Skylar Diggins

Skylar Diggins

Diggins at the 2014 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
No. 4 – Dallas Wings
Position Guard
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1990-08-02) August 2, 1990
South Bend, Indiana
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight 145 lb (66 kg)
Career information
High school Washington (South Bend, Indiana)
College Notre Dame (2009–2013)
WNBA draft 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Tulsa Shock
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013–present Tulsa Shock/Dallas Wings
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Representing  United States
Basketball 3x3
World Championship
2012 Athens Women's
Representing  United States
U18 and U19
2008 U18 Buenos Aires Team Competition
2009 U19 Bangkok Team Competition
World University Games
2011 Shenzhen Team Competition

Skylar Kierra Diggins (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted 3rd overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In high school, she was the National Gatorade Player of the Year, the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and a McDonald's All-American. Diggins played point guard for Notre Dame, where she led Notre Dame to three consecutive Final Fours and two consecutive NCAA championship appearances. She finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in points and steals, second in assists, and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation, while leading her team to a record of 130–20.

Early life

Diggins was born in South Bend, Indiana. She is the daughter of Tige Diggins and Renee Scott and step-daughter of Sarah Diggins and Maurice Scott. Diggins has three younger brothers Tige, Destyn, and Maurice and one younger sister Hanneaf. She also grew up playing softball.[2]

High school career

Diggins attended Washington High School in South Bend, Indiana. Diggins was a four-year starter and three-year team captain at Washington High School, where the Panthers had a combined record of 102–7.[2] In her freshman year, she averaged 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists. 3.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. As a sophomore she averaged 24.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 4.7 steals. During her junior year she averaged a state-best 29.5 points, in addition to 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.9 steals, and 1.7 blocks. As a senior, she averaged a state-best 29 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. She tallied fourteen 30-point games in 26 games played, and narrowly missed a rare quadruple-double in the '08–09 season opener vs. LaPorte, finishing with 28 points, 12 assists, 12 steals and nine rebounds. Diggins finished her career with 2,790 points, the third-highest girls' scoring total in Indiana history for an average of 25.9 points per game. She scored at least 700 points in each of her final three seasons, which ranks as three of the top 23 single-season scoring marks in state history. She holds school records in all major statistical categories with 620 rebounds, 601 assists, 475 steals and 161 blocks.

During her time there, Diggins led the Panthers to state championship games, including Washington's title-winning season of 2007. Diggins was named to the all-state first team in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition to basketball, she participated in volleyball and did well academically, earning High Academic Honors as a senior, and being a member of National Honor Society. Diggins was a two-time Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year.[1] Diggins was named a WBCA All-American, and was a McDonald's All-American selection.[3] She participated in the 2009 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 24 points.[4] In the March 30, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated, she was part of its Faces in the Crowd segment.[5] Diggins chose Notre Dame over Stanford, but was able to make friends with Stanford alum Candice Wiggins after visiting the university.

University of Notre Dame Career

Freshman Year

As a freshman, Diggins became the fourth Indiana native to join the Irish roster in 2009–10, along with fellow South Bend-area guard (and co-captain) Melissa Lechlitner, Indianapolis guard Ashley Barlow (and co-captain) and Valparaiso forward Becca Bruszewski. In addition, she was one of three Miss Basketball honorees on the '09-10 Notre Dame roster, along with Lindsay Schrader (Illinois 2005) and Kellie Watson (Michigan 2008). Diggins played and started in 30 of ND's 35 games. She led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg.), steals (2.6 spg.) and assists (tied – 3.2 apg.), while ranking third on the squad in three-point percentage (.350) and free throw percentage (.782). She tallied a team-high 24 double-digit scoring games, including seven 20-point outings, and set Notre Dame freshman records for steals (90), free throws made (111), free throws attempted (142) and minutes played (1,028), while ranking among the top five among Fighting Irish freshman for points (3rd – 484), scoring average (tied/4th – 13.8 ppg.), field goals made (3rd – 169), field goals attempted (3rd – 385), three-point field goals made (4th – 35), three-point attempts (5th – 100), three-point percentage (5th – .350), assists (3rd – 112), steals per game (2nd – 2.6 spg.), games started (tied/2nd – 30), games played (2nd – 35) and minutes per game (5th – 29.4). Diggins had a team-high eight "5–5–5" games (including all three NCAA tournament games) and at least one steal in 33 of 35 games (16 outings with 3+ steals, including all six postseason games). She is the fourth Notre Dame player to score 400 points as a freshman (most since Beth Morgan tallied 518 points in 1993–94, the last time a Notre Dame rookie led team in scoring), and was the first Notre Dame freshman with 100 assists in a debut season since Mollie Peirick in 1994–95.

