Octavia Blue

Last updated
Octavia Blue
Kennesaw State Owls
Position Head coach
League ASUN Conference
Personal information
Born (1976-04-18) April 18, 1976 (age 47)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight163 lb (74 kg)
Career information
High school Nova (Davie, Florida)
College Miami (Florida) (1994–1998)
WNBA draft 1998 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career1998–2004
Position Forward
Number20, 31
Career history
As player:
1998 Los Angeles Sparks
2003–2004 Houston Comets
As coach:
2008–2009 St. John's (assistant)
2009–2012 Georgia Tech (assistant)
2012–2020 Miami (FL) (assistant)
2020–2021Miami (FL) (associate HC)
2021–present Kennesaw State
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Octavia Blue (born April 18, 1976) is an American former women's basketball player with the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played during the 1998, 2003 and 2004 seasons. She is currently the head coach for the Kennesaw State Owls women's basketball team. [1]

Contents

Coaching career

Blues first foray into coaching was as an assistant coach at St. John's in 2008. she was responsible, among other things for development of post players, and St. John's Dashena Stevens earned the award as the Big East rookie of the year in 2008–09. She remained there for one season before taking a position as an assistant at Georgia Tech. After three years at Georgia Tech Katie Meier, called and offered her a position as an assistant coach at Miami. [2] [3]

Working primarily with the post players, Blue has coached eight players to 10 total All-ACC recognition in her eight seasons at Miami, including six first-team accolades and two All-ACC Defensive Team honors. Over the last two seasons, the Miami alum worked closely with 2020 graduate Beatrice Mompremier, who earned AP and WBCA All-America recognition in back-to-back seasons. Mompremier was a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award in both 2019 and 2020 and was tabbed ACC Preseason Player of the Year ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

During Blue's nine -year stint at Miami, five players have signed WNBA contracts, including Mompremier, who was selected 20th overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. In total, 14 Hurricanes who have benefited from Blue's tutelage have gone on to play professionally. She received a promotion to associate head coach in the fall of 2020. [2]

In April 2021, she was named the head coach of Kennesaw State. [1]

Playing career

During her collegiate career, she played for Miami amassing 1,724 points on the court during 1994–98. Afterward, she went on to play professional basketball and was selected 15th by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 1998 WNBA Draft, becoming Miami's 1st WNBA draft pick.

Man fatally struck by Assistant UM basketball coach

Assistant basketball coach Octavia La Dawn Blue at the University of Miami was driving a car that struck and killed Guillermo Castano Campanioni in Coral Gables. Guillermo Castano Campanioni was crossing the street about 3:15 a.m. Sunday when the car driven by Octavia Blue hit him [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Kennesaw State Announces Octavia Blue as Women's Basketball Coach". Kennesaw State University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  2. 1 2 "Octavia Blue". University of Miami Athletics. 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  3. ↑ "Octavia Blue: Basketball and Beyond". University of Miami Athletics. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  4. ↑ "UM assistant coach involved in fatal Coral Gables accident". https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/coral-gables/article1966557.html . June 15, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2023.{{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)


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