Erica Wheeler (basketball)
| No. 17 – Indiana Fever | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point Guard/Shooting Guard |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
May 2, 1991 Miami, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Listed weight | 143 lb (65 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Parkway Academy Miramar, Florida |
| College | Rutgers (2009–2013) |
| Playing career | 2013–present |
| Career history | |
| 2013 | Leonas de Ponce (Puerto Rico) |
| 2013–2014 | Mersin Kurtulus (Turkey) |
| 2014–2015 | Sport Club do Recife (Brazil) |
| 2015 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2015 | New York Liberty |
| 2015 | Atenienses de Manati (Puerto Rico) |
| 2015–2016 | Sampaio Basquete (Brazil) |
| 2016–2017 | Perfumerias Avenida Salamanca (Spain) |
| 2017–2018 | Adana ASKI Mersin (Turkey) |
| 2016–present | Indiana Fever |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
Erica Wheeler (born May 2, 1991) is an American professional women's basketball guard for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wheeler was undrafted out of Rutgers, but eventually made her way into the WNBA in 2015.
Early years
Wheeler grew up in the Miami neighborhood of Liberty City. Liberty City was described as rough, and Wheeler saw two of her close friends die when she was young.[1] Wheeler attended Parkway Academy and was a member of the basketball team there.[2]
College career
Wheeler committed to play at Rutgers in 2009. Rutgers reached the NCAA Tournament in each of her first three seasons. Wheeler contributed as a junior, leading the team in steals, and averaging just under 10 points per game.[1] Prior to her senior year, Wheeler's mother died of cancer. However, Wheeler finished her senior season and graduated from Rutgers.[1]
Rutgers statistics
Source[3]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Rutgers | 34 | 116 | 26.17 | 26.83 | 87.5 | 1.11 | 0.79 | 0.71 | 0.12 | 3.41 |
| 2010-11 | Rutgers | 33 | 321 | 37.99 | 36.18 | 71.11 | 3.03 | 1.76 | 0.06 | 1.70 | 9.73 |
| 2011-12 | Rutgers | 32 | 275 | 35.05 | 30.23 | 80.00 | 2.75 | 1.53 | 0.13 | 1.63 | 8.59 |
| 2012-13 | Rutgers | 30 | 315 | 35.44 | 29.21 | 75 | 3.23 | 2.37 | 0.13 | 2.53 | 10.5 |
| Career | Rutgers | 129 | 1,027 | 35.22 | 31.4 | 77.0 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 7.062 |
Professional career
WNBA
Wheeler earned a try-out in 2015 for the Atlanta Dream after not being selected in the WNBA Draft.[1] Wheeler appeared in 17 games for the Dream in 2015, but was eventually cut. Wheeler then moved to the New York Liberty, and appeared three times.[1] In 2016, Wheeler was signed after training camp by the Indiana Fever.[4] Wheeler started 25 games for the Fever. In 2017, Wheeler continued with the Fever and was second on the team in scoring, and lead the team in assists.[4]
Overseas
Wheeler signed with Fabio Jardine who facilitated her move to the Brazilian league.[1] Wheeler continued to play overseas in the WNBA offseaon making appearances in Puerto Rico, Turkey, and Brazil.[2]
WNBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career high | League leader | |||||
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Atlanta | 20 | 0 | 11.4 | .446 | .300 | .625 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 4.5 |
| 2016 | Indiana | 34 | 25 | 23.9 | .418 | .298 | .833 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 8.4 |
| 2017 | Indiana | 34 | 26 | 26.4 | .400 | .331 | .792 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 11.8 |
| Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 116 | 67 | 21.9 | .403 | .317 | .785 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 8.6 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New York | 3 | 0 | 2.7 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| 2016 | Indiana | 1 | 1 | 25.6 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 4 | 1 | 8.4 | .444 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Andrew Kahn (July 28, 2017). "Humble and hungry, Erica Wheeler becomes Fever standout after circuitous road to WNBA". espn.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- 1 2 "Erica Wheeler baksetball profile". basketball.eurobasket.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- ↑ "NCAA® Career Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
- 1 2 "Erica Wheeler Bio". wnba.com. Erica Wheeler. Retrieved August 6, 2018.