Ducks Tab Willette White as Assistant Basketball Coach
EUGENE, Ore. ? University of Oregon women’s basketball coach Bev Smith has announced the hiring of former Northeastern head coach and veteran Pac-10 recruiting coordinator Willette White as the newest member of her staff effective June 1.
"We are very excited about Willette joining the Duck coaching staff here at Oregon,” Smith said. “She is widely recognized throughout this profession as one of the nation's premier coaches and recruiters. Willette is a consummate professional and brings a wealth of coaching experience and knowledge that will be an invaluable asset to our program, both on the floor and off.”
White, who spent six seasons at the helm for the Huskies and aided the program’s transition from the America East Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association, has 25 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 15 in the Pac-10.
“Anyone who follows women's basketball knows Willette White,” Smith said. “As a recruiter she is well respected both regionally and nationally, and is a tremendous ambassador of the game and the coaching profession.”
Prior to her arrival at Northeastern, where she compiled a record of 64-109, White spent seven seasons as associate head coach at UCLA. She joined the staff of Bruins’ head coach Kathy Olivier in May of 1993 and immediately went to work enticing top high school players to the UCLA campus.
In 1999-2000, the Bruins finished fourth in the Pac-10 Conference and made the NCAA tournament for a third straight year. The highlight of UCLA’s three-year string came during the 1998-99 campaign, when the Bruins won their first Pac-10 championship and proceeded to advance to the national quarterfinals as a number three seed. It was UCLA’s first-ever trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and the Bruins finished with a mark of 26-8 after losing to Louisiana Tech, one step from the Final Four, in the West Region final.
White helped mold several standout players at UCLA, most notably Maylana Martin, who was a first round pick of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Martin was a Kodak All-American, a four-time All-Conference pick and the 1999 Pac-10 Player of the Year.
Prior to her stop in Westwood, White spent eight seasons at Washington. During her time in Seattle, the Huskies compiled a 181-59 record (.754), won three conference titles, and reached the NCAA Tournament seven times.
Washington’s finest season during White’s tenure came in 1990 when the Huskies were Pac-10 co-champs, earned a top seed in the NCAA tournament Mideast Region, finished with a school-record 28 wins and were ranked third in the nation at the end of the year, the team’s highest ranking ever. The Huskies handed national champion Stanford its only loss of the season.
Before embarking on her 15-year run as an assistant in the Pac-10, White coached at Iowa State during the 1984-85 season. Prior to that, she was a graduate assistant during both the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons at Ohio State under 1996 Olympic coach Tara VanDerveer. In her first season at Ohio State, the Buckeyes were Big Ten co-champions, and a year later they won the title outright.
White’s collegiate coaching career began at her alma mater, Idaho, in 1982 where she helped the Vandals capture the Northwest Empire League title with a 27-5 overall mark and a 14-0 record in conference play. In all, teams with White as an assistant compiled a 380-177 (.682) record.
In 2001, White had the opportunity to represent the United States as an assistant coach under Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma at the Junior World Championships in the Czech Republic.
A native of Tacoma, Wash., White was a standout performer at Clover Park High, graduating in 1977. From there, she attended Green River Community College for two years before transferring to Idaho. She played on two straight AIAW Region Nine title teams (1980 and 1981) and was named a Div. II All-American.
White served as team captain at Green River and Idaho and was voted Most Inspirational all four years of her college career. In 1992, she was inducted into the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges’ Hall of Fame.
White received a bachelor’s degree in General Studies from Idaho in 1982 and earned her master’s degree in Athletic Administration from Ohio State in 1984.
