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Charlotte Smith-Taylor, the most decorated player in the history of the University of North Carolina women's basketball program, is in her fifth season as an assistant coach at UNC. In addition to her duties at her alma mater, she remains active as a professional player, currently with the WNBA's Indiana Fever. Smith-Taylor, who starred for the Tar Heels from 1992-95, is the only UNC women's basketball player to have had her jersey retired. The 6-foot forward who wore No. 23 was named National Player of the Year by ESPN in 1995 following a career in which she scored 2,094 points (third all-time at UNC) and grabbed 1,200 rebounds (second all-time at UNC). She is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1994 NCAA Championship game, when her buzzer-beating three-pointer gave UNC the national crown with a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech. She also had a championship-record 23 rebounds in the game and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. The Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 1992, Smith-Taylor earned All-ACC and ACC Tournament MVP honors in her junior and senior seasons as the Tar Heels claimed back-to-back conference crowns. As a senior, she was named All-America by Kodak, the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. In 2002, she was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team as one of the top players in conference history. She also was honored as the 10th-best female athlete in the history of the league. Early in her senior season, she became just the second collegiate women's player to dunk in a game when she did so against North Carolina A & T on Dec. 4, 1994. Following her collegiate career, Smith-Taylor played professional basketball in Italy, where she was MVP of the Italian All-Star Game for the 1995-96 season. She also spent the 1999-2000 season there. The Colorado Xplosion picked Smith-Taylor in third round (17th overall) of the initial American Basketball League draft in 1996. She spent two-and-a-half seasons in league, playing for Colorado and the San Jose Lasers and earning All-Star honors. Smith-Taylor was the 33rd pick in the 1999 WNBA draft by Charlotte and played six seasons for the Sting before moving to Washington in 2005 then to Indiana in 2006. Smith-Taylor has made numerous international appearances for U.S. teams She was MVP of the 1996 USA Basketball Jones Cup squad, which won a gold medal. She also has played for the 1997 USA Basketball Women's International Invitational team, the 1995 World University Games team (coached by Hatchell), the 1994 US Select Team, the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival South team and the 1992 Junior World Championship Qualifying team A native of Shelby, N.C., she graduated from Shelby High School, where she earned all-state honors and was her team's MVP all four years. Smith-Taylor completed her UNC bachelor's degree in sociology in 1999. In addition to playing professional basketball, she has interned in the Charlotte Sting offices and has worked for US Sports Management, Inc. |
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