Shay Doron

Infobox WNBA Player
name = Shay Doron


team =
position = Shooting guard
height_ft = 5 | height_in = 9
weight_lbs = 143
nationality = Israel
birth_date = Birth date and age|1985|4|1|mf=y
birth_place = Ramat Hasharon, Israel
highschool = Christ The King RHS, New York
college = University of Maryland
draft = 2^nd round, 16^th overall pick
draft_year = 2007
draft_team = New York Liberty
career_start = 2007
career_end =
former_teams =
awards = Pre-Season Wade Trophy Candidate (2007,2006)
All-Freshmen Team (2004)
First Team All-ACC (2005)

Shay Doron ( _he. שי דורון) (born April 1, 1985) is a basketball player who has played shooting guard for the WNBA's New York Liberty and the Israeli league's Elitzur Ramle. Previously, Doron starred for the Maryland women's basketball team.

Doron was born in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, to Yuda and Tamari Doron. She now claims both Ramat Hasharon and Great Neck, New York, as her hometowns.

High school years

For her first two years in high school, Doron played basketball in Tel Aviv, Israel. She played for Rotenberg High School, and led her city squad to three state championships and two cup championships. She also competed in track and field in Israel, and won over 60 medals in various events. [http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/doron_shay00.html] .

Hoping to play basketball in college, and dreaming of playing professionally in the WNBA, she moved to New York (where her family had previously lived) to play her junior and senior years for the renowned Christ The King RHS women's basketball team. She was the only Jewish/Israeli student among 1,800 Catholic students. As a junior she led Christ the King to the New York State Federation finals, while scoring 17.1 points per game. The next year, she led the team to its 19^th consecutive Brooklyn-Queens title, became the first girl from New York to play on the McDonald's All-American Team, and participated at the Nike Tournament of Champions, where she earned MVP and Player of the Tournament honors [http://www.gballmag.com/hero-doron.html] . In her junior and senior seasons, she was named the Gatorade Player of the Year from New York. During her final season, Doron averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.0 steals per game, to lead the Royals to the No. 1 rank in the country. [http://www.csjl.org/articlereader.php?item=8] .

College years

Doron was widely considered coach Brenda Frese's first big-time recruit at the University of Maryland, and she played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the Maryland program. With her help, the team made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including Maryland's first ever national title in 2006 with a victory over Duke.

Doron holds several school records, and ranks in Maryland's top 10 in field goal attempts, assists, steals, three pointers, and three point attempts. She also started and played in more games than any other player in school history, with 134 appearances and 119 starts. Doron was named to the All-ACC third team in 2004, All-ACC first team in 2005, and All-ACC second team and ACC All-Academic team in 2006. She was also named to the U.S. National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Doron majored in criminal justice and criminology at Maryland.

International experience

In the summer of 2003, Doron played for Israel's national team. In 2005, Doron guided the Under-20 Israeli National Team to the Division B European Championship title in Brno, Czech Republic, the first-ever international tournament title for an Israeli women's team. She averaged a tournament-best 24.7 ppg, and received Most Valuable Player honors.

She was the first Israeli to be named MVP of the European National Tournament, and was also the MVP of the qualifying round played in Turkey. [http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/doron_shay00.html]

Maccabiah Games

Also in 2005, she participated in the 2005 Maccabiah Games in Israel, where she led the USA to a 5-0 record and a gold medal. She was selected Maccabiah MVP, her second tournament honor that summer.

WNBA

Doron was drafted by the WNBA's New York Liberty with the 16th pick in April 2007. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1187502438869&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull] Assigned jersey # 2, she saw game action only seven times in the 2007 regular season, totaling 10 points and 3 rebounds in 35 minutes of play. Doron also played limited minutes during the Liberty's 2007 playoff appearances.

After Shay Doron finished a successful season in Israel she has decided to take a few months off and to leave the New York Liberty before the beginning of the 2008 WNBA season. The New York Liberty approved her request on May 9th 2008.

Israeli league

Doron played for defending champion Elitzur Ramle in the Israeli league during the 2007-2008 WNBA off-season. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1187502438869&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull] Ramle reached the semifinals of the EuroCup Women competition, then went on to win the Israeli league title.

Israel has become a top draw for WNBA players. In 2006, 17 WNBA players spent their winter in Israel.

Links

* [http://www.ebay.com/shaydoron4bcrfcure Shay Doron's Charity Auction Benefiting BCRF]
* [http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/shay_doron/index.html WNBA profile]
* [http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/doron_shay00.html Maryland bio]
* [http://www.csjl.org/articlereader.php?item=8 "Shooting for the Top"]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201775.html "Playing to Another Strength; Doron, Always a Scorer, Emerges as a Leader This Season for 4th-Ranked Maryland," 3/3/06]
* [http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/womens_basketball/articles/2006/04/04/doron_started_something_big/ "Doron started something big," 4/4/06]
* [http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.terpswom17feb17,0,6000955.story?track=mostemailedlink "UM's No. 1 globe-trotter; Israeli native Shay Doron took long road to stardom in College Park" 2/17/07]
* [http://www.shaydoron.net/news/74/ "Heart in Israel, Home (Court) in New York," 5/20/07]
* [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/22/africa/ME-SPT-Israel-Basketball.php]
* [http://www.shaydoron.net Official Site]