Cynthia Cooper-Dyke

Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke (born April 14, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

She is considered by many as one of the greatest female basketball players ever.

Cooper was named to represent the US at the 1981 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan, while still in high school.

The team won seven of eight games to win the silver medal for the event.

Cooper scored 2.8 points per game and recorded nine steals.

Cooper was a four-year letter winner at guard for USC from 1982 to 1986.

She led the Women of Troy to NCAA appearances in all four years, Final Four appearances in three of her four years, and back-to-back NCAA tournament titles in 1983 and 1984.

The Soviet team, had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships.

The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the US went on a scoring run to take a large lead they did not relinquish.

The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the US squad.

Cooper averaged 2.0 points per game.

After the 1984 Championship, she briefly left school, but was persuaded to return.

She completed four years with USC, although she did not graduate.

Cooper closed out her collegiate career with an appearance in the 1986 NCAA tournament championship game and a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.

Cooper ranks eighth on USC's all-time scoring list with 1,559 points, fifth in assists (381) and third in steals (256).

While Cooper was at USC, the Women of Troy compiled a record of 114–15.

Cooper was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in Moscow in July 1986.

North Carolina State's Kay Yow served as head coach.

The team opened up with a 72–53 win over Yugoslavia, and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70.

The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer.

Cheryl Miller was the scoring leader in this game, scoring 26 points to help the US to a 78–70 victory.

The US faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58.

This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2 Ivilana Semenova, considered the most dominant player in the world.

Cooper continued to represent the US with the national team at the 1986 World Championship, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill Games in Moscow.

The US team was even more dominant this time.

The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the US so far, ended up an 82–59 victory.

At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records.

The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke.

Upon the league's formation, she played for the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000, being named the Most Valuable Player of the WNBA Finals in all four seasons, and returned to play again in 2003.

Cooper-Dyke still holds the record for most Finals MVPs with four.

She earned her bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2005.

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Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Cooper attended Locke High School before enrolling at the University of Southern California.

Cooper participated athletically in both track and field as well as basketball.

She led her team to the California State Championship (4A) scoring an average of 31 points per game, and scoring 44 points in one game.

Cooper was named the Los Angeles Player of the Year.

In 2011, Cooper-Dyke was voted by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

On April 30, 2019, she was introduced as the head coach for the Texas Southern Lady Tigers basketball team, a position she held in the 2012–13 season.

She has also coached at USC, UNC Wilmington, Prairie View A&M, and, professionally, for the Phoenix Mercury.