Simone Edwards

Simone Ann-Marie Edwards (born November 17, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a female basketball player who played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The 6'4" Edwards center is known to fans as the "Jamaican Hurricane."

Like some other Caribbean-born players such as Tim Duncan, Edwards did not play basketball in high school. She was spotted by coach Gary Hudson from the University of Oklahoma after competing in a track meet in Jamaica. In 1996-97, she led the Hawkeyes in field-goal percentage (.557) during her senior season.

Edwards was one of three players picked out of over 300 athlete at a NY Liberty tryout camp. As a developmental player by the New York Liberty in 1997, but never saw a game until signing on with the newly inaugurated Storm in 2000. She was the only player to be a part of the team for every game of its first six seasons, and became a KeyArena fan favorite for her ebullient personality and cheerleading when not in the game.

On May 19, 2006, just prior to the start of the 2006 WNBA season, Edwards announced her retirement from the WNBA, severing the last on-court link with the Storm's debut season. She retired as the team's all-time leader in rebounds, and games and minutes played.

Edwards also plays in Europe and Israel, and speaks fluent Hebrew. She continues to play for the Jamaican national team, the host team for the 2006 Caribbean Championship.

On Aug 5, 2007, she was hired as an assistant coach at Radford University.

External references

* [http://www.wnba.com/storm/roster/simone_edwards.html Seattle Storm Player Profile]
* [http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/simone_edwards/ WNBA Player Profile]
* [http://www.simone4children.org/ Simone Edwards' "Simone4Children" charitable foundation]
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/storm/2003007098_storm20.html May 20, 2006 "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" article on her retirement]
* [http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/edwards060519.html May 19, 2006 Seattle Storm press release on her retirement]
* [http://www.ruhighlanders.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=1620 July 17, 2007 press release on joining Radford University's coaching staff]
* [http://ruhighlanders.com/profiles/coaches/Edwards.html Radford University coaching profile]