Teresa Edwards

1964-

American basketball player

She is the most decorated Olympic basketball player ever, male or female, and has a street named after her in her hometown. But Teresa Edwards is often overlooked among women's greats in the sport, having played before the boom in media and fan interest. "She played many of (her) games before her sport caught the public's attention," the Associated Press wrote after Edwards won her fourth Olympic gold medal, as the United States prevailed at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. "Women's basketball had just some [teams] under the NCAA['s auspices] when she started at Georgia. The fan support and media coverage weren't close to what they are now."

Raised in Jackie's Hometown

Edwards grew up as the oldest of four children, and the only girl, in Cairo, Georgia, hometown of baseball legend Jackie Robinson . She said she took up basketball because it was the only sport in which she could beat boys head-to-head. During Edwards' four years at the University of Georgia, the Bulldogs sported a 116-17 record, and played in the NCAA tournament each time. They played in the Final Four in 1983 and in 1985, when they lost to Old Dominion in the championship game. Edwards scored eleven points in the final but fouled out early. Georgia was Southeastern Conference champion in three of her four seasons. She was all-SEC three times, and became one of only three Georgia women's basketball players to have her jersey number (#5) retired. Lacking the professional outlet women have today, Edwards went overseas for nine seasons, competing for teams in Vicenza and Magenta, Italy; Nagoya, Japan; Valencia, Spain; and Tarbes, France.

Olympic Glory

Edwards began her Olympic run in 1984, following her freshman year at Georgia, when she was the youngest member of the U.S. team that won easily in Los Angeles. Four years later, in Seoul, South Korea, Edwards helped spark the Americans to a second-half comeback in their opening game against Czechoslovakia, scoring 24 points overall in an 87-81 triumph. She added 23 points against Yugoslavia in a 101-74 win and contributed 12 points and six assists in the semifinal as the U.S. beat the Soviet Union for the first time, 102-88. In the gold medal contest, a rematch against Yugoslavia, Edwards scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, and broke open a tense game with three consecutive fast-break baskets to put the U.S. up by 12. The Americans prevailed, 77-70.

After settling for a bronze at the Barcelona games in 1992 (Edwards averaged 12.6 points per game), the Americans were determined to win back the gold as host nation in 1996, in Atlanta. The Olympic team captains voted for Edwards, also a basketball co-captain, to take the oath during opening ceremonies. On the basketball court, the Americans reclaimed the gold, and culminated a historic 60-0 record during international competition in 1995-96. Later-round games were played at the Georgia Dome before crowds of bigger than 30,000. Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes attracted the biggest headlines, but Edwards drew raves for a 20-point, 15-assist effort in a 96-76 trouncing of Australia in the preliminary round. The U.S. routed Brazil 111-87 in the gold medal game, atoning for losses to the South American nation in the semifinals of the 1994 World Championship and 1991 Pan Am Games.

ABL, All Too Briefly

Playing for the Atlanta Glory when the women's professional American Basketball League began in 1996-97, Edwards made the all-league first team and was runner-up to 1996 Olympic teammate Nikki McCray in the voting for most valuable player. Four times in two seasons, she scored more than 40 points in a game. A year later, with the added responsibilities of player-coach, Edwards again made all-league first team and led the ABL in assists (6.7).

After the 1997-98 season, she was traded to the Philadelphia Rage, but the league folded right before Christmas, unable to compete financially with the fledgling Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Edwards had been the league's leader in scoring (21.0 points per game) at the time it dissolved. She felt she could have done well in the WNBA, but they could not meet her financial demands.

Chronology

Awards and Accomplishments

One More Gold

Edwards, however, was ready for one last Olympic attempt—the 2000 Games in Sydney. She announced that this would be her final international competition, and got in playing shape with daily workouts and games against men in an Atlanta gym. "It seems like she's older than she is because she's been playing so long," said Olympic teammate Ruthie Bolton-Holifield in a biography of Edwards published on the University of Georgia Athletic Association's web site. "But she's only three years older than me. Thirty-six is not crazy. To me, she's got some more years left in her." Edwards exited with her last gold as the Americans won all eight games and dominated Australia 76-54 in the championship game. She totaled 2,008 points overall for the U.S. in international competition and is the Americans' all-time Olympic career leader for games played (32), assists (143) and steals (59).

While retired as an active player, Edwards is still involved with the U.S. basketball program. The four-time Olympic gold medalist was the keynote speaker at the 2002 USA Basketball Women's Youth Development Festival. Edwards made her national debut at the event's forerunner, the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival, in 1981.

Edwards, asked why she enjoyed talking to the youth on the USA Basketball Women's Youth Development Festival web site, cited "the importance of respecting each other's talents because they're all on the same page, on the same level." She added: "Being there to answer questions that they may have at this time of their life, they're so young. If they can stay on the right path then I've done something to help somebody. So I think that, for me to give and for them to get something out of it is important."

"I'm At Peace"

Edwards missed out on big professional dollars because the WNBA arrived after the prime of her career. She had to play abroad for several seasons and her one pro league in the U.S. folded. Ironically, the WNBA, which put Edwards's ABL out of business, has begun to struggle financially as the NBA has begun to distance itself. "A cynic might argue the (NBA) lost interest in the women once a potential entertainment competitor, the ABL, went out of business," Filip Bondy wrote in the New York Daily News in January, 2003.

Career Statistics

But Edwards, known as "T" to her friends, has no regrets. "I played when I was supposed to," she told the online journal Canoe. "I'm very happy with the process. I'm at peace with where I am. If somehow my abilities and talents have been used to further the game, then it feels good."

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Johnson, Anne Janette. Great Women in Sports. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Periodicals

Adande, J.A. "When Dreams Become Just That; The ABL's Demise Makes Playing Pro Basketball in This Country Tougher for Some and Impossible for Others."Los Angeles Times (December 24, 1998).

Bondy, Filip. "Risky WNBA Business: Its Alliance with Casino Big Gamble."New York Daily News (January 29, 2003).

Solomon, Alisa. "Ready, Willing, and ABL."Village Voice (November 24, 1998).

Other

"Edwards Bids Farewell after Stellar Career," Canoe, http:/www.canoe.ca/2000GamesBasketball/oct1_usa-ap.html, (October 1, 2000).

"Edwards Remains World's Most Decorated Player," CNN-Sports Illustrated, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/news/2000/06/29/update_edwards/, (June 30, 2000).

Leaders in Sport, http://www.sd83.bc.ca/stu/9701/w3ejg1.htm, (January 26, 2003).

"Teresa Edwards Imparts Words of Wisdom to the Young," USA Basketball, http://www.usabasketball.com/women/02_wydf_edwards.html, (January 26, 2003).

University of Georgia Athletic Association, bio of Teresa Edwards, http://georgiabulldogs.ocsn.com/traditions/olympians/edwards_shtml, (January 21, 2003).

USA Basketball, Teresa Edwards Profile, http://www.usabasketball.com/bioswomen/teresa_edwards_bio.html, (January 25, 2003).

Sketch by Paul Burton