Ohio picks Randall as new women's coach

ATHENS - Ohio University tapped a familiar pipeline in selecting its ninth women's basketball Friday.

Semeka Randall was introduced as the new face of the Bobcats, and like her predecessor, Randall carries the clout of having been a successful professional player and an up-and-coming coach.

"We hit a winning half-court shot at the buzzer in hiring Semeka Randall," Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said in a statement released by the university.
"I am very excited about her leading our program and is a perfect fit for what we were looking for. She is energetic and tenacious to succeed."

Randall, a Cleveland native and former two-time Miss Basketball in Ohio, was an assistant in 2007 at West Virginia and spent two seasons as an assistant at Michigan State. She spent two years at Cleveland State as an assistant with the Vikings' program.

"It is my dream job to coach in the state of Ohio," Randall said in the statement. "If you look at my previous coaching experiences, you'll see that I've always positioned myself around this state because it's a great place for women's basketball."

As an assistant at Michigan State, Randall helped guide the Spartans to the a national championship appearance in 2005 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2006.

"Semeka has a strong coaching background, including being with programs that have competed in the NCAA Tournament." Schaus said. "She is from Ohio and has strong recruiting ties to the area. She has played at the highest level as a high school All-American in Cleveland, was a starting guard at Tennessee and won the national championship. She played four years in the WNBA and is a winner in everything she has done."

Randall replaces former Ohio coach Sylvia Crawley, who resigned this past week to take the head coaching job at Boston College. Both Randall and Crawley spent time playing in the WNBA. Randall and Crawley were members of the league's San Antonio Silver Stars in 2003-04.

Randall was a two-time All-American at Tennessee and helped the Lady Vols win the 1998 NCAA Championship with a 39-0 record.

"Ohio is a great school," she said.

"I like that it urges student-athletes to excel in the classroom and on the court. It's just a great place and I'm looking forward to becoming part of the Ohio basketball family and the Athens community."