Rebecca "Bec" Cole (born 19 March 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player. As of April 2022[update] Cole is a starting shooting guard for the Southside Flyers in the WNBL, and has been a member of both the Australian 3x3 national team and the Australian Opals.
| No. 1 – Southside Flyers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | 19 March 1992 Mount Waverley, Victoria | ||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Caulfield Grammar | ||||||||
| Playing career | 2009–present | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Australian Institute of Sport | ||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Bulleen Boomers | ||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Melbourne Boomers | ||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Dandenong Rangers | ||||||||
| 2019–present | Southside Flyers | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Medals
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Early life edit
Cole was born on 19 March 1992[1] in Mount Waverley, Victoria. She is the daughter of Gary and Ros Cole and has two older sisters, Jessica and Emma.[2]
Cole began her career playing for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) at the age of 16.[3]
Professional career edit
WNBL edit
Cole made her Women's National Basketball League debut with the AIS in 2009–10 season at 16 years old.[3]
Her professional career began when she moved to the Bulleen Boomers in the 2012–13 season. She re-signed with rebranded Melbourne Boomers for the 2013–14 season. In the 2014–15 season, and was named the Round 12 Player of the Week.[citation needed]
Cole remained with the Boomers through the 2016–17 season.[4]
Following the 2018–19 season, Cole signed with the Dandenong Rangers at shooting guard.[citation needed]
In January 2019, she was named to the 2018–19 WNBL All-Star Five for the first time in her career. Cole was also announced as the Rangers 2018–19 MVP.[5]
Following the 2019–20 season, the Rangers rebranded to the Southside Flyers, where she committed for the 2019–20 to 2020–21 season.[6] As of 2022 her name is still on their website.[7]
FIBA 3x3 edit
Cole was a member of both the 2018 and 2019 Australian teams in the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup.[8] In 2018, Australia won bronze and in 2019 Australia went undefeated winning the gold medal, with Cole being named the MVP of the 2019 tournament.[9]
National team edit
Youth Level
Cole made her international debut with the Under-19 program in 2011. Cole was chosen as captain for the Australian Gems (Australia's Under 19 Women's Team) at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Chile, where Australia narrowly missed out on bronze, placing fourth. Cole played all eight games.[3]
Senior Level
In January 2019 it was announced that Cole was part of the 2019 Opals squad.[10][11][12]
Recognition edit
In the 2018–19 season, Cole was awarded runner-up for WNBL Most Valuable Player Award[13] and was selected in the WNBL All-Star team.[14]
FIBA named Cole one of the "10 Women Who Defined 3x3 in 2019".[15]
Other roles edit
As of 2022[update] Cole is the Ambassador for Lymphoma Australia.[16]
References edit
- ^ "Player Rebecca Cole: Opals". Basketball Australia. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Life isn't fair': The beautiful bond – and remarkable resilience – between Bec and Gary Cole".
- ^ a b c "Bec Cole's meteoric rise to be named in the 2018/19 WNBL All-Star Five in her first season with the Jayco Rangers".
- ^ "WBNL Basketall: Southside Flyers: Know Your Flyers: Bec Cole".
- ^ "Milestones and misses: Bec Cole's meteoric rise to be named in the 2018/19 WNBL all-star five in her first season with the Jayco Rangers". 29 March 2019.
- ^ "The WNBL season is an opportunity for Rebecca Cole".
- ^ "WBNL Basketball: Know Your Flyers: Bec Cole".
- ^ "Fiba 3x3 Bec Cole".
- ^ "Fiba 3x3 Aisa Cup 2018".
- ^ "Press Release: 2019 Chemist Warehouse Australian Opals Squad Announced". Basketball Australia. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ Roy Ward (10 January 2019). "Opals Name Squad For Crucial Olympic Qualifiers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Australian Women'S Squad announced for FIBA's 3x3 Olympic qualifying tournament".
- ^ "2018/19 Chemist Warehouse WNBL award winners announced".
- ^ "WNBL MVP 2018/19 votes and awards: Kelsey Griffin named MVP".
- ^ "FIBA names Bec Cole as one of '10 women who defined 3x3 in 2019'".
- ^ "Ambassador Rebecca Cole". Lymphoma Australia. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
