In his first season at the helm of the Kentucky women?s basketball program head coach Matthew Mitchell has finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming campaign.
Mitchell retained current assistants Niya Butts and Vonn Read and promoted former assistant coach Pam Stackhouse to Assistant Athletics Director for Women?s Basketball. WNBA All-Star Wendy Palmer also was added to the coaching staff after serving two years as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth.
?This is an exciting time for our program and I?m thrilled to announce our coaching staff,? Mitchell said. ?It?s been an enjoyable, informative and productive process as we have worked to put these coaches together. With so many moving parts in a student-athlete?s life, I wanted a staff that was well-rounded. These coaches excel in all phases of the program, not just one specific area. We?ve already hit the ground running and I?m excited about the future of our program.?
Butts, who handles the recruiting efforts and has been tabbed associate head coach by Mitchell, is entering her fifth season with the Wildcats. The former Tennessee Lady Vol standout was hired by former head coach Mickie DeMoss in 2003 after one season as an assistant at Michigan State and two years at Tennessee Tech. Considered to be one of the top young coaches and recruiters in the business, Butts helped UK land four straight top-25 recruiting classes, including the ninth-ranked class for 2007-08 according to the All-Star Girls Report.
?Kentucky has always been a place I wanted to coach,? Butts said. ?When Coach DeMoss left I had the opportunity to look at other jobs but knew that my first option was to stay at UK. Once Coach Mitchell was named the head coach I knew I wanted to stay. He embodies everything that we stand for at UK. I?ve worked with him before and I couldn?t be in a better situation or be at a better place to be coaching women?s basketball. I?m excited for this opportunity and I know I?ll learn a lot from Coach Mitchell and continue growing as a coach.?
Read, a former WNBA assistant coach, is in his third season at Kentucky where he has coached an accomplished group of post players. Under his tutelage, senior forward Jennifer Humphrey and junior center Sarah Elliott were named to the Southeastern Conference All-Conference teams in 2007 and Humphrey become UK?s second all-time leading rebounder.
?I am extremely blessed and excited about staying here at Kentucky and being a part of Coach Mitchell?s staff,? Read said. ?I am looking forward to working with him and taking this program to the next level. I truly believe he will do a great job of making this a championship-caliber program.?
Stackhouse moves to an administrative role after 12 years as an assistant coach, including four seasons at Kentucky. She will be responsible for team travel, scheduling, supervising all non-coaching personnel, management of the budget, facility coordinator, overseeing student managers, supervising the team?s NIKE account and special event management.
?My time spent as an assistant coach was fabulous but I knew if the time was right that a move into an administrative position would be my next step,? Stackhouse said. ?I appreciate Coach Mitchell for giving me this opportunity and I?m looking forward to working with this staff and continue helping move this program forward.?
Palmer, an 11-year WNBA veteran, will pull double duty this season as she will coach and continue playing in the professional league, a role she has been doing the last two years at VCU. She will be responsible for coaching the post players at Kentucky.
?We are so excited that Wendy is joining our family,? Mitchell said. ?Wendy is a WNBA pioneer and will bring so much experience to this staff. Her experience will prove to be invaluable to the success of this program.?
?I am excited about the opportunity to work with UK?s talented coaching staff and to work in the Southeastern Conference at such a great school like Kentucky,? Palmer said. ?Kentucky has such rich basketball tradition and I?ve watched the positive changes UK has made with the women?s basketball program over the last four years. This team is ready to explode and do great things in the SEC. I?m confident that Coach Mitchell is going is pick up where Coach DeMoss left off and we are ready to build this program into a national powerhouse.?
Palmer, one of just six players to participate in all 11 WNBA seasons to date, was selected by the Utah Starzz in the second round of the 1997 Elite Draft. Since then Palmer also has played for the Detroit Shock, Orlando Miracle, Connecticut Sun, San Antonio Silver Stars and her current club, the Seattle Storm.
She averaged 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Starzz in 1997 and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team. After a 1999 trade to Detroit, Palmer made the 2000 WNBA All-Star team, averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Shock. Traded to Orlando in 2002, Palmer had a slow season after moving with the team in Connecticut in 2003, but bounced back to share Most Improved Player honors the following season, helping lead the Sun to the WNBA Finals. After signing with San Antonio in 2005, Palmer averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds on career-best 51.3 percent shooting from the field. In February 2006, she signed with the Storm.
Palmer has played in 281 career games with 212 starts in her WNBA stint, and maintains career averages of 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest.
Palmer?s stellar collegiate career began at Virginia under legendary coach Debbie Ryan. She quickly found success on the hardwood as she became the first UVA woman and only the second UVA player to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds (Ralph Sampson was the other). She was twice named a Kodak All-American (1995, 1996) and ended her career at Virginia ranked among the program?s all-time leaders in several statistical categories, including first in career rebounds (1,221), second in career field-goals made (780) and third in career scoring (1,918). In 1998 she became just the fourth Cavalier in the program?s history to have her jersey retired.
Palmer was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team selection, and she became only the third player in league history to receive two straight ACC Player of the Year nods. The 6-2 forward led the ACC in rebounding during her sophomore and senior seasons, ending her career ranked eighth all-time among the league?s top rebounders. To date, Palmer remains atop UVA?s career rebounds list and still owns the single-season rebounding record (358). She also set a Cavalier single-game scoring record when she registered 39 points in just 26 minutes of play at Maryland during the 1994-95 campaign.
She also is known as an outstanding philanthropist as she has been nationally recognized for her involvement in community service. Palmer was the recipient of the Black Legends of Professional Basketball John Issacs Service Award and garnered nomination for USA WEEKEND magazine?s Most Caring Athlete Award for her extensive community efforts.
The 32-year-old is a native of Roxboro, N.C., and is a 1996 graduate of Virginia. She received a bachelor?s degree in history and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. In her spare time, Palmer likes horseback riding.
