University Southern California Trojans
Cynthia Cooper's Jersey To Be Retired Sunday
March 01, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2011
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Long before Michael Cooper took the reins of the USC women's basketball program as head coach, there was another Cooper who ruled the floor for the Women of Troy. Cynthia Cooper -- no relation to coach Cooper -- was a big part of USC glory days that included back-to-back NCAA championships. Now known as Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, she will return to Troy this weekend to see her No. 44 jersey retired and hung in the Galen Center on Sunday (March 6) at halftime of the 12:30 p.m. USC-Washington game.
Cooper-Dyke is the third USC women's basketball player ever to have her jersey retired, joining Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie with that prestigious honor. Currently the head coach at UNC Wilmington, Cooper-Dyke remains a powerful part of Trojan history as a two-time national champion, a 1982 WBCA Freshman All-American, 1986 All-Pac-10 First Team selection, and sits in the USC career charts as the No. 9 all-time scorer, No. 3 all-time in steals and No. 7 all-time in games player and in assists.
In April 2010, Cooper-Dyke secured herself among basketball's elite, earning induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. One of 13 women ever to be inducted as players, Cooper joined a class of eight fellow 2010 hall-of-famers.
