Janeth Arcain: 1969—: Professional Basketball Player Biography

South American players are rare in professional basketball, whose practitioners from outside the sport's U.S. home-land tend to come from Europe or Africa. But Houston Comets guard Janeth Arcain, a veteran Brazilian player, emerged as a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star in 2000. Arcain's rise to prominence was a study in persistence; after several years as a participant but not a leader of the Comets's WNBA dynasty, Arcain made the most of her moment in the spotlight.

Janeth Arcain was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 11, 1969. Arcain and her younger brother, Danilo, suffered after their parents separated when Janeth was six years old, and she turned to sports as a youngster. Arcain played volleyball and the Brazilian national sport of soccer for a time, but the 1983 basketball world championships, held in Sao Paulo, caught her attention. Within a couple of years she was hooked, and by 1986 she was playing on a South American championship team.