Michelle Greco

Last updated

Michelle Greco (born March 24, 1980) is a retired basketball player. Greco started her basketball career with Crescenta Valley High School, where she scored 2,397 career points during the mid to late 1990s. While on the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team from 1998 to 2003, Greco played in the 1999 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and reached the Elite Eight. With 288 steals and 1,707 points, Greco was fifth in career steals and eleventh in career points for UCLA leading up to the 2020 season. In professional basketball. Greco briefly played in Israel and Greece during the early 2000s before joining the WNBA in 2004.

Contents

As part of the Seattle Storm, Greco won the 2004 WNBA Finals and was cut the following year. Upon her move to the Lega Basket Femminile in 2005, Greco started out with Acer Priolo before joining Taranto Cras Basket the next year. With Taranto until 2013, Greco and her team won three A1 Series Championships and reach the final of the 2008-09 EuroCup Women tournament. During her time with the two Italian teams, Greco had a combined total of 1,904 career points. Outside of Italy, Greco was a girls basketball coach for St Bernard High School and played basketball in Turkey during the 2010s.

Early life and education

Greco was born in La Crescenta, California on March 24, 1980. [1] During the mid to late 1990s, Greco won four tennis championships while attending Crescenta Valley High School. [2] Greco was also a high school softball player and set a basketball record of 2,397 career points for the school. [3] While with the high school basketball team, Greco and Crescenta Valley were defeated in the 1997 Division 1-A championship game as part of the CIF Southern Section. [4] [5]

For her post-secondary education, Greco studied comparative politics and history at the University of California, Los Angeles. [6] While at UCLA, Greco starting playing on the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team in 1998. [7] At the 1999 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, Greco and the Bruins reached the Elite Eight. [8] The following season, Greco had multiple concussions while playing basketball from 1999 to 2000. [9] In February 2001, Greco experienced another concussion and sat out two games. [10] [11]

After five game appearances in 2001, Greco was not allowed to play during the remainder of the season due to her previous concussions. [12] When Greco was permitted to return in September 2002, Greco remained with the Bruins until March 2003. [13] [14] Throughout her 121 games, Greco had 288 steals and 468 rebounds as part of her accumulated 1,707 points. [15] During individual seasons, Greco had the most steals for UCLA in 2000 and 2003. [16] In UCLA records, Greco was fifth in career steals and eleventh in career points leading up to the 2020 season. [17]

Career

In the WNBA, Greco was briefly part of the Cleveland Rockers in May 2003 before being cut from the team that month. [18] That year, Greco began her international basketball career with Maccabi Raanana in Israel. [2] After remaining there for a month, Greco went to Greece when she joined Apollon Ptolemaidas in January 2004. [19] She remained with Greece until she joined the Seattle Storm as part of the WNBA in April 2004. [20] In her 13 regular season games, Greco scored 29 points while accumulating ten rebounds and eight assists. [21] In the playoffs, Greco was part of the Storm roster that won the 2004 WNBA Finals during her four games. [22] [23] The following year, Greco was cut from the Storm. [24]

With the Lega Basket Femminile in Italy, Greco started with Acer Priolo in 2005 before joining Taranto Cras Basket in 2006. [25] [26] With Taranto, Greco won the Super Cup in 2009 and 2010 before winning the A1 Italian Cup in 2012. During these three years, Greco and Taranto also won the A1 Series Championship. [27] [28] With FIBA Europe, Greco played at the EuroCup Women from 2007 to 2009 and the EuroLeague Women from 2010 to 2012. [29] In these competitions, Taranto made it to the final of the 2008-09 EuroCup Women and the quarterfinals of the 2010-11 EuroLeague Women. [30] [31] After leaving Taranto in 2013, Greco had a combined total of 1,904 points between the two teams. [25]

In between her tenure with Taranto, Greco worked at the University of Southern California as a video coordinator from 2012 to 2013. [32] That year, Greco was hired by St Bernard High School as their girls basketball coach. [33] With St. Bernard, Greco had nine wins and 18 losses from 2013 to 2014. [34] Apart from coaching, Greco was also a trainer and athletic director for the Playa del Rey school. [32]

From 2014 to 2015, Greco played basketball in Turkey for Edirne Belediyesi Edirnespor. During her 21 games, Greco scored 33 field goals and five free throws. [35] [36] In 2015, Greco joined UCLA as an assistant coach in sports performance. [37] The following year, she established a bicycle touring company in Santa Monica, California with Lindsey Harding. [38] Greco also played volleyball in her free time during her basketball career. [39]

Awards and honors

From 1997 to 1998, The Los Angeles Times named Greco player of the year for Southern California as their Cheryl Miller Award recipient. [40] Greco was named player of the year for California as the 1998 Ms. Basketball recipient. [41] In 2015, Greco was named part of the Winter All-Century Team for the California Interscholastic Federation. [42]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Lubin</span>

Frank John Lubin was a Lithuanian-American basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1928 to 1931. In 1997, Lubin was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Helms Sports Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Meyers</span> American basketball player

Ann Meyers Drysdale is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Toler</span> American basketball executive and former player

Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds the distinction of scoring the first basket in WNBA history.

