Wikipedia

Rebecca Lobo

Not to be confused with Rebecca Loebe.

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. She played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the team that won the 1995 national championship, going 35–0 on the season in the process. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was one of the members of the 2017 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tracy McGrady and Muffet McGraw.[1]

Rebecca Lobo
Lobo in 2012
Personal information
Born (1973-10-06) October 6, 1973 (age 51)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSouthwick-Tolland
(Southwick, Massachusetts)
CollegeUConn (1991–1995)
WNBA draft1997: Allocated
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career1997–2003
PositionCenter
Number50
Career history
1997–2001New York Liberty
2002Houston Comets
2002–2003Springfield Spirit
2003Connecticut Sun
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
U18 and U19
Silver medal – second place 1992 U18 Guanajuato Team Competition

Early life

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Lobo was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the youngest daughter of RuthAnn (née Hardy) and Dennis Joseph Lobo.[2] Her father is of Cuban descent, while her mother was of German and Irish heritage.[3] Lobo was raised a Catholic.[4][5] Her brother Jason played basketball at Dartmouth College and her sister Rachel played basketball at Salem State College. Lobo's mother and father were both teachers; her father also coached basketball and track and field.[6] Raised in Southwick, Massachusetts, Lobo was the state scoring record-holder with 2,740 points in her high school career for Southwick-Tolland Regional High School in Massachusetts.[6] She held this record for 18 years until it was surpassed by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir of the new Leadership Charter School in Springfield on January 26, 2009.[7]

College career

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More than 100 colleges recruited Lobo, but she chose the University of Connecticut due to its proximity and her belief in its academic excellence.[6] She helped lead the Huskies to the 1995 National Championship with an undefeated 35–0 record. In her senior year, Lobo was the unanimous national player of the year, winning the 1995 Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy, the AP Player of the Year award, the USBWA Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the WBCA Player of the Year award. She was awarded the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup for 1994–95, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year".[8] She was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.[9] The Women's Sports Foundation named Lobo the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category).[10] She was the first player in the Big East Conference to earn first-team all-American honors for both basketball and academics.[11]

USA Basketball

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Lobo was named to the USA U18 team (then called the Junior World Championship Qualifying Team) in 1992. The team competed in Guanajuato, Mexico in August 1992. The team won their first four games, then lost 80–70 to Brazil, finishing with the silver medal for the event, but qualifying for the 1993 world games. Lobo averaged 6.8 points per game during the event.[12]

Lobo continued with the team to the 1993 U19 World Championship (then called the Junior World Championship). The team won five games and lost two, but that left them in seventh place. Lobo averaged 7.7 points per game and recorded six blocks, highest on the team.[13]

In 1995, Lobo passed through tryouts to join the national team, which later became the US team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. Though her minutes on the floor were few, Lobo shared in the gold medal.

Professional career

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In 1997, the WNBA was formed and enjoyed its inaugural season, and Lobo was assigned to the New York Liberty during the league's first player allocations on January 22, 1997. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67 - 57 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks where she recorded 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.[14] In her first season, the Liberty fell to the Houston Comets in the WNBA Finals.[15]

Lobo remained a centerpiece of the Liberty in the 1998 season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as the Liberty finished 18 - 12. Although they had a great record, the Liberty would not make the playoffs in 1998 due to being 5th in the league standings and only the top 4 teams made the playoffs. The Charlotte Sting also had a 18 - 12 record, but made it in the playoffs over the Liberty due to having a better Conference record (11 - 5 to New York's 8 - 8).[citation needed]

Lobo suffered a setback in 1999, tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus in the first game of the season.[16] In 1999, she was selected to the inaugural WNBA All Star team but could not play because of the injury.[17] In December, she reinjured her knee and ended missing all of the 2000 season.[18]

Lobo returned during the 2001 season but played sparingly, only 85 minutes in total.

In January 2002, during the WNBA offseason, Lobo joined the Springfield Spirit in the National Women's Basketball League.[19]

On April 3, 2002, the Liberty traded her to the Houston Comets in exchange for Houston's second-round selection (26th overall) in the 2002 WNBA draft[20] (the Liberty would use the pick to draft Linda Fröhlich).[citation needed]

During the WNBA offseason, Lobo returned again to the Spirit. In her first game of the season in February 2003, she had 25 points and 14 rebounds.[21]

On February 14, 2003, Lobo was traded to the Connecticut Sun for a 2003 second-round pick (which the Comets used to select Lori Nero).[22] Lobo played in 29 games for the Sun, averaging 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds. Her final WNBA game ever was played in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Shock on September 7, 2003. Lobo recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks but the Sun lost the game 73 - 79 and would be eliminated from the playoffs.[23] Lobo would announce her retirement on September 23, 2003.[24]

