EAST ORANGE, NJ (updated Saturday April 14, 8:32 a.m.) – When she played for head coach Derrick Johnson for the East Orange Campus High School girls’ varsity basketball team, Teana Muldrow was simply unstoppable.
The 6-foot-1 forward went on to have an even more impressive Division 1 collegiate career that she recently completed at West Virginia University.
Muldrow is now ready for the next step, this time on the professional level, after being selected 29th by the Seattle Storm during the WNBA Draft on April 12.
As a senior this past winter, Muldrow was an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention selection as she averaged 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 53 blocks, all team-highs. She also set the program record for most games played, 143, during the team’s run in the WNIT, which ended in the semifinals against Virginia Tech. In addition, Muldrow ranks in the top five all-time in career points, rebounds, blocked shots and field goals made for the Mountaineers.
“I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” Muldrow said in an article posted to wvusports.com. “I want to thank my WVU coaching staff, my teammates and Mountaineer nation for a great five years here. I think my time here truly prepared me to take the next step in my career, on and off the court. I would also like to thank coach Dan Hughes and the Seattle Storm organization for giving me the opportunity to continue pursuing my dream.”
Muldrow scored 1,312 points in her career at EOCHS, graduating in 2013. In her senior season, she averaged 20.5 points per game, leading the Jaguars to a runner-up finish in the Essex County Tournament and helping EOCHS capture the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 state title.
On Draft night, coach Johnson was simply ecstatic when he saw Muldrow’s name on the TV when she was selected. He had tears of joy.
“I felt like a father when you see their newborn baby and you have that baby in your arms,” said an emotional coach Johnson in a phone interview with The Record-Transcript. ‘I was so happy for her. She put in the work. I’m not taking any credit. I don’t want credit. I am just happy for her; that I was a part of her life, everything that she has been through, through basketball. To have the first WNBA player in East Orange it’s great.”
Indeed, Muldrow has become a role model for young girls basketball players in East Orange.
“All my old players, all my future players, said ‘Coach, I want to be like that. Help me get to that level,’” said coach Johnson. “And I told them, ‘You have to put in the work to get to that level. You have to work hard.’”
Not only is coach Johnson proud of Muldrow, but proud of the city of East Orange.
“I felt like we accomplished something. It kind of put us on the map. When it showed that her hometown is East Orange, I went bananas.”
Coach Johnson said the school will probably hold a ceremony for Muldrow in the near future He added that Muldrow graduated from WVU last year.
About the Author