Sophomore Year

Diggins rose to national prominence in her sophomore year, finishing the regular season first on the team in assists per game (4.8 average), while placing second in scoring (14.4) and third in steals (1.9). She scored in double figures 30 times, including eight 20-point outings, and notched at least five assists in 21 games.[6] Diggins continued her stellar play in the NCAA tournament, leading the Irish to the second championship game appearance in school history, ten years after Notre Dame captured the national title in 2001. In the regional final, they beat Tennessee (fourth-ranked team in the country) by a score of 73–59. Diggins scored a then-season-high 24 points in the game, and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 NCAA Dayton Regional. Diggins went over the 1,000-point mark for her career, becoming just the second Notre Dame women's basketball player to reach that milestone before the end of her sophomore season.[7] In the semifinal game, the Notre Dame point guard led her team to victory over heavily favored UConn (the number-one team in the country) with 28 points (her highest single-game total on the season), 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.[8] Diggins also made all six of her free-throw attempts. Notre Dame was victorious in its third Final Four appearance ever, defeating the two-time defending champion Huskies by a score of 72–63.[9] However, the Fighting Irish lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in the final game of the 2011 women's basketball tournament, by a score of 76–70. In the losing effort, Diggins finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. She made 8 of 9 free-throws in the game, including two with 40.7 seconds remaining. But the sophomore struggled from beyond the arc, sinking only 1-of-5 three-point attempts. Diggins also committed 6 turnovers, the last one ending Notre Dame's chances for good as the game clock wound down. As the Associated Press reported, "Diggins, fighting back tears, said the Irish couldn't handle A&M's pressure. 'We turned it over too much. I don't know if it was nerves or what,' she said. 'We just didn't handle the pressure.'"

For her excellence on the court, Diggins was selected by the Associated Press as a 2011 Third Team All-American,[10] and she was also honored as one of ten members of the 2011 State Farm Coaches All-America Team. She joined Baylor's Brittney Griner as one of only two sophomores honored, and was just the third Irish women's basketball player to earn the award, joining Ruth Riley (2001) and Jacqueline Batteast (2005).

Junior Year

Diggins started all 39 games, averaging career-high 16.8 points, 5.7 assists and 2.6 steals per game and became the first Fighting Irish player and just the fourth NCAA Division I player in the past decade (since 2001–02) to register 600 points, 200 assists and 100 steals in a single season. She set a school record with 102 steals, while her 222 assists were third-most on the Notre Dame single-season list, and her 657 points ranked fourth on the school's single-season chart. She was the only player to be ranked in the top five in the Big East in three of five major statistical categories, leading in both assists (5.7 apg. – 16th in nation) and steals (2.6 spg. – 55th in nation), and fourth in scoring (16.8 ppg. – 70th in nation). She also posted a conference-best 2.16 assist-turnover ratio (10th in nation), and ranked among the top 10 in the Big East in free throw percentage (9th – .786) and field goal percentage (tied-10th – .500; 35th in nation).

Following the end of the regular season, Diggins was named a unanimous selection to the Big East All-First team, was awarded the Big East Player of the Year, and was a Consensus first team All-American. During the postseason, she made history in the NCAA Raleigh Regional final against No. 5 Maryland with 22 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds to tally the first triple-double in Notre Dame postseason history. Notre Dame met UConn for a second straight year in the Final Four, with the Irish again coming out victorious, winning 83–75 in overtime. The Irish would go on to lose in the finals to Baylor. Diggins was named the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year, the first Notre Dame player to win the award.

