Saudia Roundtree (born October 4, 1974 in

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the prin ...

) is an American

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

coach, and also a former star player.

Career

Roundtree attended Westside high School in Anderson, South Carolina, where she was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the inaugural WBCA High School All-America Game in 1992, scoring ten points. She began her collegiate career at

Kilgore College Kilgore College (KC) is a public community college in Kilgore, Texas. It has an annual enrollment in excess of 5,000 students and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the associate deg ...

, where she captured National Junior College Player of the Year honors in 1994. She later transferred to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, where she was named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and 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 ...

USBWA Women's National Player of the Year The United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year Award is an award that has been presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association since the 1987–88 season to the top women's college basketball player in NC ...

, and

WBCA Player of the Year The Women's Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year award is presented annually to the best women's college basketball players in NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III, Division III as voted by the WBCA membership. From 1983 to 2000, the ...

in 1996. In 1996, Roundtree was named to the Final Four All Tournament team. Roundtree also received the

Espy Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

in 1997 for the Best Female College Basketball Player. She obtained a degree in sociology from Georgia. After leaving UGA, Roundtree played three seasons in the American Basketball League, two with the

Atlanta Glory The Atlanta Glory was a women's professional basketball team in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a member of the American Basketball League. The Glory played its home games in Forbes Arena. The team folded before the start of the abortive third ABL se ...

and one with the

Nashville Noise The Nashville Noise was a short-lived member of the American Basketball League (ABL). The site was a sound one, capitalizing on the long-time success and well established fan support of the University of Tennessee's women's basketball program, a ...

, and was an ABL All-Star. She started her coaching career at

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

in 2001 and then was the head women's basketball coach

North Carolina A&T University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

from 2002 to 2005. Roundtree spent 2005 on the coaching staff at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

before becoming an assistant coach at

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in 2006.

Georgia statistics

Source

USA Basketball

Roundtree competed with

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 Olympi ...

as a member of the 1995 Jones Cup Team that won the Bronze in

Taipei 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 ...

. Roundtree averaged 3.0 points per game and had eleven assist, tied for second highest on the team.

Notes

References

University of Alabama press release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roundtree, Saudia 1976 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Atlanta Glory players Basketball players from South Carolina Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball players Nashville Noise players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Sportspeople from Anderson, South Carolina Point guards North Carolina A&T Aggies women's basketball coaches