Ofelia María Villarroel Caraballo (born December 3, 1978) is a former Venezuelan basketball player. She was drafted in the 2004 WNBA draft after a decorated U.S. college career with the University of Oklahoma[1] and in Europe playing in the Swiss Women's Basketball Championship for over a decade.
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Porlamar, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela | December 3, 1978
Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
Listed weight | 135 lb (61 kg) |
Career information | |
College | Oklahoma (2002–2004) |
WNBA draft | 2004: 3rd round, 27th overall pick |
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury (traded to Houston Comets) | |
Playing career | 2004–present |
Position | Guard |
Career history | |
2005–2010 | Sierre Basket |
2010-2012 | Hélios VS Basket |
2010 | Barcelona Guayaquil |
2012 | BCF Elfic Fribourg |
2016 | Hélios VS Basket |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Villarroel is considered the best women's basketball player ever from the South American country, and holds several accolades and records. She is still the only Venezuelan to be selected to an NCAA D-1 Conference All-Tournament squad, the first one to be drafted into the WNBA, and the first player to play in the EuroCup.
College career
editVillarroel arrived stateside at the age of 21 on a basketball scholarship with help of Jesús Cordovez, a nationally acclaimed basketball coach in Venezuela. At Independence Community College, she immediately gained national recognition averaging 22.1 PPG and was named consensus NJCAA All-American and Conference Player of the Year.
For her sophomore season, Villarroel transferred to NEO and improved her PPG average to 24.4 while shooting a remarkable 73% from the field. Again, she made the NJCAA All-America selection and twice named Conference Player of the Year. A heavily touted recruit out of the JUCO ranks, she committed to play for head coach Sherri Coale and the Oklahoma Sooners.
During her senior year, Villarroel alongside Dionnah Jackson led the sixth seeded Sooners into an upset of the first seeded Texas Longhorns to win the 2004 Big 12 Conference women's basketball tournament for the second time in history. Villarroel averaged 14.3 points per game in her senior year and 14.6 PPG during her two years at Norman. She was named to the Big-12 All-Tournament First Team[2]
WNBA
editVillarroel got selected 27th overall by the Phoenix Mercury – and then traded to the now-defunct Houston Comets –, who had the first pick in this Draft and selected Diana Taurasi, now considered to be one of the best female basketball players in history. The native of Venezuela played on several preseason games but was cut through training camp, and decided to turn pro in Europe.
Pro career
editThe Venezuelan guard was a stalwart playing in Switzerland for three teams. With Sdent Sierre Basket, Villarroel had success and was the team's leader for several seasons, including their 2008 EuroCup stint, where Villarroel was first of her squad in PPG with 19.3 points[3]
She amassed three Swiss championships, three league cups and three Swiss cups during her eight-year career in the SB League Women.
College statistics
editSource[4]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000-01 | Independence Community College | 22.1 | |||||||||
2001-02 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M | 73.4 | 44.6 | 24.4 | |||||||
2002-03 | Oklahoma | 32 | 480 | 57.6 | 27.0 | 71.0 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 1.79 | 0.65 | 15.0 |
2003-04 | Oklahoma | 33 | 472 | 52.7 | 34.6 | 76.1 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 14.3 |
Career | Oklahoma | 65 | 952 | 55.0 | 31.4 | 73.4 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 14.6 |
References
edit- ^ "Maria Villarroel, University of Oklahoma". WNBA. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Senior Maria Villarroel Leaves Her Mark on OU Basketball".
- ^ "Sdent Sierre Basket 14 - Ofelia Maria Villarroel Caraballo". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
- ^ "Maria Villarroel, University of Oklahoma". wnba.com. Retrieved 2020-12-25.