Katie Douglas
From Hoopedia
Kathryn Elizabeth “Katie” Douglas (born on May 7, 1979 in Indianapolis, Indiana) plays for the Connecticut Sun in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Her primary position is shooting guard. Sometimes she plays small forward.
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High School and College
After attending Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis, Douglas attended Purdue University and graduated in 2001 as a communications major. She helped lead Purdue to a NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in 1999, as well as being named to the 1999 and 2001 NCAA Women's Final Four All-Tournament Team. She was a two-time Kodak All-America in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, she received a number of awards including the Big Ten Conference "Player of the Year" and the Silver Basketball from the Chicago Tribune. Douglas also received the 2001 Big Ten Conference Suzy Favor Award, which is given to the conference's female athlete of the year across all sports.
WNBA
Douglas was selected the 10th overall pick by the Orlando Miracle in the 2001 WNBA Draft. She remained with the franchise even when the Miracle relocated to Connecticut, and was renamed the Connecticut Sun prior to the 2003 season. Following the 2005 WNBA season, Douglas was named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team. In 2006, she was named Most Valuable Player of the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game.
International
In 2003 Douglas played in Greece for Ano Liosia. Staying in Greece, she played for Glyfada Esperides Kyklos in 2003-04. In 2004-07 she has played for TEO Vilnius in the Lithuanian league, and has become a huge celebrity.
Personal
Douglas lost both her parents to cancer – father in 1997 and her mother less than three years later in 2000. She was awarded the first-ever Jimmy V Foundation Comeback of the Year Award in 2001 for her perseverance after a string of tragic, personal losses.
One week after the Sun's 2005 WNBA Finals loss to the Sacramento Monarchs, Douglas married Vasilis Giapalakis in Athens, Greece. Giapalakis is a sports agent who represents male and female basketball players. Douglas met Giapalakis when she was playing for a Greek club.
Douglas applied to obtain Lithuanian citizenship to be able to play on the Lithuanian national basketball team. Initially, she was rejected. After some favorable changes in the legislation, Douglas tried again. While the citizenship commission recommended granting her request in 2006, Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus ruled against her. He determined that, although he would personally like to see her represent Lithuania in international competition, the request did not comply with legal requirements. (Adamakus's predecessor was impeached for arranging citizenship for one of his shady friends.)
