Yolanda Griffith
From Hoopedia
Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. She is sometimes called by her nicknames: "Yo" and "Yo-Yo".
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High School and College
She attended George Washington Carver High School in the Chicago area. In her senior year (1988-1989), she was named in Parade Magazine's All-American basketball team.
She was offered a scholarship to play for the women's basketball team at the University of Iowa, but had to cancel it after she give birth to her daughter, Candace.
Afterwards, she attended Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Florida, where she earned Junior College All-America honors in 1990-91. She later transferred to Florida Atlantic University, which was then a Division II school, where she graduated in 1993.
American Basketball League
In 1997, she joined the American Basketball League (ABL). Griffith was selected by the Long Beach Stingrays as the number one pick overall in the first ABL players draft.
After the end of the 1997-98 season, she was traded in the expansion draft to the Chicago Condors, in her hometown. She played for the Condors for the next two seasons.
Griffith was named the 1998 ABL Defensive Player of the Year and All-ABL first team, and finished second in the ABL's 1998 Most Valuable Player voting to her future 2000 Summer Olympics teammate Natalie Williams.
Prior to the ABL folding in December 1998, Griffith ranked fifth among league leaders for scoring (17.2 ppg.), first for rebounding (12.3 rpg.), 19th for assists (2.6 apg.), second for steals (3.3 spg.), and second for blocked shots (1.3 bpg.).
WNBA
The Sacramento Monarchs selected Griffith as the #2 overall draft pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft. She is a four-time WNBA All-Star, and won the WNBA's MVP and Defensive Player awards in 1999.
In 2004, as a member of Team USA, Griffith played against a WNBA All-Star team in a game that substituted for the WNBA All-Star game. Her 11 points and 15 rebounds earned her the Most Valuable Player Award in that game.
In 2005, the Monarchs won their first WNBA title over the Connecticut Sun, three games to one in a Best-of-five playoff series. Griffith was named series MVP.
Playing Overseas
Shortly after graduating from college, Griffith began her professional basketball playing career in Germany, where she played from 1993 to 1997 and finished as the top scorer and rebounder in the EuroLeague in 1997 averaging 24.7 points per game and 16.0 rebounds per game.
During the WNBA offseason, Griffith has played extensively overseas, usually on teams and leagues that feature other WNBA players. In 2003 and 2004, she played for a Russian professional team in Ekaterinburg.
