May 14, 2010 , df=mdy {{cite web , url=http://www.wbhof.com/inductees.html , title=WBHOF Inductees , publisher=WBHOF , access-date=2009-08-01 {{cite press release , url=http://www.hoophall.com/news/2010/4/5/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of.html , title=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2010 , publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , date=2010-04-05 , access-date=2010-04-05 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409151224/http://www.hoophall.com/news/2010/4/5/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of.html , archive-date=April 9, 2010 , df=mdy


References

* {{cite book , last=Cooper , first=Cynthia , title=She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey , publisher=Grand Central Publishing , date=June 1, 2000 , isbn=978-0-446-60839-8 * {{cite book , last=Grundy , first=Pamela , author2=Susan Shackelford , title=Shattering the Glass , url=https://archive.org/details/shatteringglassr0000grun , url-access=registration , publisher=The New Press , year=2005 , pag
175
, isbn=1-56584-822-5 * {{cite book , title=Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary , editor=David L. Porter , publisher=Greenwood Press , year=2005 , isbn=978-0-313-30952-6


External links

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