Lobo also played two seasons in the National Women's Basketball League with the Springfield Spirit from 2002 through 2003.[25]

Awards and honors

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The retired #50 worn by Rebecca Lobo at UConn in 2022

1994

  • Kodak First team All-America[6]

1995

  • Honda-Broderick Cup[26]
  • ESPY Award–Outstanding Female Athlete[6]
  • AP Female Athlete of the Year[6]
  • NCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year[6]
  • Women's Sports Foundation–Sportswoman of the Year[27]
  • Wade Trophy[6][28]
  • Kodak First team All-America[6]
  • Honda Sports Award, basketball[29][30]

1997

  • All WNBA Second team[6]
  • WNBA Eastern All-Star team[6]

2010

2017

  • Basketball Hall of Fame

2019

  • UConn jersey No. 50 retired[32]

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

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Lobo was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010.[33][34]

At the induction ceremony, she was introduced by her college coach, Geno Auriemma, who praised her for her "impact on the court and off the court" as "one of the founders [of the WNBA]", and "as a representative of our university, [and] as a member of the board of trustees".[35]

Career statistics

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College

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Rebecca Lobo Statistics[36] at University of Connecticut
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN PTS AVG
1991–92 29 167 338 0.494 0 1 0.000 82 117 0.701 228 7.9 26 78 46 30 675 416 14.3
1992–93 29 189 421 0.449 29 85 0.341 77 119 0.647 326 11.2 37 75 97 26 926 484 16.7
1993–94 33 243 445 0.546 11 34 0.324 138 187 0.738 371 11.2 68 107 131 34 966 635 19.2
1994–95 35 238 476 0.5 18 51 0.353 104 154 0.675 343 9.8 129 91 122 40 1005 598 17.1
Totals 126 837 1680 0.498 58 171 0.339 401 577 0.695 1268 10.1 260 351 396 130 3572 2133 16.9

WNBA

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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 best ° League leader

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997 New York 28 28 33.5 .376 .286 .610 7.3 1.9 0.9 1.8 3.1 12.4
1998 New York 30 30 29.2 .484 .308 .710 6.9 1.5 0.6 1.1 2.2 11.7
1999 New York 1 1 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0
2001 New York 16 0 5.3 .318 .500 .500 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4 1.1
2002 Houston 21 0 6.3 .469 .429 .250 1.1 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.6
2003 Connecticut 25 13 11.9 .284 .250 .222 2.1 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.6 2.4
Career 6 years, 3 teams 121 72 19.2 .407 .295 .628 4.1 1.0 0.4 0.9 1.6 6.7

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997 New York 2 2 34.0 .429 .000 .583 9.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 2.5 12.5
2003 Connecticut 2 1 19.0 .400 .250 .000 4.0 2.5 0.0 2.0 1.0 4.5
Career 2 years, 2 teams 4 3 26.5 .419 .143 .583 6.5 2.3 0.0 2.0 1.8 8.5

Broadcast career

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Calling Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals for ESPN

Today, Lobo is a reporter and color analyst for ESPN with a focus on women's college basketball and WNBA games.

Lobo faced criticism for her commentary during an April 1, 2024, NCAA women's basketball Elite Eight game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers in Albany, New York, after she remarked during an exchange with ESPN announcer Ryan Ruocco, "And, by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany."[37] Lobo has since apologized to the city of Albany.[38]

Breast cancer advocate and health spokesperson

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In 1996, Lobo and her late mother, Ruth Ann Lobo, collaborated on a book entitled The Home Team,[39] which dealt with Ruth Ann's battle with breast cancer. They also founded the Ruth Ann and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship, which offers a scholarship to the UConn School of Allied Health for Hispanic students.[40] Lobo was the 1996 spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser which raises millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education.

Starting in 2000, Lobo served as national spokesperson and backer for Body1.com, a consumer-targeted network of sites providing interactive content-rich information on medical technologies that treat ailments and diseases specific to body parts. Due to her recurring problems with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), she campaigned to raise awareness of knee injury risks in women. She shared her story with others suffering from the same type of injury and advocated for patient self-education via the Internet.[41]

Personal life

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On April 12, 2003, Lobo changed her last name to Lobo-Rushin after marrying Sports Illustrated writer Steve Rushin at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.[42] They have three daughters and one son.[43]

Ball & Chain Podcast

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Lobo and Rushin host the weekly Ball & Chain Podcast, where they discuss current events, sports and family life. They released its first episode on October 23, 2017.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "McGrady, Self, Lobo headline 2017 HOF class". ESPN.comf. April 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Hamwey, Ken (2007-09-06). "Wall full of local Warriors - Bellingham, MA - Country Gazette". Wickedlocal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  3. ^ Stated on Finding Your Roots, PBS, September 30, 2014
  4. ^ "Celebrate Hispanic Heritage! Meet Pat Mora". Teacher.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  5. ^ Thomson Gale biography.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Porter p. 285
  7. ^ Roberts, Selena (5 March 2009). "Enlightening the Clothes-Minded". SI.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  8. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL;Lobo Receives Another Award". NYTimes. 1996-01-09. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  9. ^ "Women's Basketball 1995 National Championship Team to be Recognized as "Huskies of Honor"". Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  10. ^ "Sportswoman of the Year Award". Women's Sports Foundation. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  11. ^ "Basketball luminary Rebecca Lobo appearing at Hooplandia". WWLP. 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  12. ^ "Second Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team -- 1992". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Third FIBA Women's U19/Junior World Championship -- 1993". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  14. ^ "New York Liberty at Los Angeles Sparks, June 21, 1997".
  15. ^ "New York Liberty at Houston Comets, August 30th, 1997".
  16. ^ Greg Tufaro (12 June 1999). "The news is bad: Lobo out for year". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. C3. Retrieved 30 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  17. ^ Litsky, Frank (1999-06-12). "PRO BASKETBALL; Torn Ligament Ends Lobo's Season Early". NYTimes. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  18. ^ Anotnya English (5 August 2000). "New York likely Lobo-less for rest of season". Tampa Bay Times. p. 8C. Retrieved 30 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  19. ^ Gene O'Donnell (15 January 2002). "Lobo experiences spirited workout". The Republican. pp. D1, D6. Retrieved 30 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  20. ^ Adam Zagoria (4 April 2002). "Liberty trade Lobo for 2nd-round pick". The Herald-News. p. B2C. Retrieved 30 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  21. ^ Mike Bogen (8 February 2003). "Lobo's game has returned". The Republican. pp. C1, C3. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  22. ^ "W.N.B.A.'s Sun Acquires Lobo". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2003-02-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  23. ^ "Connecticut Sun at Detroit Shock, September 7, 2003". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  24. ^ "ESPN.com: WNBA - Lobo and out: One of first faces of WNBA retires". ESPN.
  25. ^ "Rebecca Lobo to help celebrate Connecticut Sun's 15th anniversary". norwichbulletin.com. June 28, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL;Lobo Receives Another Award". NYT. 1996-01-09. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  27. ^ "Sportswoman of the Year". Women's Sports Foundation. Retrieved 5 Jan 2013.
  28. ^ "The Wade Trophy". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 30 Jun 2014.
  29. ^ "Lobo Named Recipient of NCAA Silver Anniversary Award". UConn Today. 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  30. ^ "Basketball". CWSA. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  31. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (October 15, 2014). "Rebecca Lobo there from the start". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  32. ^ Anthony, Mike (March 2, 2019). "Mike Anthony: Rebecca Lobo back at center of UConn women's basketball world she helped create as her No. 50 retired". Hartford Courant.
  33. ^ "Lobo: I'm just 1st of many Huskies heading to Hall". FOXSports.com. Fox Sports Interactive Media. Jun 11, 2010. Archived from the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved 28 Apr 2014.
  34. ^ "Class of 2010 Inductees Announced". WBHOF. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  35. ^ Greenberg, Mel (14 June 2010). "WBHOF Wrapup I: Rebecca Lobo's Speech". Womhoops Guru. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  36. ^ "Connecticut Women's Basketball" (PDF). University of Connecticut. Retrieved 5 Jan 2013.
  37. ^ Kelly, Michael (April 1, 2024). "ESPN's Lobo disses Albany during Elite Eight game". Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  38. ^ Fahy, Claire (April 2, 2024). "In the Magnificence of Iowa's Glow, Albany Catches Some Shade". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  39. ^ The Home Team: Of Mothers, Daughters, and American Champions (9781568361994): Ruth Ann Lobo, Ruthann Lobo, Rebecca Lobo: Books. Amazon.com. January 1997. ISBN 9781568361994. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  40. ^ Begley, Ian (2008-12-28). "Where are they now? Former Liberty star Rebecca Lobo". Daily News. New York.
  41. ^ "Complete Source for Shoulder Health". Shoulder1.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  42. ^ Elfman, Lois (2003). "Rebecca Lobo weds at the Basketball Hall of Fame: Rebecca Lobo". Women's Basketball. Archived from the original on 2005-06-24.
  43. ^ Rushin, Steve. "Lobo 'Schools' Sportswriter In Women's Game". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 21 May 2016.

References

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