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Semeka Randall (born Semeka Chantay Randall on February 7, 1979, in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She is currently an assistant coach of the women’s basketball team at Michigan State University.
Contents
1 College Years
2 WNBA Career
3 Overseas and the NWBL
4 Coaching Career
College Years
She was a member of the powerhouse University of Tennessee women’s basketball team, the Lady Vols, which won the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship in 1998, with a perfect 39-0 won-loss record.
She was one of the three star players on the team collectively known as “The Meeks”: Randall, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Tamika Catchings. Her reputation as a standout defensive player won her the nickname “Hard to Handle Randall”.
She was named on the Kodak All-American First Team in (1999-2000), and to the Associated Press All-American Second Team in (1999, 2000).
She graduated in December 2000, a semester ahead of her class, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communications.
WNBA Career
Randall joined the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) after being selected by the Seattle Storm in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 2001 WNBA Draft.
She played for the Storm until she was traded to the Utah Starzz in exchange for Kate Starbird during the middle of the WNBA’s 2002 season.
She remained with the Starzz franchise when the team relocated to San Antonio, Texas, and changed its name to the San Antonio Silver Stars for the 2003 season.
In the last game of the 2004 season, Randall set a Silver Stars record by recording eight steals in the Silver Stars’ 82-65 win over the Charlotte Sting on September 17. After the game, Randall announced that she would be retiring from the WNBA to take an assistant coaching job at Michigan State University.
Overseas and the NWBL
Like most WNBA players during the off-season, Randall kept playing basketball in international leagues.
In 2001-02, Randall started all 16 games at point guard and averaged 19 points while playing for the Israeli Professional Basketball League.
The following year, she played in the Greek Professional Basketball League, again starting all 16 games for her squad.
In 2003, she was a member of the Tennessee Fury of the National Women’s Basketball League, averaging 12.2 points as a shooting guard.
Coaching Career
Randall’s first coaching job was an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at Cleveland State University, during the 2002-03 season.
On September 17, 2004, Michigan State University (MSU) announced that Randall was hired as an assistant coach. During that season, the MSU team made it all the way to the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship game, only to lose to Baylor University.
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