Crystal Dangerfield

Crystal Simone Dangerfield (born May 11, 1998) is an American women's basketball player with the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After an outstanding high school career that made her the nation's top-ranked point guard,[1] she played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, representing the University of Connecticut in the American Athletic Conference.[2] In her first WNBA season, Dangerfield led the Lynx in scoring and was named WNBA Rookie of the Year.[3]

Crystal Dangerfield
No. 2 – Minnesota Lynx
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-05-11) May 11, 1998
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Listed weight122 lb (55 kg)
Career information
High schoolBlackman
(Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
CollegeUConn (2016–2020)
WNBA draft2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentMinnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards

High school

Dangerfield attended Blackman High School, where she belonged to the collegiate academy, and was an honor roll student for four years.[4] Math was her favorite subject.[4] She was Blackman's starting point guard for four years,[5] when the school won state titles in 2015 and 2016.[6]

She played USA Basketball, winning a gold medal in 2013 and 2015.[5] Dangerfield was named Miss Basketball Tennessee in her junior and senior years.[7] She was three times the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year.[5] She was a finalist for the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade national awards.[5] She was The Tennessean girls basketball player of the year in three consecutive years.[5] In 2016, she was a McDonald's and Jordan Brand Classic[6] All-American, and Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year.[5]

Among the women's class of 2016, ESPNW ranked Dangerfield as the best point guard[8] and third overall of 100 women players (behind Lauren Cox and ahead of Sabrina Ionescu).[9]

College

Dangerfield was recruited by the UConn Huskies, and she studied business and majored in communication.[10][11] When Dangerfield arrived, the Huskies had won a record 11 total and 4 straight NCAA championships, but during the period she played for them they were to lose three and have one canceled due to COVID-19.[12]

Dangerfield had offseason hip surgeries in 2016 and 2019.[7] In 2018, she said her quads had gotten too big and she was bothered by shin splints during 2017, her sophomore year.[13] After surgery in 2019, she experienced back spasms and at one point her team had only eight healthy players.[14] The Associated Press said in her senior year at UConn that she was "expected to be the team's leader."[15]

In March 2020, Dangerfield rose to 5th place all-time among Huskies women's basketball players in career assists.[16] She is second in the UConn records books behind Sue Bird with 225 single-season assists.[10]

Following the 2019-20 season, Dangerfield was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press. She was selected for the American Athletic Conference 2017 All-Freshman Team, 2018 All-Tournament Team, 2018 Third Team, 2019 All-Tournament Team, 2019 First Team, 2020 All-Tournament Team, and 2020 First Team; and the 2019 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team.[6]

WNBA

Dangerfield was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. Lynx coaches had explained to her a rookie role as a sub to provide relief for a few minutes per game.[7] By midseason, due to multiple WNBA injuries[17] and Odyssey Sims return from maternity leave,[18] Dangerfield was the starting point guard, averaging 14.3 points per game,[19] shooting 47.1% from the field, and was considered a candidate for WNBA Rookie of the Year,[20][21][22] the lowest draft pick ever officially considered for the honor.[23]

For August, she gained WNBA's formal recognition with a Rookie of the Month award for her record of 18.1 points per game, 3.5 assists per game and 2.0 rebounds per game.[24] She repeated as Rookie of the Month in September with 17.4 points per game, 5.0 assists per game and 2.0 rebounds per game.[25]

In her rookie season, Dangerfield was named to the 2020 AP All-Rookie team. She won the Associated Press Rookie of the Year,[26] ESPN Rookie of the Year,[23] and WNBA Rookie of the Year.[3] She was the Lynx leading scorer for the year with 16.2 points per game.[3]

College statistics
Legend
  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 high ° League leader

College
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 UConn 31 188 40.33 31.71 59.26 2.23 3.677 0.935 0.032 6.06
2017–18 UConn 35 333 45.39 44.93 80.65 2.06 4.057 1.686 0 9.51
2018–19 UConn 38 511 43.09 35.19 92.42 3.29 5.921 1.579 0.053 13.45
2019–20 UConn 30 448 46.26 41.04 86.00 3.70 3.933 1.833 0.133 14.93
Career 134 1480 44.11 38.50 83.33 2.81 4.470 1.515 0.052 11.04

WNBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020 Minnesota 211930.0.471.333.9222.03.60.90.02.616.2
Career 1 year, 1 team 211930.0.471.333.9222.03.60.90.02.616.2

Personal life

Dangerfield is the youngest daughter of Christopher and Davonna Dangerfield of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She has an older brother, Komar, and one sister, Brooke.[5] Both parents served in the U.S. Army.[4] She has played basketball since she was 5.[4] Her favorite players are Kobe Bryant, who she called the G.O.A.T., and Maya Moore.[4]

Dangerfield has participated in numerous charities such as Let's Move!, Foundation for Life “Bikes for Kids,” Athletes for Hope, and food banks. In college, she helped Bags of Love provide toiletries to homeless people in Hartford, Connecticut.[10]

References
  1. Kreager, Tom (March 22, 2016). "Crystal Dangerfield studies UConn in NCAA Tournament". Daily News Journal (Gannett). Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  2. "Crystal Dangerfield - Women's Basketball". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  3. "Crystal Dangerfield Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  4. "Crystal Dangerfield". USA Basketball. August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  5. Joyce, Cecil and Sam Brown (April 17, 2016). "Dangerfield is Girls Basketball Player of the Year". The Tennessean (Gannett). Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  6. "2019-20 Women's Basketball Roster: Crystal Dangerfield". Sidearm Sports (CBS Sports Digital). Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  7. Jennings, Chantel (August 19, 2020). "Crystal Dangerfield's been building toward her WNBA moment since the fifth grade". The Athletic (The Athletic Media Co.). Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  8. "Crystal Dangerfield". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  9. Olson, Dan. "2016 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  10. "Crystal Dangerfield". Senior Class Award: Premier Sports Management. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  11. Dangerfield, Crystal (May 10, 2016). "I'm Crystal". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  12. "National Championship Teams". Sidearm Sports (CBS Sports Digital). and "NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  13. Bethune, Ian (July 3, 2018). "WATCH: UConn Rising Junior Crystal Dangerfield Interview". SB Nation (Vox Media). Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  14. Bonjour, Doug (November 26, 2019). "UConn point guard Crystal Dangerfield out with back spasms". New Haven Register. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  15. "UConn's Dangerfield, Westbrook have surgery". ESPN. Associated Press. June 6, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  16. Philippou, Alexa. "Crystal Dangerfield rises to No. 10 on UConn's all-time assist list, but Geno Auriemma wants her to maintain a score-first mentality". courant.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  17. Voepel, Mechelle (August 17, 2020). "WNBA Power Rankings: Who's the MVP favorite?". ESPN. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  18. Mizutani, Diane (April 21, 2020). "With Odyssey Sims out, Crystal Dangerfield is the point guard Lynx need". Pioneer Press (MediaNews Group). Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  19. "Player Averages". WNBA (NBA Media Ventures). Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  20. Ligons, Jordan (August 20, 2020). "The 12 Players to Watch for in the Second Half of the WNBA Season". The Ringer. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  21. Pickman, Ben (August 21, 2020). "Wubble, Baby, Wubble: WNBA Midseason Check-in". Sports Illustrated (Maven). Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  22. Hansen, Mitchell (August 21, 2020). "Crystal Dangerfield is Making a Strong Case for 2020 Rookie of the Year". Zone Coverage. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  23. Voeple, Mechelle (September 14, 2020). "Picking WNBA MVP, Rookie of the Year and other big awards". ESPN. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  24. "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month Honors". WNBA (NBA Media Ventures). September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  25. "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month". WNBA (NBA Media Ventures). September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  26. "Crystal Dangerfield is Rookie of Year, Cheryl Reeve top coach in media WNBA awards". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  • Career statistics from NCAA.org and Basketball-Reference.com
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