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WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Name Carrie Graf Head Coach

April 13, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release


Phoenix, Ariz. - The Phoenix Mercury announced today that Carrie Graf will become its new head coach. Per club policy, details of the contract were not disclosed. The Mercury also have added former Minnesota Lynx Head Coach Brian Agler as an assistant coach.

"We are very excited to add a person with Carrie's basketball resume as our head coach," said Seth Sulka, Mercury General Manager. "Carrie has displayed the highest level of professionalism and commitment to this organization over the past six years. She has coached and won championships as a head coach in Australia, served as an assistant on two medal winning Olympic teams and now she can add WNBA head coach to the list."

New Mercury co-owners Anne Mariucci and Kathy Munro served in the recruitment process. "Eight weeks ago, we set out on a mission that would expose us to the best-of-the-best in prospective WNBA coaches," said Mariucci. "We talked extensively with candidates of diverse backgrounds including the college ranks, the WNBA and the NBA. At the end of the day, Carrie Graf's knowledge, leadership and commitment stood tallest."

"With our ability to select Diana Taurasi and another first-round pick in what will be the deepest WNBA draft ever, Carrie's hiring is yet another key piece to our Mercury rebuilding plan," said Munro.

Graf, joins the Mercury staff with a rich basketball background, having coached the Canberra Capitols (Australia) of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) to three championships. With the Capitols, Graf has been an integral part in the basketball development of 2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm). As a WNBL head coach, Graf has a winning record of .800.

"I am truly excited about the opportunity to be the head coach of the Mercury, and to continue to be a part of such a great organization ," said Graf from her home in Sydney. "I look forward to being a part of turning the Mercury around on the court. I can't wait to feel the buzz back in America West Arena, and to be a part of a team that wants to be successful together, and will do whatever it takes to get there together."

Graf's coaching endeavors began in 1989 at just 22 years of age. She played for eight seasons in the WNBL with the Nunawading Spectres, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the Australian Club Championships in 1983. In 1984, Graf was selected to play for the All-Australian Under-18 Team. At age 21, Graf had already won five WNBL titles with the Spectres.

Graf joined the Mercury coaching ranks in 1998 assisting Cheryl Miller and helped to guide the Mercury to the WNBA Finals.

"I'm excited to play for Coach Graf," said Mercury forward Kayte Christensen. "To already have a relationship with her as an assistant coach, I know what I can expect with her as a head coach. She is a very enthusiastic person when it comes the game of basketball and her coaching credentials in Australia really speak for themselves."

Most recently, Graf directed the New Zealand National Team in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She resigned from that post to direct the Mercury. Graf also has Olympic coaching experience with the Australian National Team, serving as an assistant in the 1996 and 2000 games. In 1996, Graf helped direct Australia to a bronze medal performance in Atlanta and in 2000, helped guide the team to the silver medal in her hometown of Sydney.

The 38-year old Graf has a degree in physical education and currently resides in Sydney. She will relocate to Phoenix where she will work with the Mercury on a year-round basis.

Agler joins the Mercury staff after serving as the Minnesota Lynx head coach and general manger from 1999-2002. Prior to joining the Lynx staff, Agler was the head coach of the Columbus Quest of the American Basketball League (ABL). He guided the Quest to back-to-back ABL Championships in 1997 and 1998.

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