Tamika Catchings Biography

Dec 27, 2006

Tamika Catchings is a powerhouse for the Indiana Fever and the US Women's Basketball team. Find out more about this WNBA star right here.

Tamika Catchings Biography - Hoops and Hearing

Tamika Catchings was born in New Jersey in 1979. She started shooting hoops almost as soon as she could walk, as her dad, Harvey, played in the NBA for the LA Clippers, Milwaukee, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. While Tamika was a star on the basketball court, a hearing disability she was born with sometimes made life at school difficult. Nothing opens you up for ridicule as much as wearing a big ol' hearing aid, so Tamika had to put up with lots of teasing at school. After one particularly bad day of being made fun of, Tamika chucked her aid into a large field and decided to deal with her hearing disability by sitting at the front of the class, doing extra reading and asking her teachers lots of questions after school. Her work ethic in the classroom was matched by her hard on the basketball court and Catchings helped her high school in Texas win back-to-back state titles before she headed to the University of Tennessee to continue her basketball career.

Tamika Catchings Biography - Catching A Fever

Tamika Catchings won a NCAA title as a power forward with the University of Tennessee and was named an All-American four straight years before being drafted by the Indiana Fever in the 2001 WNBA Draft. Catchings burned up the WNBA in her first year with her great work ethic, scoring touch and defensive intensity. She led the league in steals, finished second in scoring and was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year. Catchings has now established herself as one of the top female basketball players in the world, as well as one of the most popular. She was the leading vote-getter for the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game and is a favorite to win the league's MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Catchings will also be a big part of the US team, which will be defending its title at the 2006 World Basketball Championships in Brazil.

Tamika Catchings Biography - Did U Know

Tamika Catching's nicknames are Mika and Catch.

Tamika Catchings has a sister, Tajua, and a brother, Kenyon.

Tamika wears number 24 on the basketball court because it is the opposite of the number 42 worn by her father, Harvey, when he played in the NBA.

In 2002, Tamika Catchings helped the USA win the gold medal at the 2002 Women's World Basketball Championships in China.

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