The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Yolanda Griffith about being named 2005 WNBA Finals MVP and winning a pair of gold medals in 2000/2004. Today marks the 11th anniversary of the final game of her WNBA career.
(photo credit: hoopfeed.com)
You originally got a scholarship to play at Iowa but turned it down after giving birth to your daughter Candace, then after 2 years at Palm Beach CC you ended up at Florida Atlantic where you were named D-2 national POY despite having to support your daughter by working for a car repossession company: how were you able to get through school while juggling so many different responsibilities? I actually attended Iowa before leaving after 1 semester. I graduated from Palm Beach but was settled in the area so I decided to stay in Florida and go to FAU. Having a balance of family/close friends allowed me to keep playing basketball.
After being selected 1st overall by Long Beach in the 1997 ABL draft you were named DPOY in 1998: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just had the mentality to play hard and put defense 1st because it wins games/championships. I knew who I was as a player even though my journey was not a straight line: it molded me into the strong person I am both mentally/physically and tried to take advantage of every opportunity that was given to me. I did not want to let my family/friends down so I gave it everything I had.
After being selected 2nd overall by Sacramento in the 1999 WNBA draft you averaged 18.8 PPG/11.3 RPG and were named MVP/DPOY: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? They only selected a few players from the ABL so I was fortunate to be taken. It would have been nice to go #1 overall to Washington but I was overwhelmed to go to Sacramento because Maura McHugh had coached me in Long Beach. It was awesome to be reunited with her: I also played with Michelle Marciniak in the ABL. They pushed me/motivated me. I would have been ROY as well but I had already played at the pro level so they gave me Newcomer of the Year instead.
You played for team USA at the Olympics in 2000/2004: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a pair of gold medals? Who would turn down a chance to represent their country?! I participated in some USA trials when I was younger but was just trying to have fun. I was honored to represent the USA: it was a challenge for us to put our egos aside and just come in and do our part. You have to find what you can bring to the table so I just defended/rebounded because we already had strong veteran leaders. The post players around Lisa Leslie would come in and contribute in any way that they could. We were competitive with each other from day 1 and even a bronze/silver medal was unacceptable. The goal was to win the gold, which was embedded in our minds non-stop. It was awesome to blast Australia by 22 PTS in 2000 to get the monkey off our back.
As a player for Sacramento you lost both of your regular season games against Connecticut in 2005 but beat them 3-1 in the WNBA Finals en route to being named Finals MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what did it mean to you to win a title? Houston was smoking everybody at 1st but the team that we needed to get by was the LA Sparks. I think there was a concert at the Staples Center during the 1st round so they had to move our games to Anaheim, which took away their home-court advantage. Even though we had the best regular season record some people predicted that we would lose but our motto was “2005: All the way live”. Everyone on our bench could have started for any team in the league: when we stepped onto the court we refused to lose and always had someone stepping in to fill the void. To win the 1st title in the state’s capital was surreal. I knew who I was and what we were capable of: it was a special team.
You are considered 1 of the greatest rebounders/defenders in the history of women’s basketball: what is the secret to being a great rebounder, and what is the secret to being a great defender? Overall you just need to be 100% dedicated to wanting to do it and be the best. It was not a job for me: it was something that I enjoyed doing for our team to be successful. They used to tell me to stop diving on the floor but you just never know if that 1 possession will help you win the game. I took pride in it. I was just talking to 1 of our post players at BC who was voted most improved player: this year she wanted to be better than anyone else and averaged 10 RPG. You need to make everything tough for your opponents. I wanted the ball so I pursued it. Defense is easy: it fired me up and motivated me. Scoring is a plus but my focus was always on defense/rebounding.
In 2011 you were voted 1 of the top 15 players in WNBA history and in 2014 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where do these rank among the highlights of your career? There are so many great players out there and it must have been very difficult to select the top-15 so to be mentioned with that group was truly an honor. I never thought about all of the accolades because I had a blue-collar attitude from being born/raised in Chicago. My siblings were athletes and we did everything together: if I did not do my homework then I could not go outside to play. It can be taken away by an injury or your parents so I tried to work hard every day. When I started playing in 8th grade on an all-boys team it was neat: I got teased until I started schooling the boys on the court! I am blessed that I was able to play a game that came so easily to me on the court and to have parents who would discipline me off the court. I never let people buy gifts for me now that I can afford to buy things for myself. Without my teammate TP (Ticha Penicheiro) I would not have had the PTS/championship.
You have been coaching for the past decade and are currently an assistant coach at BC: how do you like coaching, and what do you hope to do in the future? My future plan is to be a head coach. Being at BC has been a great experience: we play in the best conference in the country and it has given me the opportunity to give back and mold the players on our team. I keep it simple and work on the fundamentals, which give you the chance to get to the next level and have the longevity to stay there. There are 3 different levels: AAU (streetball), high school/college (organized basketball), and the pros. You need toughness and have to work hard to adjust to the different styles of basketball. I try to educate our young ladies about the discipline of the game: if you put in 20 minutes in the gym then your self-motivation will allow you to get better.
You went 20-12 last year and made the ACC tourney semifinals before a 7-PT loss to NC State: how is the team looking for next year, and what impact has the coronavirus had on your job either on or off the court? When you instill the right way to do things then it is easy to be a coach. I really wanted to give back even as a player: when I finally retired after tearing my Achilles it was heartbreaking to do all of that rehab. I love coaching: it is the next phase of my life. The coronavirus did not affect us a lot with our recruiting class but it is hard to work from home and not see the girls. My family in Chicago has several people who got hit by it but they are finally healthy even though they are not ready to travel, which is scary. I thank God every day that I get to see another day: basketball comes and goes but I am thankful that we have not had to deal with it as much as other schools have that got hit harder. We call/text our players all the time since we cannot interact with them at school on a daily basis. It will be around for quite some time until we take it seriously by wearing a mask/socially distancing.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? As a fun-loving caring person who put others before herself and gave it 100% every time that she stepped onto the court. I worked at my craft every day to be the best, helped Sacramento win a title, and helped team USA win back-to-back gold medals.