Carrie Ann Graf (born 23 June 1967) is an Australian basketball coach. She competed in the WNBL as a player starting during 1983–1989, after which she attended RMIT. Graf has coached teams in the WNBL, WNBA and Australia's national team, and has been honoured for her contribution to basketball coaching.

Personal

After having earned a diploma of coaching from the Australian Coaching Council in 1991, Graf attended RMIT in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physical Education in 1992. She has several hobbies including listening to music and cooking.

Player

Graff started her professional basketball career as a 15-year-old with the

Nunawading Spectres Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...

in the WNBL. In her first year of a seven-year stint with the Spectres from 1983 until 1989, she was named the Rookie of the Year and competed in the league Championships. She also played on the team for RMIT when she was a student there.

Coaching

Graf has coached women's basketball for over 20 years.

WNBL

In 2007 and 2008, Graf was named the WNBL Coach of the Year. As of 2010, she holds the most records in the WNBL for coaching wins, with over 200.

Sydney Flames

From 1993 to 1996, Graf coached the Sydney Flames. In 1993 and 1996, her teams finished first, and had only one loss alongside seventeen wins.

Canberra Capitals

Graf has coached the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

. She became the coach in 1999. She was the coach of the team in 2008–2009 when the team won the WNBL Championship.

WNBA

In 2004, Graf coached the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. Prior to holding that position, she was an assistant coach with the team for four years in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003. She did not coach during the 2000 season because of her commitments to the Australian national team.

National team

Graf was an assistant coach for the national team that competed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, when the team won a bronze medal and when the team won a silver medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. Graf became the coach of the Australia women's national basketball team in December 2008. In 2009, she coached the Australian side that won the FIBA Oceania Championship. Graf coached the Australian side that competed at and won the 2007 World University Games.

Recognition

In 1996, the Australian Coaching Council awarded Graf with the High Performance Coach Award and Young Coach of the Year Award. In 2000, Graf was honoured with being given an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for service to basketball. She has also been honoured by being named life member of the WNBL in 2006. ACTsport named her the Sportsperson of the year in 2008. At the 2015 Australia Day Honours, Carrie was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for her significant service to basketball, particularly as a coach, mentor and athlete, and to the community. She also awarded the

in 2000 in recognition of her results at the 2000 Olympics.

References

External links

Carrie Graf
WNBL {{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Carrie 1967 births Living people Australian people of German descent Australian women's basketball players Canberra Capitals Members of the Order of Australia Phoenix Mercury coaches Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal RMIT University alumni Articles containing video clips Place of birth missing (living people) Australian women's basketball coaches Seattle Storm coaches