Ivory Latta

Ivory Latta
No. 12 – Washington Mystics
Position Point guard
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1984-09-25) September 25, 1984
McConnells, South Carolina
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight 143 lb (65 kg)
Career information
High school York Comprehensive
(York, South Carolina)
College North Carolina (2003–2007)
WNBA draft 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall
Selected by the Detroit Shock
Playing career 2007–present
Career history
As player:
2007 Detroit Shock
2008–2009 Atlanta Dream
2008–2009 Ceyhan Belediyesi
2009–2010 Mersin BŞB
2010–2012 Tulsa Shock
2013–present Washington Mystics
As coach:
2013–2015 North Carolina (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Ivory Latta (born September 25, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted 11th overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2007 WNBA Draft. A 5'6" (1.68 m) guard noted for her three-point shooting and on-court enthusiasm, she played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. She is the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina high school basketball history (men's and women's) with a total of 4,319 career points.[1]

High school

Born in McConnells, South Carolina, Latta played for York Comprehensive High School in York, South Carolina, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2003 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored seventeen points, and earned MVP honors.[2][3]

College career

Latta was named the 2006 Player of the Year by ESPN.com,[4] USBWA, GballMag.com and Basketball Times National Player of the Year, Nancy Lieberman Award Winner as Point Guard of the Year (2006), Consensus All-American (2006), ACC Player of the Year (2006), ACC hlkk

Tournament MVP (2005), WBCA National Player for the Month of March (2005), All-ACC First Team (2007, 2005), AP All-American Third Team (2005), ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year (2004), All-ACC Second Team (2004), All-ACC Freshmen Team (2004).[1] Latta averaged 14.0 points per game as a freshman, 16.2 as a senior, and 16.6 for her career at North Carolina.

North Carolina statistics

Source[5]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003-04 North Carolina 31 433 36.2 34.7 78.0 2.8 3.5 1.9 0.1 14.0
2004-05 North Carolina 34 592 42.0 39.7 86.3 2.7 4.3 1.7 0.2 17.4
2005-06 North Carolina 35 645 45.5 40.1 85.2 2.1 5.2 2.3 0.1 18.4
2006-07 North Carolina 38 615 41.1 40.2 85.5 2.1 4.2 1.6 0.1 16.2
Career North Carolina 138 2285 41.4 38.9 84.0 2.4 4.3 1.9 0.1 16.6

Professional career

Latta was drafted by the Detroit Shock with the 11th pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft. She averaged 3.0 points per game as a rookie, and had the second-best 3-point field goal percentage in the WNBA for the 2007 regular season.[1] On February 6, 2008 She was traded to the Atlanta Dream for the Dream's 2008 second round pick and LaToya Thomas.[1][6] She played for Ceyhan in Turkey during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.[7] She was originally released by the Atlanta Dream at the start of the 2009 WNBA season, but then signed on July 3, 2009, after the Dream released Nikki Teasley instead.[8]

Latta played for the Tulsa Shock from 2010-2012, and joined the Washington Mystics in 2013. In 2013, she was selected to the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. In 2014, Latta was selected as an all-star replacement for the injured Elena Delle Donne.

Latta was hired by her alma mater, North Carolina, as an assistant women's basketball coach in July 2013; she will, however, continue to play for the Mystics.[9]

European career

Personal life

On January 9, 2003 a resolution was read on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative John Spratt[10] honoring Latta. She would also receive the key to the city of York, South Carolina (where she attended high school and Spratt's hometown),[10][11] which celebrated Ivory Latta Day on January 10, 2003.[12]

Latta's father and paternal grandmother both live with Parkinson's disease and she has been very outspoken about how her father's diagnosis impacted her.[13] As a result, Latta serves as an ambassador for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF).[14] In this role, she is involved with fundraising campaigns for PDF and generating awareness about Parkinson's disease, and enlists other professional athletes to support the cause.[13]

Latta's friendships with NBA superstar LeBron James and actor/rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges have been well documented.[4]

Awards and honors

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "official bio".
  2. ↑ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 29 Jun 2014.
  3. ↑ "WBCA High School All-America Game Team MVP's". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 29 Jun 2014.
  4. 1 2
  5. ↑ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved 23 Sep 2015.
  6. ↑ Atlanta's expansion draft trades/analysis
  7. ↑ Offseason 2008–09: Overseas Roster
  8. ↑ Long-range shooting reason for Latta’s return
  9. ↑ http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3350&ATCLID=209200560
  10. 1 2
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. 1 2 Spain, Sarah. "Shock's Latta hopes for turnaround". ESPN. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "Latta to Become Parkinson's Ambassador". TarHeelBlue.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 19 February 2012.

External links

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