A two-time national champion and a seven-year veteran of the WNBA, Tamika Jeter (jet-ur) begins her second season as a member of the Lady Lion program and her 11th overall as a collegiate coach. Jeter will coach the Lady Lion post players, take a leading role in opponent scouting, assist in all aspects of recruiting, and serve as special situations coordinator.
In her first season on the University Park campus, Jeter helped the Lady Lions to a 21-11 overall record and her approach to attacking the boards helped Penn State own the rebounding edge in 21 contests. The team also averaged 3.1 blocks per game. In addition, her post unit improved its accuracy around the basket, raising its 2-point shooting percentage from .481 to nearly .500, connecting on 249-of-441 shots from inside the arc for a .497 clip.
With Jeter’s guidance, Kaliyah Mitchell capped her career with honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades, averaging 7.2 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game. Mitchell led the team in steals (38) and blocked a team- and career-best 24 shots on the year.
The former Tamika Williams began her collegiate coaching career while still playing professionally and landed in Happy Valley with a decade of experience on the sideline, including six seasons at Ohio State (2003-08), two at Kansas (2009-10) and two at Kentucky (2015-16), all as an assistant coach.
In her 11 years on the bench, Jeter has never missed the postseason, including a WNIT Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2016-17 with the Lady Lions. Her resume includes helping the Buckeyes to six-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, aiding the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA berths, and assisting the Jayhawks to two WNIT appearances, including the 2009 WNIT championship game.
Jeter’s impact on the University of Kentucky program was felt during her two seasons in the Bluegrass State. During her time in Lexington, the Wildcats finished in the AP Top 25 twice, reached the NCAA Tournament both seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2016.
Kentucky’s play was vastly improved under her instruction, with freshman Alexis Jennings earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2015 and junior Evelyn Akhator garnering 2016 second team All-SEC laurels. She also helped mold Linnae Harper, Maci Morris and Jenn O’Neill into all-conference performers. Harper garnered SEC All-Defensive Team honors in 2015, while Morris was a SEC All-Freshman Team pick in 2016, starting every game for the Wildcats and averaging 8.6 points per game.
O’Neill thrived under Jeter’s watch, averaging 14.0 points per game in 2014-15 to lead the team. She earned SEC 6th Woman of the Year – becoming the only player in SEC history to win the honor twice – and was a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches and an honorable-mention All-SEC selection by the Associated Press. She became the 30th member of the UK 1,000-point club, ending her career ranked No. 12 on the Wildcats career scoring charts.
During her time in Lawrence, Kansas, Jeter tutored Krysten Boogaard and Carolyn Davis to All-Big XII honors, with both student-athletes ending their careers as members of the KU 1,000-point club. Boogaard enjoyed two solid seasons at center for the Jayhawks. In her career, she swatted 105 shots, secured 584 rebounds and tallied 1,051 points.
Davis excelled under the guidance of Jeter, earning 2010 Big XII All-Rookie honors. The foundation laid during her rookie season helped Davis to a breakout sophomore season, when she ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.660), while averaging 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
In six seasons at Ohio State, Jeter helped the Buckeyes program return to prominence. She spent one season as a graduate assistant (2002-03) before moving into a full time role from 2004-08. The Buckeyes made six straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, won four consecutive Big Ten Championships and Jeter saw four of her student-athletes selected in the WNBA Draft. Courtney Coleman (2003), Jessica Davenport (2007), Jantel Lavender (2011) and Debbie Merrill (2006) all heard their names called on draft night.
Among her pupils in Columbus, Davenport became the only three-time unanimous Big Ten Player of the Year selection (2005, 2006 & 2007) and was the Buckeyes first three-time All-American honoree. She ended her career at Ohio State having amassed 2,303 points, 1,094 rebounds and 384 blocks – the first Big Ten player to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 300 blocks in a career. Davenport also ended her career as the top shooter in school history, connecting on 60.4 percent of her shots from the field.
Remarkably, Lavender one-upped Davenport by earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors all four seasons, winning the award outright in 2009 and 2010, while earning Co-Player of the Year honors in 2008 and 2011. She was the first Big Ten freshman – male or female – to win Player of the Year honors and earned honorable-mention Associated Press All-American. She ranked second in the NCAA in freshman scoring (17.6 ppg) and third in rebounds (9.9 rpg), recording 13 double-doubles in 2007-08. Lavender set OSU rookie records for field goals made (232) and rebounds (306) in a season and her 17.6 points per game are No. 2 on the freshman charts.
Of the Buckeyes’ six NCAA Tournament appearances during Jeter’s time there, Ohio State advanced past the first round on four occasions, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2005. OSU received a six seed or better in five of her six trips to the NCAA Tournaments, including a No. 1 seed in the 2005 tourney.
Between coaching at Kansas and accepting her post at Kentucky, Jeter moved to Texas and began working in the private sector. She continues to own a Nationwide Insurance agency. During her break from coaching she also served as an analyst for ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage. Other off-court activities include serving as an ambassador for Women & Girls Against HIV/AIDS, a U.S. State Department Sports Ambassador and traveling internationally with NBA Global, promoting the game of basketball.
Jeter excelled on the professional hardwood after being selected as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She spent seven seasons in the professional ranks – retiring in 2008 – earning WNBA All-Rookie team honors in 2002 and helping her team reach the playoffs on three occasions. She netted 1,404 points, secured 1,166 rebounds, handed out 221 assists and added 183 steals in her professional career.
As a student-athlete at the University of Connecticut, Jeter won a pair of national titles and was a two-time All-American for the Huskies. Her 2000 and 2002 NCAA Championship teams are both a members of the Huskies of Honor program, which is used by the University of Connecticut’s basketball programs in lieu of a traditional hall of fame.
She was The Sporting News National Freshman of the Year, 1999 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and ECAC Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. Her sophomore season included being named the Most Outstanding Performer of the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament and the 2000 NCAA Championship. As a junior, she became the 19th player in UConn history to eclipse 1,000 points, and her senior season was capped off by another NCAA Championship and an undefeated 35-0 record. She received Associated Press All-America honorable mention honors and was a Naismith Player of the Year candidate during the 2001-02 season.
She completed her collegiate career with averages of 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. She owns the NCAA record in field goal percentage at 70.3 percent (560-for-797) and ended her career ranked No. 14 on UConn’s all-time scoring list with 1,402 points.
A Dean’s List student, she served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee while earning B.A. in interpersonal communications from the University of Connecticut.
After being heavily recruited by almost every major college basketball program in the country, she chose to play at Connecticut, where she and her classmates (Asjha Jones, Swin Cash and Sue Bird) were tabbed by Sports Illustrated the “best recruiting class of 1998.”
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Jeter was the No. 1-ranked player in the nation coming out of Chaminade-Julienne High School. A prep standout, she scored 2,015 points in her career and was the consensus High School Player of the Year in 1998. She was a two-time Ohio Player of the Year (1997, 1998) and earned Ohio Miss Basketball and WBCA All-America honors as a senior in 1998. She helped the Eagles to the first appearance in the OHSAA Division I Final Four, where CJHS finished runner-up to USA Today National Champion Pickerington Central.
The former Tamika Williams is married to former NBA player Richard Jeter. The couple has one son, R.J., born in 2015.