Hammon, Stills, Smith and Thompson: A look at the newest Hoop Hall nominees
By Erica Ayala
Valerie Still – Player
Still graduated from the University of Kentucky with a career 2,763 points and 1,525 rebounds, the best in the history of the entire school. The only fellow Wildcat to even come close to those numbers was Dan Issel, a full xx years before Still enrolled at Kentucky. She finishing the 1981-82 season second in both scoring (24.8 ppg) and rebounding (14.3 rpg).
Still was a star in Italy, where she played 11 seasons. She returned to the United States for the inaugural season of the American Basketball League. She won back-to-back ABL titles with the Columbus Quest in 1997 and 98. She also won the first two Finals MVP awards in the ABL. She played one season in with the Washington Mystics before coaching two seasons in the WNBA with the Orlando Miracle (2001) and the Mystics (2002).
- Led Kentucky to its first SEC championship in 1982
- Helped the Wildcats to the program’s first NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament (Elite Eight)
- First female letter winner in any UK sport to have her jersey retired (2003)
- University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame (2005)
- Team USA R. William Jones Cup (1981)
- Silver medalists, Team USA World University Games (1981)
- All-ABL Team
- 8-time Italian League All-Star, Valerie Still