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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1977-05-10)May 10, 1977 (age 47) Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Chippewa Valley (Clinton Charter Township, Michigan) | ||||||||||||||
| College | |||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 1999: 2nd round, 18th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by theNew York Liberty | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1999–2004 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1999 | New York Liberty | ||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Portland Fire | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Minnesota Lynx | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Michele Van Gorp (born May 10, 1977) is an American former professionalbasketball player in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA), most recently with theMinnesota Lynx.
After attending Chippewa Valley High School inClinton Township, Michigan, Van Gorp played collegiate basketball atPurdue University during her freshman and sophomore years, but transferred toDuke University alongsideNicole Erickson for her junior and senior years. She was the tallest woman to suit up in a Duke uniform. She led Duke to the school's first NCAA final, which took place in San Jose, and in which the Blue Devils were beaten 62-45 by Purdue.[1] She was inducted to the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Source[2]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | Purdue | 25 | 55 | 46.9% | 0.0% | 60.0% | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| 1995-96 | Purdue | 31 | 226 | 60.6% | 0.0% | 68.1% | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 7.3 |
| Career | Purdue | 56 | 281 | 57.4% | 0.0% | 66.1% | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 5.0 |
| 1997-98 | Duke | 32 | 333 | 56.2% | 31.6% | 68.4% | 4.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 10.4 |
| 1998-99 | Duke | 36 | 610 | 62.0% | 25.0% | 60.1% | 5.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 16.9 |
| Career | Duke | 68 | 943 | 59.9% | 29.6% | 63.3% | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 13.9 |
Van Gorp competed withUSA Basketball as a member of the 1997Jones Cup Team that won the silver medal inTaipei. Several of the games were close, with the USA team winning four games by six points or fewer, including an overtime game in the semifinal match against Japan. The gold medal game against South Korea was also close, but the USA fell 76–71 to claim the silver medal for the event. Van Gorp was the leading scorer in the game against Thailand, with 19 points and averaged 6.3 points per game over the course of the tournament.[3]
The first Duke student athlete to be selected in the WNBA's draft in 1999, she was selected in the second round, being the 18th overall pick. Van Gorp was traded to Portland after her rookie season, where she improved her personal averages and gained confidence in her game. After only one year with the Portland Fire she was traded to the Minnesota Lynx alongside Lynn Pride. With the Lynx, Van Gorp gained recognition as one of the league's toughest defenders and an effective weapon to help "shut down" Margo Dydek.
She missed most of the 2004 season due to astress fracture in her left foot that occurred during a practice session. Surgeons had to insert a screw into thenavicular bone of her foot. Van Gorp's contract with the Lynx had expired after the 2004 WNBA season ended, but she was still too injured to play for the 2005 season.[1]
Van Gorp was one of the first WNBA athletes to disclose to the media that she was in a same-sex relationship during her playing career.[4]
| 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 best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | New York | 21 | 0 | 5.6 | .333 | .000 | .800 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| 2000 | Portland | 28 | 1 | 7.1 | .500 | .000 | .543 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.5 |
| 2001 | Minnesota | 22 | 8 | 11.0 | .375 | .000 | .550 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| 2002 | Minnesota | 22 | 13 | 16.0 | .456 | .286 | .727 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| 2003 | Minnesota | 31 | 1 | 17.0 | .432 | .000 | .673 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 5.6 |
| 2004 | Minnesota | 8 | 0 | 8.3 | .474 | .000 | .500 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| Career | 6 years, 2 teams | 132 | 23 | 11.4 | .436 | .200 | .627 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 10.3 | .286 | .000 | .625 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 3 | 0 | 10.3 | .286 | .000 | .625 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
Van Gorp also played in Europe for the following teams:
According to a December 1, 2005, news article from theMinneapolis Star-Tribune, Van Gorp filed amedical malpracticelawsuit inHennepin County District Court against a member of the Lynx's medical staff and three other parties. The suit named Dr. Joel Boyd, the team's orthopedic surgeon; Dr. Fernando Pena; Fairview-University Medical Center; and Orthopaedic Center as defendants. Van Gorp was reported to be seeking at least $50,000 for negligence and loss of employment.
In June 2007,Colgate University in upstate New York announced that Van Gorp had been appointed as an assistant coach of its women's basketball team.[2].
Van Gorp currently works in recruiting with the Duke Women's Basketball program in Durham, NC, and is also taking business school coursework.[5]
