Mekia Valentine Explained

Mekia Valentine
Position:Forward / Center
Height Ft:6
Height In:4
Birth Date:6 March 1988
Birth Place:Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
High School:Greenoboro Day School
Greensboro, North Carolina
Dudley High School
Suva, Fiji
College:Wake Forest (2006–2008)
UC Santa Barbara (2009–2011)
Draft Year:2011
Draft Round:3
Draft Pick:34
Draft Team:New York Liberty
Draft League:WNBA
Highlights:
  • Big West Defensive Player of the Year (2011)
  • ACC All-Freshman Team (2007)

Mekia Valentine (March 6, 1988 – March 26, 2020)[1] was a professional international basketball player. She was recruited by the WNBA and played for the University of California at Santa Barbara Gaucho team.[2]

Sport career

Valentine was a 6-foot-4 forward. She began playing basketball in high school with Greensoboro Day School before transferring to Dudley High School for her senior year. She was named 3rd-best forward in the nation by Full Court Press.[3] She was named Dudley's MVP and 3A Conference Player of the Year.

She was a top-25 national recruit and earned ACC All-Freshman Honors in 2007 at Wake Forest University.

When she began playing for UCSB's Gauchos team as a junior, she averaged 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game and helped the team make WNIT. The following year, Valentine averaged 11.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. She had many of the school's records, including career rebound average (10.5), blocks in a game (11), blocks in a season (120) and season (.620) and career (.595) field-goal percentage.[4] She was named the Big West's Defensive Player of the Year.[5]

In 2011 she was drafted to the WNBA, by New York Liberty.[6] She chose a four-year career in international basketball, playing in Israel, Poland, Germany, and Romania.[7] In 2016 she retired from basketball and pursued nursing. She worked in patient care before transitioning to the private sector.

Wake Forest and UC Santa Barbara statistics

Source[8]

YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2006-07Wake Forest2917046.8%0.0%37.3%4.70.20.41.75.9
2007-08Wake Forest3018147.7%0.0%48.1%4.80.20.31.56.0
2009-10UC Santa Barbara3037057.4%0.0%55.6%9.70.80.44.012.3
2010-11UC Santa Barbara3134362.0%0.0%47.6%11.20.50.33.711.1
Career120106454.8%11.1%48.9%5.30.50.32.78.9

Personal life

Valentine was originally from Greensboro, North Carolina.[9] She was the daughter of Lisa Meadows Johnson and Jerome Early Valentine III. Her grandmother, Lillian Manns Valentine, adopted her in infancy and raised her.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mekia Valentine New York Liberty Women's National Basketball Association Yahoo! Sports. sports.yahoo.com. en-US. 2020-04-12.
  2. Web site: Mekia Valentine, former UCSB women's basketball star, dies at 32. Patton. Mark. 2020-03-31. Santa Barbara News-Press. en-US. 2020-04-12.
  3. Web site: Mekia Valentine - Women's Basketball. Wake Forest University Athletics. en. 2020-04-12.
  4. Mekia Valentine Chosen by NY Liberty in WNBA Draft. 2011-04-11. UC Santa Barbara. en. 2020-04-12.
  5. Web site: Valentine Nabs Second Weekly Honor. bigwest.org. en. 2020-04-12.
  6. Web site: LIBERTY: Mekia Valentine Player Bio. www.wnba.com. 2020-04-12.
  7. Web site: Former UCSB Basketball Standout Mekia Valentine Dies at 32. Noozhawk. www.noozhawk.com. en. 2020-04-12.
  8. Web site: NCAA Statistics. web1.ncaa.org. 2021-05-26.
  9. Web site: Very Sad News Today:Mekia Valentine(Greensboro Day School/Dudley HS) has passed away at age 32:Tall Basketball Player that played high school, college and pro basketball(Former Pizza Hut Tourney MVP). 2020-03-31. Greensboro Sports. 2020-04-12.
  10. Web site: Mekia Shanta Valentine March 06 1988 March 26 2020, death notice, USA. 2020-04-09. United States Obituary Notice. en-US. 2020-04-12.