Diana Taurasi

Diana Lurena Taurasi (born June 11, 1982 in Chino, California) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.

Taurasi grew up in Chino, California and attended Don Antonio Lugo High School where she was the recipient of the 2000 Cheryl Miller Award, presented by the Los Angeles Times to the best player in Southern California. She was also named the 2000 Naismith and Parade Magazine National High School Player of the Year. Taurasi finished her prep career ranked second to Miller in state history with 3,047 points. Taurasi was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2000 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored twelve points, and earned MVP honors.

Taurasi was born to her parents Mario and Liliana. Diana was the second and last child. Taurasi only has one older sister, Jessika Taurasi. Her father was born in Italy and raised in Argentina, which is also the native land of her mother Liliana. Her parents moved to the U.S. before she was born. Diana's father Mario was a professional soccer player in Italy. He had logged several years as a goalie.

She appears for a short moment in the 2006 film "Believe In Me."

College Career

Following a highly decorated high school career, Taurasi enrolled at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and began playing for the women's basketball team during the 2000-2001 season. Taking the court primarily at point guard and shooting guard, she led the team to three consecutive NCAA championships with the last one coming in the 2003-2004 season. Leading up to that final championship, her coach, Geno Auriemma, would declare his likelihood of winning with the claim, "We have Diana, and you don't."

Taurasi also received many personal accolades at UConn including the 2003 and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year awards, the 2003 Wade Trophy, and the 2003 Associated Press Player of the Year award. In addition to the national recognition she received during her time at UConn, Taurasi was held in legendary status by many Connecticut fans. For example, state senator Thomas Gaffey nominated her to join Prudence Crandall as the state's heroine. She averaged 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in her collegiate career. During her time at UConn, her team compiled a record of 139 wins and 8 losses. Diana was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.


Professional Career

Following her collegiate career, Taurasi was selected first overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury, a team that went 8-26 in the 2003 season. In her WNBA debut, Taurasi netted 26 points and led the Mercury to an 84-76 victory over the Seattle Storm. For the season, the rookie averaged 17.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Although the Mercury did not qualify for the playoffs, the season was a personal success as Taurasi was named to the Western Conference All Star team and won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award.

In 2005, Taurasi averaged 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while battling an ankle injury. She was an All Star for the second straight year, but the Mercury faded down the stretch and again missed the playoffs. Former NBA coach Paul Westhead became the Mercury's head coach prior to the 2006 season and brought his up-tempo style to Phoenix. Their roster was further bolstered by the addition of rookie Cappie Pondexter, the #2 overall selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

Taurasi flourished under Westhead's system, leading the league in scoring and earning a third straight trip to the All Star Game. She broke Katie Smith's league records for points in a season (741 during the 2006 season) and is tied with Lauren Jackson for most points in a game (47 vs. Houston on August 10).

In 2006, Taurasi averaged a record 25.3 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. The Mercury finished 18-16, but lost a tie-breaker with Houston and Seattle and missed the playoffs. In 2007, Taurasi finally reached the WNBA playoffs. In the first round, the Mercury eliminated the Seattle Storm two games to none. Next, they took down the San Antonio Silver Stars in a hard fought two game series. Taurasi got to her first WNBA Finals, but had to face the defending champion Detroit Shock. After a hard-fought series, Diana and Pondexter led the Mercury to their first WNBA title. With this victory Taurasi became just the seventh player ever to win an NCAA title, a WNBA title as well as an Olympic gold medal. The others to achieve this trifecta are Ruth Riley, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, and fellow Huskies Swin Cash, Kara Wolters, and Sue Bird.

Awards and Honors

• 2003 - Nancy Lieberman Award
• 2003 - Wade Trophy
• 2003 - Naismith College Player of the Year
• 2003 - NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 2004 - Nancy Lieberman Award
• 2004 - Naismith College Player of the Year
• 2004 - NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 2004 - WNBA Rookie of the Year Award
• 2005 - WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2006 - WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2006 - WNBA Peak Performer
• 2007 - WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2008 - WNBA Peak Performer
• 2009 - WNBA Peak Performer
• 2009 - WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2009 - WNBA Most Valuable Player Award
• 2009 - WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

Summer of '09 DUI Arrest

On Thursday, July 2, 2009 Phoenix police spokesman Luis Samudio says an officer stopped Taurasi at about 2:30am for allegedly speeding. A police statement says the officer smelled alcohol and gave her several field sobriety tests. Taurasi was then driven to a mobile DUI van where she gave a blood sample, then was cited and released. Authorities later said her blood alcohol level was 0.17. The Phoenix Mercury responded to this news by suspending her for two games later that month. She however was named a reserve for her 4th All-star appearance that summer. After extreme DUI and speeding charges were dropped, Taurasi pled guilty to DUI. She served one day in jail after a judge suspended nine of the ten day sentence.