Crescenta Valley High School is a high school in La Crescenta, California. Around 2500 students attend the school, which serves North Glendale, unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, as well as a municipal neighborhood on the western boundary of the City of La Cañada Flintridge.

Noelle Quinn is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). As a player, Quinn played for many WNBA teams and for Botaş SK of the Turkish Women's Basketball League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evanthia Maltsi</span>

Evanthia "Evina" Maltsi is a Greek former professional basketball guard. In 2007, she played for Connecticut Sun in the WNBA, appearing in 29 games, 26 in the regular season and 3 in the playoffs. A three time Euroleague All-Star (2007–2009), Maltsi has a long career in European club basketball, having played in Spain, France, Czech Republic, Poland and Turkey besides her native Greece and she has won numerous titles as a player of CJM Bourges, Ros Casares Valencia, USK Praha and Olympiacos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Dabović</span> Serbian basketball player

Ana Dabović is a Serbian professional basketball player for the BLMA of the French Ligue 1 and EuroLeague Women. Standing at 1.83 m, she plays at the shooting guard position. She also represents the Serbian national basketball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Nakase</span> American basketball player and coach

Natalie Mitsue Nakase is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After retiring as a player, she was a head coach for both men's and women's professional teams. She was later an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Roll (basketball)</span> American-Tunisian basketball player

Michael Brandon Roll is an American-born naturalized Tunisian professional basketball player who last played for US Monastir. Born in America, he joined the Tunisia national basketball team after becoming a naturalized citizen in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Meesseman</span> Belgian basketball player

Emma Meesseman is a Belgian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the EuroLeague Women. After playing basketball in Belgium, Meesseman was drafted by the Washington Mystics with the 19th overall pick in the second round of the 2013 WNBA draft. She has also played for the Belgian national team and several European professional teams. She was named the 2011 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year and the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP. Meesseman studied physical education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabby Williams</span> American-French basketball player

Gabrielle Lisa Williams is an American-French professional basketball player. She was drafted 4th overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2018 WNBA draft. In 2022 she was a EuroLeague champion with Sopron and was named the Final Four MVP. Williams played forward for the UConn women's basketball team, and won back to back national championships in 2015 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaylen Hands</span> American basketball player

Jaylen Joseph Hands is an American professional basketball player for Peristeri of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. As a high school senior in 2017, he was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, and was ranked as a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 3 point guard in the country in the class of 2017 by all major scouting services, including ESPN and 247Sports. Hands earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in his sophomore year with UCLA in 2019. He was selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 56th pick before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets. He played a season in the NBA G League with Brooklyn's affiliate, the Long Island Nets before beginning his European career in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Vadeeva</span> Russian basketball player

Maria Alekseyevna Vadeeva is a Russian professional basketball player for the UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League. Vadeeva was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft. She is the first player who was born after the WNBA was founded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonquel Jones</span> Bahamian-Bosnian basketball player

Jonquel Orthea Jones is a Bahamian-Bosnian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. Since May 2019, she also holds the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, allowing her to play for the national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karlie Samuelson</span> American basketball player

Karlie Anne Samuelson is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Townsville Fire of the Australian Women's National Basketball League. In college, Samuelson played for Stanford University. Her sisters are Bonnie and Katie Lou Samuelson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordin Canada</span> American basketball player

Jordin Elizabeth Canada is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected by the Seattle Storm with the 5th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Canada played collegiately with the UCLA Bruins. She is known for her playmaking, speed and crossover skills. In her rookie season with the Storm, she won her first WNBA championship as they swept the Washington Mystics. In 2020, after winning her second WNBA championship, she signed an endorsement deal with Air Jordan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Mabrey</span> American basketball player

Marina Mabrey is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Mabrey was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2019 WNBA draft. She previously played with the United States women's national under-19 basketball team and the University of Notre Dame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaela Onyenwere</span> American basketball player

Michaela Nne Onyenwere is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Uni Girona CB of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference.

