Wendy Palmer (born August 12, 1974) 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 in the WNBA, and former head coach of the

UNCG The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-a ...

women's basketball team. Her primary position was

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

High school

Born in Timberlake, North Carolina, Palmer attended Person Senior High School in Roxboro, North 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 eleven points.

College

Palmer graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1996, and is a member of the

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...

sorority.

USA Basketball

Palmer was named to the team representing the US at the 1994

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 ...

. The USA team won all eight games, winning the gold medal, but not without close calls. In three games the teams had to come from behind to win. One preliminary game ended up as a single-point victory, and the gold medal game went to overtime before the USA team beat South Korea by a single point, 90–89. Palmer was the leading scorer for the team, averaging 18.9 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding with 9.3 per game.

WNBA career

Palmer was originally drafted by the

Utah Starzz Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

9th overall in the 2nd round of the 1997 Elite draft. She played for the Starzz until 1999, when she became a member of the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...

. In 2002, she played for the

Orlando Miracle The Orlando Miracle were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Orlando, Florida. It began play in the 1999 WNBA season. The Miracle relocated, in 2003, to Uncasville, Connecticut, where the team became the Connecticut Su ...

, which later became 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 ...

. In 2004, while as a member of the Sun, she received the

WNBA Most Improved Player Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Most Improved Player Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 2000 WNBA season, to the most improved player of the regular season. The winner is selected b ...

. In 2005, she played for 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 ...

. After the season ended, she was hired as an assistant coach to the women's basketball team at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

. In 2006, she signed 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 ...

contract with the Storm, but played only five games with the team before suffering a partially torn

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

in her left foot.

Coaching career

Palmer took her first coaching position at Virginia Commonwealth University while playing in the WNBA. In 2007, she joined the staff at the University of Kentucky under Coach Matthew Mitchell. She remained there until 2009. In 2009, Palmer became an assistant coach at the University of Virginia under legendary Coach Debbie Ryan. In 2011, Palmer became the women's head coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Notes

External links

WNBA Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Wendy 1974 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Connecticut Sun players Detroit Shock players Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball coaches Orlando Miracle players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Person County, North Carolina Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Stars players Seattle Storm players UNC Greensboro Spartans women's basketball coaches Utah Starzz draft picks Utah Starzz players VCU Rams women's basketball coaches Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball coaches Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars