Oct. 1, 2004

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Helen Darling, who recently finished the WNBA season with the Minnesota Lynx, will round out the Lady Tiger coaching staff, Head Coach Blair Savage announced, Friday. Darling, who played her college basketball at Penn State, finished the 2004 WNBA season averaging 4.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She currently ranks 12th in the league in assists (115) and assists per game (3.5) and 17th in assists to turnovers (1.55).

"We're excited to have Coach Darling join us here at Memphis," Savage said. "She will add another dimension, having played in the Big 10 and been in the WNBA. Not only will she provide us some insight in Xs and Os, but we'll also benefit from her in terms of recruiting knowledge, especially in the Midwest."

Darling was the 2000 Naismith Award winner for small player of the year and was a Kodak All-American as a senior at Penn State. The team captain as a junior and senior, Darling was Penn State's first-ever Big Ten Player of the Year in 2000 after leading the nation in assists. She also garnered Big 10 Tournament MVP honors as a senior. With Penn State, Darling earned tournament MVP honors in the 1998 WNIT Tournament, and went on to be a member of the 1999 USA World University Team as a junior. She capped her collegiate career as the only player in school history to have 500 rebounds and 600 assists for her career.

The Columbus, Ohio, native was drafted 17th overall in the 2000 WNBA Draft by the Cleveland Rockers, where she played for three seasons (2000, 2001, 2003), averaging 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 5.0 ppg. She missed the 2002 season to give birth to triplets (sons Ja-Juan and Jalen and a girl, Nevaeh). A 5-foot-6 guard, Darling came back from giving birth to reclaim her starting position and to help the Rockers to a postseason playoff run in the Eastern Conference in 2003. She finished the 2003 season 10th in total assists (128) before signing with the Colorado Chill in the NWBL during the WNBA off-season.

Following her season with the Chill in Northern Colorado, Darling was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the 7th pick of the 2004 WNBA Dispersal Draft in January of 2004. The Lynx recently fell to Seattle in the Western Conference playoffs.

Darling received the WNBA Community Assist Award in May of 2003 for her work promoting reading and education and for her work as a national spokesperson for the March of Dimes.