Vicki Hall is an assistant coach with the Indiana Fever since 2021. Before joining the WNBA team, Hall served as the head coach of the Indiana State Sycamores women's basketball team from 2018 to 2021. As a basketball player, Hall was the 1988 Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade High School Basketball Player of the Year after accumulating 1,755 points with Brebeuf High School. With the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team from 1988 to 1993, Hall reached the final eight of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament between 1989 and 1990 and had 1,831 career points. Apart from college basketball, Hall won gold at the 1990 FIBA World Championship for Women and the 1990 Goodwill Games with the American women basketball team.

Rebekah Gardner is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Chicago Sky in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UCLA.

References

  1. ↑ "Michelle Greco WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Rizk, Gabriel (August 18, 2012). "Michelle Greco's legacy still expanding after retirement". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Rich, Charles (March 5, 2015). "Crescenta Valley alumna Michelle Greco voted one of CIF's all-time best". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ Desmond, Dave (December 30, 1997). "Greco Has Eyes On the Prize". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ Rich, Charles (February 27, 2016). "Crescenta Valley girl's basketball reaches championship for first time since 1997". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Michelle Greco". University of Southern California Athletics. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Player Bio: Michelle Greco". UCLA Bruins. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  8. ↑ Crouse, Karen (March 24, 1999). "UCLA has no answer for veteran Louisiana Tech". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Los Angeles Daily News. p. 2D.
  9. ↑ Gustkey, Earl (February 20, 2000). "Greco Heads Up UCLA's Victory Over Arizona". The Los Angeles Times. p. D7.
  10. ↑ "Beaver women get road win over Trojans". The World. Coos Bay, Oregon. The Associated Press. February 24, 2001. p. B3.
  11. ↑ "Beaver women flying high again". Corvallis Gazette-Times. February 26, 2001. p. B1.
  12. ↑ Terry, Mike (January 13, 2002). "Rumors Are A Millstone For Greco". The Los Angeles Times. p. D9.
  13. ↑ Terry, Mike (September 24, 2002). "Greco Back With UCLA". Los Angeles Times. p. D6.
  14. ↑ Melik-Stepanyan, Edgar (March 20, 2003). "Greco's career at UCLA concludes". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  15. ↑ Andersen, Ryan (November 21, 2020). "2020-21 UCLA Women's Basketball Information Guide" (PDF) (Press release). University of California, Los Angeles. p. 66. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  16. ↑ Andersen 2020, p. 45
  17. ↑ Andersen 2020, p. 39
  18. ↑ Melik-Stepanyan, Edgar (May 17, 2003). "Greco released by WNBA's Rockers". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  19. ↑ Melik-Stepanyan, Edgar (March 1, 2004). "Greco continues to shine in Greece". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  20. ↑ Nalbandyan, Hamlet (April 28, 2004). "Greco signs with Seattle". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Michelle Greco". WNBA. Regular Season Totals. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  22. ↑ Melik-Stepanyan, Edgar (October 13, 2004). "Greco, Storm capture crown". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Michelle Greco". WNBA. p. Playoff Totals. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Seattle Storm request waivers on Michelle Greco and Eva Montesdeoca Lopez" (Press release). Seattle Storm. May 9, 2005. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  25. 1 2 "Greco Michelle". Lega Basket Femminile (in Italian). Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  26. ↑ Andersen 2020 p. 60
  27. ↑ "Albo D'oro". Lega Basket Femminile (in Italian). Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  28. ↑ Salvatore, Alessandro (March 14, 2013). "Presentata Michelle Greco, 'Qui la mia seconda casa!'" [Michelle Greco presented, 'My second home here!']. MondoRossoBlù (in Italian). Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Michelle Greco | EuroLeague Women (2012)". FIBA Europe. Player History. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Standings | EuroCup Women (2009)". FIBA Europe. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Standings | EuroLeague Women (2011)". FIBA Europe. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  32. 1 2 Abend, Harold (November 22, 2013). "Girls BB: Greco likes new role". Cal Hi Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  33. ↑ Ciniglio, Tony (May 1, 2013). "Girls Basketball: St. Bernard hires ex-UCLA star Michelle Greco". Daily Breeze. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  34. ↑ "St. Bernard Girls Basketball (2020-21) History". MaxPreps. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Michelle Greco". Eurobasket. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Edirne Bld. Edrinespor Team Summary 2014-2015". Eurobasket. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  37. ↑ Vail, Jeremy (July 24, 2015). "Athletic Performance Staff Bios". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  38. ↑ Erksine, Chris (July 20, 2016). "Rental beach cruisers that shine like the sun". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  39. ↑ Yang, Avery (July 23, 2016). "New Santa Monica bike tours put 'joy' in Joy Ride". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  40. ↑ Desmond, Dave (April 16, 1998). "Stating Her Case". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Cal-Hi Sports Ms. Basketball". Cal-Hi Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  42. ↑ "CIF 100th All-Century Team (Winter)". CalHiSports. March 6, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.