Sheri Lynette Sam (born May 5, 1974) is an American professional

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 player who played in the WNBA. She was born and raised in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

as the youngest of eight siblings, and where she was a standout at Acadiana High School. She graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1996. She was an assistant coach at

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

Vanderbilt statistics

Source:

USA Basketball

She 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 ...

. Sam was also invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996. She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event. Sam averaged 13 points per games, the highest scoring average on the team, and was named to the All-Tournament first team.

Professional

ABL

After her college graduation, Sam played three years for the

San Jose Lasers The San Jose Lasers were a women's professional basketball team in San Jose, California. It was a member of the American Basketball League. Their home games were primarily held at the San Jose State Event Center with an occasional game being p ...

in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL), a professional women's league.

WNBA

Shortly after the ABL ceased operations in 1999, Sam was selected by the Orlando Miracle in the WNBA Draft and became one of the Miracle's most productive players that year. Sam was waived by the Miracle just before the 2000 season began, but was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

. She played three seasons (2000, 2001, and 2002) with the Sol until the team folded due to financial difficulties. After the Sol ceased operations, the 2003 Dispersal Draft was held, and the Minnesota Lynx selected Sam, and she played for the Lynx that season. During the annual WNBA Draft on April 15, 2004, Sam and Lynx teammate

Janell Burse Janell Latrice Burse (born May 19, 1979) is a 6'5" women's basketball player who played center for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. After playing college ball at Tulane University, Burse was drafted in the second round (28th overall) by the Minn ...

were traded to the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

in exchange for

Amanda Lassiter Amanda Lassiter (born June 9, 1979, in San Francisco, California) is an American professional women's basketball player with the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Amanda Lassiter graduated from Commodore Sloat Scho ...

and a first-round draft pick. The trade was engineered as part of the Lynx' plan to draft the highly touted (and local favorite) Lindsay Whalen. Unfortunately for the Lynx, the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

had already selected Whalen. Sam spent the 2004 season with the

, as the team won 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 officia ...

by defeating, ironically, the

, two games to one. After the 2004 season ended, Sam became an unrestricted

. On February 14, 2005, Sam signed with 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 folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

. She would be involved in yet another dispersal draft in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

after the demise of the Sting. This time, she was selected by the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

. On May 7, 2008 Sheri signed with the Detroit Shock. Her 2008 season with the Detroit Shock was the last of her 10-year WNBA career. During the 2007-08 WNBA off-season, she played for Ashdod in Israel. She played for Panionios in Greece during the 2008-09 WNBA off-season.

Later life

Sam served as the Assistant Coach of Women’s Basketball for

from 2013-2017. From 2017 to 2019 she was Director of Athletics, Advancement Officer, for Mercy High School in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and from 2019 to 2020 Director of Athletics for Athletic Advancement at the Bay School of San Francisco. In September 2020 Sam was named the Managing Director of the Northern California PGA Foundation.

References

External links

Eastern Illinois Panthers coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Sheri 1974 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American women's basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Charlotte Sting players Detroit Shock players Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball coaches Indiana Fever players Miami Sol players Minnesota Lynx players Orlando Miracle players San Jose Lasers players Seattle Storm players Small forwards Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars