Keeping up with the Latest, the Greatest and, the Exclusive. I had a chance to sit down with Chamique Holdsclaw while she was in Atlanta. As we prepare for the release of “Mind Game” the film. I had to get the inside scoop on all things her. Press play and get into her Behind The Lens spotlight.

Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is a former professional basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association(WNBA) most recently under a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season.

Holdsclaw grew up playing basketball. While attending Christ The King Regional High School inQueens, New York, she played for the school’s women’s basketball team, and led them to four straight New York State Championships in basketball. Holdsclaw was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring eight points. 

Holdsclaw went to the University of Tennessee from 1995 to 1999, where she played under coach Pat Summitt and helped to lead the Lady Vols to the women’s NCAA’s first ever three consecutive Women’s Basketball Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The 1998 championship was Tennessee’s first ever undefeated season at 39–0 and also set an NCAA record for the most wins ever in a season. She also helped lead Tennessee to two SEC regular season titles in 1998 and 1999 and to three SEC tournament championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

Los Angeles Sparks’ Chamique Holdsclaw, right, yells out as she hobbles upcourt after being injured in the first quarter against the Seattle Storm during a WNBA first-round playoff basketball game, Friday, Aug. 18, 2006, in Seattle. She’s followed by teammate Murriel Page, left, and Seattle Storm’s Iziane Castro Marques. Holdsclaw returned to the game in the quarter. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

At Tennessee, Holdsclaw was a four-time Kodak All-America, one of only six women’s basketball players to earn the honor (along with teammate Tamika Catchings, Cheryl Miller of USC, Ann Meyers ofUCLA, Lynette Woodard of Kansas and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.) Holdsclaw finished her career with 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds, making her the all-time leading scoring and rebounder at Tennessee in men’s or women’s history, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in SEC women’s history, and the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA tournament women’s history with 470 points and 197 rebounds. She was also only the fifth women’s basketball player in NCAA history to have 3,000 points (a list including Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State, Patricia Hoskins of Mississippi Valley State, Lorri Bauman of Drake, Cheryl Miller of USC, and Cindy Blodgett of Maine). She is also one of five women’s collegiate basketball players to ever accumulate over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals (a list that includes teammate Tamika Catchings, Cheryl Miller of USC, Sophia Young of Baylor, and Armintie Price of Mississippi.) In 1999, Holdsclaw received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Holdsclaw also won the Naismith trophy for player of the year twice, in 1998 and 1999 and posted a 134–17 win/loss record during her remarkable career as a Lady Vol. In 2000 she was named Naismith’s Player of the Century for the 1990s and was also part of an ESPY award given to the Lady Vols as Co-Team of the Decade for the 1990s. In 1996, 1997 and 1998, Holdsclaw was named to the Final Four All Tournament team.

In 2006, Holdsclaw was named to a women’s collegiate basketball silver anniversary team for being picked as one of the 25 greatest players of the past 25 years. She was also picked as one of the 5 greatest players in the SEC of the past 25 years.

Holdsclaw is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. (source: Wikepedia)

MIND/GAME: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw

Tune in to LOGO, Tuesday, May 3rd, 9PM for the national cablecast!

From the rough-edged courts of New York City and recruited by Coach Pat Summitt for the University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols, Chamique Holdsclaw was hailed as the “female Michael Jordan,” impressing crowds with her artistry, athleticism, and drive.

A 3-time NCAA champ and Number One draft pick in the WNBA, Holdsclaw seemed destined for a spectacular professional career—until her long-suppressed battle with mental disorders emerged to derail her career and threaten her life.

Mind/Game intimately chronicles Holdsclaw’s athletic accomplishments and personal setbacks, and her decision, despite public stigma, to become an outspoken mental health advocate. Still, she would face dramatic, unexpected challenges to her own recovery.  The film, narrated by Glenn Close, tells a powerful story of courage, struggle, and redemption.