Jamie Leigh Carey (born March 12, 1981 in Hutchinson, Kansas) is a 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 (appr ...

player, playing the point guard position for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA until her retirement in 2009. Carey currently serves as the Assistant Director of the USA National Team.

High School years

Carey attended Horizon High School in Thornton, Colorado. She graduated as class valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. She was named Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year and a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 1999 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored three points.

College years

In 1999, Carey attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where she earned the Pac-10 Conference "Freshman of the Year" honors and broke Stanford's single season record for three pointers made with 81. However, she suffered several serious ankle injuries and concussions and spent much of the season on the sidelines. She had surgery on her left ankle following the season and missed the following six months with rehab. She came back to practice in October 1999, but could not continue as continuing pain in her ankle left her sidelined shortly after the start of the season. She was forced to retire from the sport and sat out the next two seasons. She was seen on her crutches cheering on her team on the bench and became a fan favorite. She continued to attend classes at Stanford, and was seen on campus limping on her crutches with her left ankle wrapped in a soft cast. She reportedly said her crutches were her best friends because she could not go anywhere without her crutches. A picture of her leaning on her crutches with an ice pack on her left ankle became the cover page of the Stanford women's basketball media guide in 2000, under the title "Courage". She transferred to The University of Texas at Austin in 2002 after the school's doctors determined they could clear her from her concussions and maintain any treatment she would need. She played three seasons there after successfully petitioning for a fifth and sixth year of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

eligibility. During her time at Texas, the team became a national championship contender with a Final Four appearance in 2003. She was a sociology major.

Stanford and Texas statistics

Source

USA Basketball

Carey was named to the team representing the USA at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

. The team lost the opening game to Cuba, then rebounded to win their next five games, including an OT win against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Carey led the team with 18 points in the victory against Brazil. In their game against Canada, which they won by three points 56—53, Carey hit all six of her three-point attempts, setting a United States team record. They then faced Cuba for the gold medal, falling short 75–64 to take home the silver medal. Carey scored 9.6 points per game, representing the second highest point total on the team, and led the team in assist with 16.

WNBA career

Carey was drafted 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 2005 with the 31st overall pick and played for the Connecticut Sun until her retirement in April 2009.

Vital statistics

*Position:

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

*Height: 5 ft. 6 in. / 1.68 m *College:

University of Texas at Austin 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 ...

*Team(s): Connecticut Sun (WNBA)

Notes

External links

WNBA Player FileUniversity of Texas at Austin Player File
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Jamie 1981 births Living people American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Basketball players from Colorado Basketball players from Kansas Connecticut Sun players Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States People from Thornton, Colorado Phoenix Mercury draft picks Point guards Sportspeople from Hutchinson, Kansas Stanford Cardinal women's basketball players Texas Longhorns women's basketball players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games United States women's national basketball team players