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Carolyn Moos

Carolyn Moos (born May 23,1978 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American model, personal trainer, nutrition consultant and a former collegiate and professional basketball player for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has played on three separate teams within the WNBA during two periods. The first was Phoenix Mercury, then the Miami Sol and for a brief period of only thirteen days she played for the Minnesota Lynx before she was suddenly released from the league.

Carolyn's basketball career is not just limited to her run in the WNBA. She has played on the college circuit, winning numerous awards, setting records, and playing internationally, resulting in her winning a gold medal.

At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) she is one of the tallest players to have ever played in the WNBA.

Early life and High School

Carolyn was born in May, 1978, the daughter of Melinda and Charles Moos. She also has an older brother, Dan Moos. In her youth she was a dedicated show horse jumper from the age of nine years until she was thirteen.

She began playing basketball in the 6th grade as even in her youth she was quite tall, already standing over six feet tall at thirteen years old. She was influenced by her family and her older brother Dan and was later approached by her school's coach Julie Grim, a six foot five inch woman who later became her mentor, and who convinced her to play the game. Already standing above six feet and having played all other sports prior, Carolyn eagerly agreed to try a new adventure. She played for the North Tartan AAU team that won nationals and earned the Sporting News Top Student Athletes in the Country among other numerous awards. Carolyn claims she began playing basketball not to justify her height of six foot six inches, but to express her soul and who she was on the inside.

Carolyn was also one of the finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year in 1997 but ultimately she did not win.

She totalled 2,040 points and 1,360 rebounds in four years, while shooting 62.0% from the field. She also scored 50.0% from three-point range. As a senior, Moos averaged 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks per game. She graduated from Blake School in 1997.

College

Carolyn attended Stanford University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Communications and played on its women's basketball team. She is the joint tallest player in Stanford women’s basketball history (the other tallest being Korel Engin).

Carolyn's first season playing at Stanford was (1997 - 1998). She Played in a total of 21 of Stanford's 26 games and had an average of 6.1 minutes per game on the court. She scored a career high that season of six points on two separate occasions. Carolyn also had a career high three rebounds in 22 minutes played and seven blocks on the season.

In Carolyn's second season (1998 - 1999) she had the distinction of being the only player to have started in all 30 Stanford games. In the season-opening game, Stanford vs Arkansas, on November 13,1998 Carolyn scored her career high of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Despite this impressive start Stanford would lose 71 to 76 points against Arkansas at the San Jose Arena. Carolyn would score another career high of 22 points later, tying with her previous score two games earlier, on November 19,1998 against Illinois. The game would end in another loss for Corlynn and Stanford with Illinois scoring 76 points to Stanford's 58. She later recorded a score of 15 points and 10 rebounds in 78-66 home win over Wisconsin on November 29,1998. She also received an All Pac-10 Honorable Mention honors

Carolyn's third season (1999 - 2000) was notable for the numerous awards she had assumed. She was named honorable Mention All-Pac-10, a Honorable Mention Pac-10 All-Academic and a Named Pac-10 Player of the Week for December 20,1999 to January 2,2000 making her the only player to win conference player of the week honors in the 1999-2000 season.

She averaged 8.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 111 career games with the Cardinal and finished as Stanford's 23rd all-time leading scorer (944 points) and the 20th all-time leading rebounder (497). Her 110 blocked shots ranked 10th on the Pacific-10 Conference's all-time list. As a junior, Moos was named honorable mention All-Pac 10 after leading Stanford with 12.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg.

She played for the USA Basketball team and won a gold medal at the Junior Olympics in Brazil.

Her performances on the court were often praised, as for a tall player, she could run the court extremely well. She also had an outstanding shooting range for a player of her height. She graduated in 2001 with the honor of becoming the 22nd player in Stanford history to score 1,000 career points. She averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in her games.

WNBA

In 2001, shortly after graduation, she was drafted to the Phoenix Mercury and later in the year, Carolyn played overseas in France in the FIBA for the 2001-2002 season. In the 2002 WNBA season she played for the Miami Sol June 11, but her career would ultimately be short lived. She appeared in only two games before quietly being released on July 1, 2002, her pro career lasting a little over a year.

Carolyn would later return to the WNBA in 2003 but her return would prove to be even shorter than her first tenure and one of the briefest tenures in the league's history. The Minnesota Lynx announced on May 2, 2003 that they had signed Moos to a team contract. Per team policy, the terms of the contracts were not disclosed. However, on May 15, 2003 the Lynx announced they had released Carolyn for the much higher regarded Kristi Harrower, just thirteen days after she signed with the team.

International career

Carolyn has played basketball abroad representing the USA in numerous countries suach as France, Vienna, Slovakia, Mexico and Brazil.

Achievements

1997 Nike/WBCA All-America
1997 Parade Magazine First Team All-America
2000 Honorable Mention All-Pac-10
1997 Gatorade Central Region Player of the Year
2000 Honorable Mention Pac-10 All-Academic
1997 Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year
1998-99 All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention
1997 Sporting News Top Student Athletes in theCountry
1997 Naismith Mational Player of the Year Finalist
1996 USA Basketball Junior National Team
1997 Parade Magazine First Team All-America
1996 Parade Magazine Fourth Team All-America
1997 USA Today First Team All-America
1996 Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year
1997 Nike/WBCA All-America
1996 USA Today Minnesota Player of the Year
1997 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team
1996 Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year
1997 Blue Star Index No. 1 Post Player
1995, 1996, 1997 Street & Smith's Preseason All-America

Later career

After her departure from the WNBA in 2003 Carolyn returned to California and became a ACE Certified Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer, running the FITT4Life guided training. She attended the University of Southern California and completed her Master's Degree in health communication. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

In her work as a Certified Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer Carolyn has chosen to focus on the biological, psychological and social elements that affect adherence in exercise programs and healthy eating. She also focuses on reducing stress levels and increasing endorphins levels which she has said has a direct impact on the body.

Carolyn has said her goal, which has been shaped by Basketball, Stanford, FIBA, WNBA in combination with her education, is to change people's lives.

Carolyn has also dabbled in modeling. One being the Zsuzei line of female athletic swimwear which Caroyn has helped to model. She has also posed for several other photoshoots.

Quotes

Your unique attributes are a priceless gift. Recognize them, utilize them to fuel your sense of empowerment, place and purpose.

I embrace my 6'6 stature as a unique attribute that is a reflection of my gift - to influence, educate and inspire individuals who seek to improve their health.

Health is one of the most important aspects of our lives and my mission is to help others see the light and reach their goals.

Personal life

She is interested in sports psychology, human physiology, advertising and media broadcasting
She enjoys reading, writing, drawing and designing.
A certified scuba diver
Wrote an internet diary for ESPN.com throughout the 1999-2000 season.
Carolyn has worked for KGO and written online for ESPN.com and Women's Fitness Magazine. She has also worked on the Men's World Basketball Championship where she conducted interviews with Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Manu Ginobili.
She has written a piece for Marie Claire, which Carolyn spoke of embracing uniqueness and gaining respect from the inside out as well as her own experiences with her height. It can be read here
Carolyn has also worked for the Seeds of Peace organization.
She is a fan of R&B, hip hop, techno, and all things German.

References

www.carolynmoos.com/. Retrieved on 2006-12-26..
Marie Claire Article. Retrieved on 2006-12-26..

External links

Notes

Some sites state Carolyn's date of birth as May 23 while others say it's May 8. Carolyn herself has stated that her birthdate is May 23rd.
According to some sites her height is either 6'5 or 6'6. The WNBA website officially states her height as 6'6.