Cooper-Dyke, Cynthia (1963-…), was one of the first stars of women’s professional basketball in the United States. She played for the Houston Comets of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) from the league’s first season in 1997 through 2000. She starred on the Comet teams that won the league championships in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Cynthia Lynne Cooper was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 14, 1963, but grew up in Los Angeles, California. She did not begin playing organized basketball until she was 15 years old. She immediately became a star and led her school to the state championship, averaging 31 points per game. Cooper attended the University of Southern California (USC), playing on teams that won the national women’s championship in 1983 and 1984. After college, she played professionally in Spain and Italy for 10 years. She was a member of the U.S. national team that won the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in 1988.
Cooper joined the WNBA at the age of 34 and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player during its first two seasons. She led the league in scoring three consecutive seasons before retiring as a player following the 2000 season. She came out of retirement as a player in 2003, briefly rejoining the Houston Comets, then retired permanently as a player with a career average of 21 points per game. Cooper married sports agent Brian Dyke in 2001.
Cooper-Dyke began a coaching career in 2001, coaching the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. She coached the women’s team at Prairie View A&M University from 2005 to 2010, followed by head coaching jobs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (2010-2012) and Texas Southern University (2012-2013). She was head coach at USC from 2013 to 2017. Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
