BOITUMELO RANTAO
SOUTH Sudan has appointed former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Lindsay Harding as their women’s basketball team head coach.
Harding is an exceptional student of the game – her standout playing career, including representing Belarus at international-level, has translated to a coaching career. The WNBA legend is currently serving a role as assistant and player development coach of California-based National Basketball Association (NBA) team, Sacramento Kings. She previously had a stint with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harding brings a mentality of toughness and optimism to a growing, enthusiastic South Sudan women’s team “One of my coaching philosophies is the power of positive thinking. In any situation, you can choose to be positive or negative…. You don’t want players to underestimate their power. You have that control. You have that power.
“Thoughts become words. Words become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become character. Your character becomes your destiny.” Harding said during a jr. NBA huddle with five other coaches.
South Sudan Basketball Federation president Luol Deng and Harding both attended College Basketball (CBB) powerhouse Duke University situated in North Carolina, USA.
The American-Belarussian coach won Naismith National Player of the Year honours and became the first Duke player to be picked No. 1 in the WNBA Draft at the end of her collegiate career.
Harding amassed a plethora of additional college awards, including the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation, before being selected by the Phoenix Mercury and traded to the Minnesota Lynx.
