Tasha Butts (March 10, 1982 – October 23, 2023) was an American basketball player. She played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was an assistant coach at several NCAA schools over 17 seasons. She was hired as the head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball team, but died of breast cancer before her first game as a head coach.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1982 Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | October 23, 2023 (aged 41) |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Baldwin (Milledgeville, Georgia) |
| College | Tennessee (2000–2004) |
| WNBA draft | 2004: 2nd round, 20th overall pick |
| Selected by the Minnesota Lynx | |
| Playing career | 2004–2006 |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 1 |
| Coaching career | 2007–2023 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2004 | Minnesota Lynx |
| As coach: | |
| 2007–2008 | Duquesne (assistant) |
| 2008–2011 | UCLA (assistant) |
| 2011–2019 | LSU (assistant) |
| 2019–2023 | Georgia Tech (associate HC) |
| 2023 | Georgetown |
Career edit
Butts attended Baldwin High School in Milledgeville, Georgia, and was named the state's girls basketball player of the year in 2000. She then enrolled at the University of Tennessee to play college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers women's basketball team.[1]
The Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA selected Butts with the 20th overall selection in the 2004 WNBA draft. Butts played for the Lynx in the 2004 WNBA season. Over the next four years, she had various contracts with other WNBA teams, none of which resulted in further regular season playing time.[2] She returned to Tennessee in 2005 as a graduate assistant.[1]
Butts worked as an assistant coach at Duquesne University. She left there to serve as an assistant coach at the University of California, Los Angeles.[3]
From 2011 to 2019, she was an assistant coach at Louisiana State University and, from 2019 to 2023, served as an assistant coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team.[4] In April 2023, she was named the head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball team.[5]
Personal life edit
Butts was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in November 2021.[1] She died due to complications from breast cancer on October 23, 2023, at the age of 41.[6]
Career statistics edit
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College edit
Source[7]
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Tennessee | 34 | 160 | 42.7 | 37.5 | 76.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
| 2001–02 | Tennessee | 34 | 147 | 29.4 | 30.0 | 74.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| 2002–03 | Tennessee | 38 | 238 | 35.5 | 34.6 | 79.5 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| 2003–04 | Tennessee | 35 | 363 | 40.8 | 38.6 | 81.8 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 10.4 |
| Career | Tennessee | 141 | 908 | 37.2 | 35.5 | 79.3 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
WNBA edit
Source[2]
Regular season edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Minnesota | 30 | 0 | 14.1 | .300 | .270 | .720 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
Playoffs edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
References edit
- ^ a b c Sugiura, Ken (February 16, 2022). "Georgia Tech's Tasha Butts brings the fight against breast-cancer diagnosis". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ a b "Tasha Butts WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Duquesne women's assistant coach resigns", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 21, 2008, retrieved June 6, 2008
- ^ "Tasha Butts Bio", LSU Sportsnet, January 28, 2015, retrieved October 29, 2015
- ^ "Tasha Butts Named Head Women's Basketball Coach". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Georgia Tech Mourns the Loss of Tasha Butts". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 2, 2015.