Linda Sharp
From Hoopedia
Linda K. Sharp is a former collegiate women's basketball coach. Her coaching career spans 31 seasons with stints on all levels from elementary, junior high and high school to the collegiate and professional ranks, and she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sharp served as the Head Coach at the University of Southern California (USC) women's basketball team (known as the Lady Trojans) for 12 years, compiling a 271-99 (.732) won-loss record. In 1983 Cheryl Miller became a Freshman at USC. With Miller and Paula McGee she guided the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 1983 (beating the Louisiana Tech, 69-67) and 1984 (over University of Tennessee, 72-61). She earned WCAA Coach of the Year honors, the Margaret Wade Coach of the Year, and Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1984. While at USC, she was selected as the Pac-10 Conference "Coach of the Year" three times. During 1983 and 1984 seasons had a 112-20 (.848) record. In 1986 she once again made the championship game this time loosing to the University of Texas 97-81.
Sharp compiled a 138-85 (619 winning%) record in eight seasons at Southwest Texas State University.
Sharp served on NCAA Basketball Rules Committee for seven years.
Sharp's involvement with USA Basketball includes coaching in the 1979 Olympic Festival (silver medal), the 1981 William Jones Cup (silver medal) and the 1987 World University Games.
In 1997, she became the first head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Sharp later assisted her former pupil at USC, Cheryl Miller with the Phoenix Mercury in 2000. Coach Sharp became the Head Coach of the Phoenix Mercury during the remainder of the 2002 season after Cynthia Cooper resigned from the position.
In 2001, Sharp was hired as the Head Coach of the women's basketball team at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. She coached the team for seven years and to 87-87 won-loss record. On September 2008, Sharp announced that she was resigning from the position.
Sharp's career head coach record is 496-271 (.647) after 27 years coaching NCAA women's basketball.
