For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Cierra Burdick.
When the U.S. announced its 3×3 women’s basketball team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, the headliners that grabbed attention were the young stars. Initially part of the team were fifth-year college player Hailey Van Lith – who recently transferred from LSU to TCU – WNBA rookie Cameron Brink and 24-year-old WNBA All-Star Rhyne Howard, who is making her Olympic debut. Since the initial announcement, Brink has been replaced by her LA Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby.
Rounding out the squad is Cierra Burdick – a 30-year-old product of the University of Tennessee who hasn’t been on a WNBA roster in three years.
But Burdick shouldn’t be overlooked. The competition to make this roster was fierce and she’s on this team – which is aiming to defend its gold medal from the 2021 Olympics – for a reason.
Let’s get to know her.
1. Burdick played for Pat Summitt
Nov 15, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers forward Cierra Burdick (11) brings the ball up court against the Rice Owls at Thompson Boling Arena. Tennessee won by a score of 101 to 48. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Burdick was a McDonald’s All-American out of Butler High School. She was lured just across the Smoky Mountains to Knoxville, where she was a freshman on the final team that the late, great Pat Summitt coached.
She played 13.5 minutes per game on that 2011-12 Tennessee team, which made it all the way to the Elite Eight.
The 2021 games in Tokyo were the first time that there were no Lady Vols playing for USA basketball in Olympic competition – although Kara Lawson was the coach of the 3×3 team that year. Still, Burdick’s selection puts a Summitt-coached player back in the games, an honor she’s proud to carry.
She told the Knoxville News-Sentinel:
“I’ve got some big time guardian angels that have been looking out for me, and I’m a proud Lady Vol… I took a lot of lessons from Pat, and it’s easy to just carry those with me every single day.”
2. Burdick helped Tennessee stay on top
Mar 28, 2015; Spokane, WA, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers forward Cierra Burdick (11) reacts after a Gonzaga Bulldogs turnover during the second half in the semifinals of the Spokane regional of the women’s 2015 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Lady Volunteers won 73-69. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
The 6-foot-2 do-it-all guard/forward was never really a star at Tennessee, but she was a starter, a very good college player. She helped the Lady Vols stay atop the Southeastern Conference after Holly Warlick took over when Summitt retired after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
With Burdick on the court in Warlick’s first three seasons at the helm, …
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