Senior Year

In her final year, Diggins had the best season of her college career. She started in all 37 games, averaging a career-high 17.1 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.5 rpg. and 3.1 spg., with three double-doubles and one triple-double. She set a school record with 114 steals, while a career-high 225 assists were third-most for one season in program history. Diggins scored in double figures 33 times, including 12 20-point games (both team highs), and posted a team-best 10 "5–5–5" games this season (at least 5 in three of five major statistical categories) She led the Big East and ranked 19th in the nation in assists, and was also third in the Big East and 18th nationally in steals. In the Big East, she was fourth in free throw percentage (.814) and scoring, fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.67) and sixth in three-point percentage (.362). At the end of the regular season, Diggins was a unanimous selection to the Big East first team, was awarded the Big East Player of the Year, and was a Consensus first team All-American for the second straight season.

In the Big East Tournament, Diggins was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the Irish to their Big East championship game victory, defeating the UConn Huskies, as she had 12 points, 6 assists, 5 steals and 3 rebounds, and came up with decisive steal with eight seconds left in a tie game, then weaved through three Connecticut defenders before passing off to Natalie Achonwa for a game-winning layup with 1.8 seconds remaining. In the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame earned a 2 seed as Diggins led them easily over Tennessee-Martin, Kansas, and won the Norfolk Regional final defeating No. 5 Duke as Diggins was named the Norfolk Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Her college career came to an end in the 2013 NCAA women's basketball final four to Big East rival and eventual champion the University of Connecticut, who Notre Dame had met up with and defeated in the two previous Final Fours. Diggins was named the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year for the second straight year.

She is one of only six NCAA Division I players since 1999–2000 to compile 2,000 points/500 rebounds/500 assists/300 steals in her career—others were Alana Beard (Duke), Shenise Johnson (Miami-Fla.), Leilani Mitchell (Idaho/Utah), Maya Moore (Connecticut) and Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga). She is the only Notre Dame basketball player (either gender) to amass 2,000 points/500 rebounds/500 assists/300 steals in her career. Diggins finished her career as the all-time Notre Dame leading scorer with 2,357 points. She also holds Notre Dame career records for points, steals, free throws made, free throws attempted, games started, minutes played, double-figure scoring games and triple-doubles. She is ranked second in school history for career assists, field goals made, field goals attempted and games played. Diggins is the only Notre Dame player to earn the Nancy Lieberman Award (nation's top point guard) and one of only three players in the award's history to claim the honor twice.

University of Notre Dame statistics

 Skylar Diggins Statistics at University of Notre Dame 
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN PTS AVG
2009–10 35 169 385 0.439 35 100 0.350 111 142 0.782 143 4.1 112 97 23 90 1028 484 13.8
2010–11 39 202 468 0.432 36 108 0.333 145 198 0.732 156 4.0 186 155 17 75 1226 585 15.0
2011–12 39 233 466 0.500 33 93 0.355 158 201 0.786 127 3.3 222 103 19 102 1201 657 16.8
2012–2013 37 218 515 0.423 46 127 0.362 149 183 0.814 131 3.5 225 135 27 114 1184 631 17.1
Totals 150 822 1834 0.448 150 428 0.350 563 724 0.779 557 3.7 745 490 86 381 4639 2357 15.7

Professional career

2013 season

In the 2013 WNBA Draft, Diggins was drafted 3rd overall by the Tulsa Shock.[11] Diggins averaged 8.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game, 26.4 minutes per game and led the Shock in assists per game (3.8). She scored a career-high 22 points vs. Phoenix Mercury on June 16, 2013. She was named to the All-Rookie Team.

