Dena Head
Encyclopedia
Dena Head is a former Women's National Basketball Association
player. She is best remembered as the first player ever drafted in the WNBA.
n.
with a degree in sports management. She played four years of basketball, while winning NCAA
women's college basketball championship in 1989 and 1991. Head was named to the 1992 Kodak All-America Team. She was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as a senior, and was the 1989 SEC Freshman of the Year. As a senior, she was named to the Naismith All America Team, and in 1990 she was named to the NCAA All Regional Tournament Team East.
She later attended Baker College
.
in 1997, she was selected 1st overall. She joined the WNBA for two seasons with the Utah Starzz
and one with the Phoenix Mercury
.
and in Europe
for France
, Spain
, Italy
, and Hungary
.
.
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
player. She is best remembered as the first player ever drafted in the WNBA.
High school years
In high school, Head was named Miss Basketball of Michigan. She won two National Championships and was an All-AmericaAll-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n.
College years
Head attended the University of TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
with a degree in sports management. She played four years of basketball, while winning NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
women's college basketball championship in 1989 and 1991. Head was named to the 1992 Kodak All-America Team. She was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as a senior, and was the 1989 SEC Freshman of the Year. As a senior, she was named to the Naismith All America Team, and in 1990 she was named to the NCAA All Regional Tournament Team East.
She later attended Baker College
Baker College
Baker College is a private not-for-profit American college in Michigan, founded in 1911. Its campuses are located throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan....
.
WNBA career
Head was the first player ever drafted in the WNBA. As part of the WNBA Elite draftWNBA Elite Draft
In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was created. In order to give new teams reasonable talent, the league decided to have two drafts. There was the normal collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold. There was also the WNBA Elite Draft...
in 1997, she was selected 1st overall. She joined the WNBA for two seasons with the Utah Starzz
Utah Starzz
The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...
and one with the Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...
.
International career
Before the WNBA, Head played seven seasons of professional basketball in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Post WNBA career
Head currently serves as women's basketball team assistant coach for the Central Connecticut State UniversityCentral Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922...
.