2014 season breakout year

Diggins had a breakout year in the 2014 WNBA season and was named an All-Star. During the All-Star game, she had a team high 27 points including a lay-up that sent the game into overtime. She ranked second in league in scoring with 20.1 point per game, fourth in assists with 5.0 and tenth in steals with 1.5. Diggins passed former guard Deanna Nolan for the most points in a Shock season with 683 points.[12] Diggins won the 2014 WNBA Most Improved Player Award.[13]

2015 WNBA season

It was announced on July 1, 2015 that Diggins had a torn ACL and that she would miss the rest of the 2015 WNBA season. She suffered the injury with 44 seconds remaining on the game clock against the Seattle Storm at the BOK Center on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career high League leader
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013 Tulsa 32 21 26.4 .328 .244 .833 1.9 3.8 1.3 0.2 2.8 8.5
2014 Tulsa 34 34 35.7 .423 .282 .842 2.5 5.0 1.5 0.6 2.8 20.1
2015 Tulsa 9 9 32.2 .405 .448 .918 2.7 5.0 1.5 0.3 2.0 17.8
Career 3 years, 1 team 75 64 31.0 .394 .290 .850 2.3 4.5 1.4 0.4 2.8 14.9

USA Basketball

Diggins was a member of the USA Women's Under-18 National Team, starting all five games at the 2008 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was part of the United States team that went undefeated and won the gold medal. She averaged 45.9 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, 14.7 rebounds, 14.2 assists and 9.7 steals in 40.7 minutes per game. In the tournament, she ranked among the top 5 in scoring (1st), field goal percentage (7th), assists (1st), steals (1st) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1st).

Diggins played on Team USA at the 2011 World University Games held in Shenzhen, China. They won all six games to earn the gold medal. She led the team in points, assists and steals in the game against Great Britain. Diggins was the third leading scorer on the team, with 68 points per game, and led the team in assists and steals with 29 and 20, respectively.[14]

In September, 2015, Diggins got the news that she didn't make the World Championship team after meeting with U.S. women’s national team director Carol Callan and coach Geno Auriemma. She was one of the final three cuts.[15]

Offseason

Diggins has become an advocate against childhood obesity, a guest interviewer for ESPN, and a model for Nike. She has appeared in Vogue magazine and in a swimsuit shoot for Sports Illustrated. [16]

Diggins also hosts "Shoot 4 The Sky" camps around the world for boys and girls grades 2–12.[17]

Personal life

Diggins has a degree from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.[16]

Awards and honors

Filmography

TV

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Wild 'n Out Herself Team Captain

References

  1. 1 2 http://web.archive.org/web/20090726090217/http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com:80/winners/2008-09/girls-basketball/bio. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 "Skylar Diggins Bio". und.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Garrett Gilbert and Skylar Diggins Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year". Reuters. 2009-07-15.
  4. ↑ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 29 Jun 2014.
  5. ↑ "Skylar Diggins – WNBA Draft". WNBA. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Diggins named All-American by WBCA; 3rd Irish player ever". WNDU.com.
  7. ↑ Byrne, Pete. "Skylar Diggins an All-American". wsbt.com. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  8. ↑ Ceaveland, Roger. "UConn upset by Notre Dame in Final Four". Republican-American (Waterbury, CT). Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Notre Dame stuns two-time defending champion UConn in national semifinal". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  10. ↑ Rallo, Curt. "Notre Dame women's basketball: Diggins on All-American third team". SouthBendTribune.com. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Griner, Delle Donne, Diggins go 1–2–3". espn.go.com. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/skylar_diggins/bio.html
  13. ↑ "Tulsa's Skylar Diggins Named 2014 Most Improved Player Presented by Samsung". Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  14. ↑ "Twenty-Sixth World University Games – 2011". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Zaccardi, Nick (19 February 2015). "Skylar Diggins reflects on getting cut from World Championships team". Olympictalk.nbcsports.com.
  16. 1 2 "Skylar Diggins Boyfriend, Basketball Camp, Feet, Ethnicity – Facts You Need to Know". Latino Post.
  17. ↑ "Shock guard Skylar Diggins sets basketball camp for April 26". Tulsaworld.com.
  18. ↑ "Skylar Diggins to receive Dawn Staley award". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  19. ↑ http://www.rantsports.com/clubhouse/2013/08/29/15-most-beautiful-women-in-sports/
  20. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20090722033830/http://www.wsbt.com:80/sports/41833927.html. Archived from the original on July 22, 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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